From 29 November an installation of a 1980s video game Red Wave by the Estonian Academy of Arts students can be seen in the lobby area of the Estonian Museum of Applied Art and Design (ETDM).

An old forgotten suitcase was found in the Estonian National Archives. It was given over to the LVLup! Videogame Museum hosted at the National Library. The suitcase contained what seemed to be sketches and materials of an unfinished video game called “Red Wave” („Punane Laine”) developed in the 1980s. The game’s production was halted due to advanced technology being unavailable at the time. Fortunately, several artefacts from its development have been identified.

The game was programmed to be read on an advanced system for its time – the Commodore 64 also known as C64. This ambitious project had the perspective of being sold and played in Western Europe. “Red Wave” is a revolution simulator that has different phases of gameplay taking place in the late 19th century. It has a textual interface, a point-and-click display and roleplaying game functionality. The game set also came with various accessories for investigation to solve mysteries with the help of stereoscopic goggles and a colour code.

To pass over the limited storage capacities, developers planned a sound tape for listening during the gameplay to improve the gaming experience. 

The installation is created within the series of courses called VIA LAB (Video Games in Art Laboratory) initiated at the Estonian Academy of Arts. The course Questions of Contemporary Art focuses on building an archive of Estonian video games that never existed. All the materials made by the students are fictional. 

The installation is on display until March 3.

Students involved in the project: August Joost, Elias Kuulmann, Elise Marie Olesk, Kail Timusk, Karlotta Lainväe, Kristjan Glück, Paul Rannik, Sandra Puusepp, Taavet Kirja, Hanna Vinter, Maria Kallau, Andrea Lima

The course is supervised by Camille Laurelli