Die Näherinnen (The Seamstresses) (altctrl – video)

As part of our collaboration with Cologne Game Lab,  partner and co-curator of Friday’s symposium programme, we’re excited to share the video of Die Näherinnen (The Seamstresses), a student-developed alt.ctrl game that brings history to life through experimental interaction. Cologne Game Lab is one of the most vibrant spaces for critical, creative, and future-facing game design in Europe, and their presence at the festival reflects our shared commitment to fostering creative, thoughtful play.

Die Näherinnen shows another side of our Folk Games curation. This game reflects the intimacy of everyday conversations, the quiet resistance of shared memories, the relations and friendships that arise between a group of working women. It is about the kind of history that isn’t written down, but sewn into fabric, whispered between friends, and passed on through gestures and work. The game works as a reminder that play can be a form of remembrance, care, and connection.

The developers write in their site:

The way we record history is always a reflection of power. So how do we tell history of the powerless? History that has never been written down?

Die Näherinnen is an experimental game about reconstructing unrecorded history.

Play one day in the life of a German seamstress in the late 19th century. Operate a real vintage sewing machine while you talk, argue and sing with your fellow working women. But don’t forget to work!

Even without history books, we still have memories, stories, places, and objects recollecting the past. In this way, history becomes a creative endeavour.

The game generates new stories by combining different narrative modules every playthrough, allowing you to put together your own interpretation of a working class woman’s life. Each game run ends with the display of a digital fabric influenced by your gameplay.

How do the seamstresses leave their mark?

The following video takes the viewer behind-the-scenes and into the game design process of The Seamtress

You can learn more about the game at their website: dienaeherinnengame.com 

The team behind the game: Pia, Lina, Lara, Marni and Tabea.

We are an all-women dev team from Cologne who have joined forces to tell the stories we want to play!

We are also students at the Cologne Game Lab, where Die Näherinnen was first created.