As part of its 2025–2026 educational program (SwissLab), La Cité Bleue is breaking new ground by offering a video game design workshop for teenagers from the Païdos Association in Geneva.
With support from both La Cité Bleue and Studio Play Don’t Tell, the young people imagined and designed this game from start to finish, centering on two closely related themes: emotions and music.
Playing as a little alien named Walter, the player will travel aboard his flying saucer through four levels, each corresponding to a specific emotion: fear, anger, sadness, and joy.
The concept, narrative, characters, visual and audio worlds—everything was conceived and designed by the young people of the Païdos Association. Music plays an essential role in the game’s mechanics. It was created from sound experiments recorded with their smartphones, then transformed and orchestrated to create the soundtrack.
This project was led by La Cité Bleue’s SwissLab, conceived by young people from the Païdos Association and developed by Studio Play Don’t Tell, and is available free of charge to everyone.
Why is La Cité Bleue offering a video game workshop?
Just like opera, video games are the total art form of our time, drawing on a wide range of both artistic and technical skills. Like cinema, video games have opened up a vast field of musical exploration, breaking down the barriers between classical and popular music, giving rise to symphonic performances that fill prestigious concert halls around the world and bring generations together. In the field of cultural outreach, video games are a valuable tool as a playful gateway to musical and artistic discovery.
Game Design: Story, Visual and Audio Design
The Young People
- Elsa
- Helia
- Madyson
- Mauricio
- Nik
- Océane
- Tyerno
- Zoé
The Païdos Animation Team
- Steve Borrello
- Elise Denby
- Céline Jubin
- Virginie Mossière
Workshop Design and Facilitation
Play Don’t Tell & La Cité Bleue
- Muriel Brandt
- Kenneth Rioja
- Ivan Voirol
Production
La Cité Bleue
Project Management and Coordination
- Muriel Brandt
Game Production
Play Don’t Tell
- Kenneth Rioja
- Ivan Voirol
Documentation and communication
- Giulia Charbit
- Daniele Milazzo
Music
Orchestration
- Marie Angelillo
- Muriel Brandt
Featuring:
- Annabelle Chouinard (violin)
- Jean-Noël Gos (electric bass)
