10096237streetQuestClosedInvestment AcceleratorInnovate UKAR Hive will be launching streetQuest(tm) a new augmented reality game testbed in Brighton in 2024\. Over the next year, with funding from Innovate UK Begin, we will be supported to focus on R&D refining the game and completing the core engine development, and launching in our local market. Our immersive storytelling puts our diverse voices at the centre of our development - shaping narratives and playful experiences about the places where we live. To create an inclusive experience that resonates with diverse players, we will conduct community-based playtesting using a co-design process to incorporate accessibility needs into our process. Mentorship will be incorporated into this development process with the aim of diversifying the games industry by empowering creators from underrepresented backgrounds. Through playtesting, hands-on guidance will be given to creators to develop their own game experiences. By nurturing new perspectives and talents first-hand, we hope to bring new perspectives and voices into the industry. Our goal is for this essential mentoring relationship is for participants to gain portfolio-worthy work, to inform our game and to drive much-needed long-term Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion in the games industry. Founder Judith Ricketts, is an artist, Senior Lecturer and Serious Games Developer. Since its foundation in 2022 AR Hive has received funding from the ESRC IAA, Brighton & Hove Council's Exhale Grant in partnership with the Centre for Histories, Memory and Narratives. We build interactive projects that leverage technologies to drive social impact and social change. We are very excited about this opportunity to bring together the key strands of our inclusive development ethos. Get in touch if you would like to know more as we prepare to launch in Brighton.