Event Overview
Special Collaboration with SF Kyogen
This is a special collaboration project with the theater program “Ken Liu Original New SF Kyogen Mono no Aware,” which will be held at Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai,Japan venue from September 30 to October 1, 2025. The “children’s games” that appear in the story’s setting, a spaceship in the future, will be realized as actual games.
Innovative Expression Experience Combining Theater and Games
By merging the distinct expressive techniques of “theater” and “games,” this project aims to create an unprecedented artistic experience. For audiences, it will offer a new and imaginative stage viewing experience, while for creators, it will serve as a unique opportunity to redefine “play” within the context of theater.
Scheduled Exhibition at the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai,Japan
The games developed in this CREATIVE JAM will be finalized as works that can be exhibited and experienced during the SF Kyogen performance, and will be presented to the world as part of the official cultural program of the Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai,Japan
Support from the Cultural Arts Activity Infrastructure Strengthening Fund
This project is realized with the support of the “Cultural Arts Activity Infrastructure Strengthening Fund (Creator Development and Cultural Facility Value-Added Support Program).”
Event Overview
Date: September 13 (Sat) and 14 (Sun), 2025
Venue: 404 Not Found (4th floor of Shibuya Sakura Stage)
Participants: 4 young creators (selected through a recommendation-based screening process)
Organizers: Shibuya Asobiba Production Committee / 404 Not Found
Grant: Cultural Arts Activity Infrastructure Strengthening Fund (Creator Support Fund)
Program Details
Two Days of Intensive Development Experience
Four selected young creators will spend two days of intensive development creating a game prototype based on the world of SF Kyogen. Under the guidance of mentors, they will brainstorm ideas, implement them, and prepare for the exhibition.
Guidance from Expert Mentors
Two experts in game development and production will participate as mentors to support the creators’ creative activities. In addition to providing technical advice, they will offer guidance on ensuring consistency with the SF Kyogen worldview and enhancing the quality of the audience experience.
DAY 1 Schedule
Time
Contents
09:00-10:00
Explanation of the purpose of the “SF Kyogen” project and lecture on the worldview
10:00-10:30
Participant self-introductions and team formation
10:30-11:00
Icebreaker
11:00-12:30
Idea generation session begins
12:30-13:30
Lunch Break
13:30-16:30
Idea Development and Presentation Preparation
16:30-17:30
First Presentation
18:00-21:00
Development Start (Prototype Creation)
*Facilities available until 23:00
DAY 2 Schedule
Time
Content
09:30-12:30
Development Work
12:30-13:30
Lunch Break/Adjustments
14:00-14:30
Interim Presentation/Feedback
14:30-19:30
Development Work
19:30-20:00
Final Presentation/Review/Recording
*This is a preliminary schedule and subject to change.
Project Planning
Yosuke Takahashi (Curator) *Participant in the “ars●bit” project
After working as chief curator at the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa, and curator at the Kadokawa Musashino Museum, he became independent. He is currently a curator at the high-fashion building GYRE in Omotesando, a member of the Molecular Robot Ethics Study Group, and a lecturer at Kyoto University of the Arts. His research focuses on the relationship between technology and art since the 1990s, with a particular interest in “art after the demise of the modern view of humanity.”
Participating Creators (planned)
Ryoya Usuba (filmmaker, game developer)
I am interested in the diversity of expression that emerges within the structural constraints of game mechanics and rules, as well as the frame and timeline of visuals.
HSP99 (creative director, DJ, artist)
I grew up influenced by various intellectual stimuli such as the internet, music, games, and art design, and am currently engaged in various activities such as the development of original art games.
mamamama(Artist)
In the field of art, I am interested in the lineage of abstract painting, and I want to create works that allow people to feel free, using human identification as a motif.
(One additional person, currently being arranged)
Advisors/Mentors
Hiroshi Yoshida (Professor, Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, University of Tokyo)
An expert in aesthetics, sensibility studies, and cultural representation theory. As a leading researcher in digital games, he conducts aesthetic studies of games.
Kazutoshi Iida (Professor, College of Media and Communication, Ritsumeikan University)
A game creator known for his original game designs, including Aqua Note no Kyujitsu and Kyojin no Doshin.
Exhibition Plan
The developed games will be exhibited at the venue (stage or lobby) on the day of the SF Kyogen performance and will be used as installation-type works that the audience can actually play.
“Ken Liu’s New Sci-Fi Tale: Mono no Aware” Event Overview
Event Dates and Times:
September 30, 2025 [2 performances]
1:00 PM to 3:00 PM
5:00 PM to 7:00 PM
October 1, 2025 [1 performance]
11:00 AM to 1:00 PM
*Please visit the official website for details.
As an installation-type work
The game, developed as an installation-type work, is scheduled to be displayed within the venue (either on stage or in the lobby) on the day of the SF Kyogen performance, where audiences will be able to play it.
Grant
Fund for Strengthening the Foundation of Cultural and Artistic Activities (Creator Support Fund)
1-4 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0042
Shibuya Sakura Stage 4th Floor, 404 Not Found
Contact: Takeshi Ishikawa (Chairman of 404 Not Found / Director of Shibuya Asobiba Production Committee)