With a strong interest in the disciplines of the humanities, social and cultural studies, design, art, and technology, Merz Akademie, a nationally accredited, non-profit University of Applied Art, Design and Media, positions itself between a classical art academy, a technical college, and a department of humanities. In teaching, learning and research we emphasize aesthetic experimentation, theoretical reflexivity and (artistic) research in media, but also take the teaching of professional qualifications seriously. The fields of cross-media publishing, film and video, new media and visual communication are regarded as distinct but closely related fields of study. It aims to facilitate the professional and academic education of design-authors who are prepared not only to fulfil but to define the requirements of an ever changing professional field.
Fly like a stork
Students developed four prototypes in which they studied the migration of migratory birds. They used tracking data from the Max Planck Institute for Behavioral Biology.
Four prototypes were created in individual and group work:
- Air Waves by Alissa Hein, Nadine Frank, Melanie Müller and Youngseo Kim,
- The Storkers “Winter is approaching, the storks are making their way to Africa. The player must skillfully use the thermals to cross the sea.” By Hanna Bühler, Leander Dürrstein, and Michael Géza Berta.
- The Storks of Cainhurst by Aleyna Arslan and Marina Selivanova
- Desert Stork “The storks crash in the desert during their journey after a sandstorm, the player must now skillfully navigate them to the oasis.” by Vincent Gössler:
The Grid
Students developed and realized game concepts based on the visual aesthetics of the TRON films.
Three projects were created:
- The Maze “A game where the player can move on two different levels to collect as many cubes as possible within a time limit.” by Paul Kley and Iris Maier.
- grid by Fabio Godel, Fabian Kneher, Jan-Filip Kvrgic, Jantiena Schütz and Paul Mignot.
- Cablechaser “Infinite first-person runner for VR. The player runs through a hexagonal corridor while avoiding obstacles” by Demian Bassé, Albert Oelschlägel, Kim Selbach, Gregor Frohschauer and Clarissa Kerl.
