Beneath Water

Beneath Water (2019). Credit: Kevin Grist

In the year 2119, Hastings America Ground is underwater - forgotten and uninhabited. As a volunteer for the local museum, you have offered to go down and take a look. What will you find? Can you solve the puzzles? How will you want the area to be remembered?

Beneath Water by Kevin Grist of SparkedEcho, is a mobile + audio experience inspired by the 'choose your own adventure' novels of the 1980s. Audiences engage in alternative story paths, unlocking soundscapes and thought-provoking glimpses of the future.

As one of three digital commissions in 2019 for This is for everyone by MSL, the pilot project explored the possibilities of taking over Hastings' town WiFi network. The other digital works were Ordinary Extraordinary by Rosanna Lowe, a collection of audio poems and air time by Judith Ricketts, a location-based AR experience.

The works were programmed as part of the Coastal Currents Festival 2019 and hosted on a virtual map. They were later presented at the Is this for everyone? event at St Mary in the Castle, invoking discussion about how locally-owned digital networks could help build stronger communities.

Promo

Play the game

How to play:

No need to book - just come along to the America Ground in Hastings, to take part. The best place to start is at the top of the Brassey Steps. Do remember to bring your mobile phone and earphones with you!

1. To start the game, in your web browser go to: smart-heritage.co.uk

2. Click on the Beneath Water icon on the map

3. Scroll down beneath the map, and click on the Beneath Water cover image

4. Click Run Game

Soundtrack

Project notes

SparkedEcho presents Beneath Water, commissioned by MSL (2019)

Sound artist: Kevin Grist

Project managers at MSL: Margaret Sheehy and Jon Pratty

Story and puzzles designed by: Kevin Grist

Game developed by: Kevin Grist in Twine and hosted on Itch

Content produced by: Kevin Grist using Canva and Apple Logic X

Commissioner & funders: MSL, Arts Council England, RSA, Hastings Borough Council, East Sussex Arts Partnership, Coastal Communities Fund

Gallery

Coastal Currents Festival 2019

Beneath Water was also part of the Coastal Currents Festival during September 2019. Available via Hastings' town WiFi network, the three new experimental commissions for This is for Everyone, can be accessed by participants using their mobile phones.

On Saturday 7 September, there was an opportunity for audiences to meet the artists in the foyer of Rock House, for demonstrations and and find out about the artistic process, before heading out into the America Ground to try out the new digital artworks.

Gotham Alley, America Ground Hastings (2019). Credit: Kevin Grist

Testimonials

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Company

A compelling concept for Hastings - acknowledging the environmental impact of climate change and rising sea levels for the town. Beneath Water does this imaginatively and I had great fun solving the puzzle!

Participant - Beneath Water

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Do not change anything - the dedicated sessions were great, giving enough time to really play and learn about the technology we were using.

Participant - Beneath Water

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As a visitor, I found myself looking at the landscape and architecture of Hastings, in a level of detail I'd never seen before. To think the steep Brassey Steps would be pivotal in this adventure!