The Alluvials

The Alluvials is an exper­i­men­tal video game that reimagines the conventions of the medium to explore the physical and emotional dimensions of climate change through a non-human perspective.

This four-level video game creation invites players to embody entities rarely represented in traditional games: natural elements and creatures such as forest fires, the Los Angeles River, a Yucca moth, a field of Joshua trees, or a wolf pack. Each level rein­ter­prets a classic video game genre (first-person shooter, walking simulator, open world, puzzle platformer) through a radical ecological prism.

The dis­tinc­tive­ness of The Alluvials lies in its delib­er­ate­ly ​“difficult” gameplay, with sometimes confusing or unpre­dictable mechanics. This approach is not intended to frustrate the player but rather to reflect the complexity and over­whelm­ing power of the climate crisis, while challenging our constant desire for control over our environment.

The work is part of Bucknell’s research in ​“game ecology” – an emerging field that studies how nature and the environment are represented and integrated into video game media. By inviting us to perceive the world through nature’s own ​“eyes,” The Alluvials encourages us to develop a deeper empathy toward our environment.

This immersive experience thus offers a new form of engagement with ecological issues, going beyond simple discourse to create a sensory and emotional connection with natural systems. Through this approach, Bucknell invites us to fun­da­men­tal­ly rethink our rela­tion­ship with the non-human world and to imagine new ways of interacting with it in the face of con­tem­po­rary environmental challenges.

Alice Bucknell, The Alluvials (2022) is presented as part of the exhibition Hybrid Futures: Rhizomes, Meshworks & Alter-Ecologies, organised and produced by Elektron.
Curators: Vincent Crapon & Françoise Poos.

Alice Bucknell
The Alluvials, 2024
Video game, infinite duration

Originally com­mis­sioned by mudac with additional support from trans­me­di­ale and Arts Council
England. 
Game development support: Fabian Grundmann
Original score: Ken Yama
Graphic elements: Tom Joyes. 
Special thanks to the Los Angeles Public Library and Friends of the LA River.