saint etienne biennale 08: 'sugoroku' curated by catherine beaugrand

the meeting point of ‘sugoroku’ where you receive a map to begin your journey image © designboom

curated by catherine beaugrand, ‘sugoroku’ is a city wide game which portrays the area of saint-étienne with the virtual world, through the use of tools which question the quality of public space. the purpose of the game is to get tourists and city dwellers alike, to go out into the city and investigate new unexplored territories. one is given a map of the routes which they can follow. along these designated paths, players can collect ‘sugocodes’ which they can use to play online. the codes can be entered via web, in exchange for virtual objects which represent industrial products manufactured in the city of saint-étienne. it’s nice to go a little off the beaten path and experience parts of a city which aren’t part of the normal tourist routine, but what’s the big deal? these types of activities don’t need to be orchestrated. people should just naturally explore and stumble upon gems and areas of a new city on their own terms. we don’t need everything mapped out for us, do we?

these are stations where you can register yourself as a player image © designboom

a map of the three routes which you can take through the city of saint-étienne image © designboom

these are the ‘sugocode’ stickers you are supposed to keep your eye out for along the paths image © designboom

the zenith music hall in saint-étienne is one of the sites players can stumble upon image © designboom

the palais des spectacles can be spotted along the yellow route image © designboom

saint-étienne international design biennale: http://biennalesaint-etienne.citedudesign.com cité du design: http://www.citedudesign.com