Pippin Barr x Devolution: It is as if you were... (Recap)

23/06/2025
|In Events, It is as you were...
|By DEVOLUTION

Step inside the development process of the games in the It is as if you were… series by Pippin Barr.
The exhibition pulls together prototypes, sketches, design journals, and more to reveal the in-between moments of game design.

The exhibition Pippin Barr x Devolution: It is as if you were… was a collaboration between Pippin Barr and Devolution, hosted by AMAZE. / Berlin 2025 (May 14 – 17 2025) and supported by University of Europe for Applied Sciences.

During the exhibition, visitors could play through several in-between versions of each game of Pippin Barr’s It is as if you were… series, experiencing their development processes. These in-between versions are still available to play online.

The exhibition of the game-versions was accompanied by additional elements:

  • bundle of eight hand-made booklets
  • The Designer is Present
  • Exhibition Tour
  • panel / talk / performance

You can find out more about each of them further down.

To explore more about the general concept of the exhibition and high-level reflections on the design process you can read the journal between Pippin Barr and Csongor Baranyai, the curator of the exhibition.

A Bundle of Eight Hand-Made Booklets

A bundle of eight hand-made booklets explore the development process of the It is as if you were… game series. There you can find Pippin’s to-do lists, journals and a lot of behind-the-scenes stories.

From editing and layout to printing, folding, binding and finishing, each copy is hand-made with love.

The bundle is based on Pippin Barr’s journals of his games…

  • It is as if you were playing chess (2016)
  • It is as if you were doing work (2017)
  • It is as if you were making love (2018)
  • It is as if you were doing paperwork (2022)
  • It is as if you were playing a text adventure (2024-)
  • It is as if you were on your phone (2025)

…which are accompanied by two additional booklets:

  • It is as if you were growing stuff
  • It is as if you were designing a game

A deeper look into the booklets can be found in this post.

Reading corner
Production

The Designer is Present

During the The Designer is Present sessions, Pippin developed his game It is if you were playing a text adventure on site. Visitors could stop by, ask questions, and have a conversation with him directly.

You can still play the versions he developed on site and/or read the journal he wrote during the performance.

Exhibition Tour

During the guided tour, Pippin Barr and Csongor Baranyai, the curator of the exhibition, provided insights into the development of the It is as if you were… series and the idea of the exhibition. The tour contextualized the exhibited games, versions, and the exhibition with background information, anecdotes, and explanations of key design decisions.

On Stage

It is as if you were talking about growing stuff

An experimental session: half discussion, half three talks, half performance — and maybe even a workshop? Some thoughts on a (mindful) game design manifesto, definitely some examples and reflections on the stuff games are made of, and how they shape their making. Three voices merging into an experience — at least for Pippin Barr, Claudia Molinari (We Are Muesli), and Csongor Baranyai (Devolution).

The full-length recording of the session is available on the YouTube channel of A MAZE.

The Spinning Wheel Panel Moderator based on We Are Muesli’s (mindful) game design manifesto was developed by Pippin Barr.

Assembly / Dis-assembly