Closed Forum - ANXIETY ARCADE

Anxiety Arcade

Anxiety Arcade was first commissioned for Compass Festival 2021 by Compass Live Art using public funds from Arts Council England and Leeds City Council with additional support from the Foyle Foundation.

After premiering at Compass Festival (2021) the artwork was shown at Leeds Digital Festival (2022), Exiter Art Week (2022/3) and released online.

Anxiety Arcade is a full-sized arcade machine exploring themes of anxiety and isolation. A love letter to 80s pop culture and classic video games, Anxiety Arcade is a digital space that allows you to reset and take a break from everything in your world.

A single-player video game (2021). Approximately 20 minutes.

Stop. Breathe. Press X to start.

What if there is a game you can’t win?
How long would you play if you were told there is no end?
Explore a virtual world where each room is a song in an album and every puzzle unlocks more mystery. Anxiety Arcade is bleak, funny and bizarre. Looking at anxiety through the lens of those that experience it, Anxiety Arcade uses retro gameplay to get people talking about mental health, rather than trying to solve it.

PRESS KIT: Anxiety Aracde