Release of a Game Called My Exercise

Zurich, Switzerland, August 27, 2020
My Exercise, an Honorable Mention at the IGF Game Award 2020, was released today for iPad, iPhone, Mac and PC. The interactive animation is based on a short film by Japanese animator Atsushi Wada. He turned his film into a short game with independent Japanese developer Ryoya Usuha, and the Playables team.

"In the past few years, I've been thinking about the possibilities of using animation not just as film. I've worked on installations at museums and was happy to have the opportunity of working on this game", says Atsushi Wada. The initiative came from his producer Nobuaki Doi: "The characters in Atsushi Wada's work tend to act as if they are programmed by something other than their own will. I thought they would be good candidates for game mechanics."

For the creation of the game, they teamed up with Ryoya Usuha. Michael Frei and Mario von Rickenbach from Playables coached the Japanese team: "We were excited that Atsushi Wada tried to make something interactive! It is super interesting to see how artists new to games approach interactivity. Atsushi came up with ridiculous ideas that called for unconventional solutions. We could print books of our lengthy discussions. It would be hilarious to read."

Atsushi Wada contemplates: "It was difficult to make this game. I had to use a different sphere of my brain than the one I use when I make films. It also took us much longer to complete than I had imagined. All this for you to make sit-ups! I need to sit down now."

My Exercise was released worldwide on August the 27 at USD 2.99, and published by Playables. It is Playables' second major release after their game KIDS (https://playkids.ch).

Official website:
https://myex.jp

App Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/app/id1370091274

Steam:
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1004330/My_Exercise

itch.io:
https://playables.itch.io/myexercise

Game trailer:
https://youtu.be/NoLlGIraZUA

Gameplay video:
https://youtu.be/qeZJL_XqsGk

Press Contact
Michael Frei
michael@playables.net

About Atsushi Wada

Born in 1980. Graduated from Osaka Kyoiku University, Image Forum Institute of Moving Image, and Tokyo University of the Arts. He began to create short animation works on his own in 2002. Wada likes to create comfortable movement. His animations are inspired by the Japanese traditional concept called Ma, the tension produced between movements. His films have been selected at the most prestigious animation festivals - among others, Zagreb, Annecy, Hiroshima, and Ottawa. The Mechanism of Spring (2010) premiered at the Venice Film Festival, and The Great Rabbit (2012) won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival.

https://kankaku.jp

About Ryoya Usuha

Ryoya Usuha is a Japanese digital artist, born in 1991. He graduated from Musashino Art University, Tokyo University of the Arts. His works range from meta video games to minimalistic computer animation. He also experiments with video and the possibility of becoming a cardboard box.

https://mikyokyuji.com

About New Deer

New Deer is the production/distribution company led by animation critic Nobuaki Doi, Festival Director of New Chitose Airport International Animation Festival. The company has introduced internationally acclaimed independent animated feature films to the Japanese audience while producing various international co-productions directed by talented Japanese independent animators, ranging from feature and short films to indie games.

https://newdeer.net

About Playables

Playables was founded by Mario von Rickenbach and Michael Frei. They previously worked on award-winning projects like KIDS, Plug & Play, Krautscape, Dreii, Il Filo Conduttore, and the Finger Simulator. They create strange playful things and help others do so.

https://playables.net