The journey of developing and publishing Squingle, a psychedelic VR puzzle game where players guide revolving orbs through increasingly complex 3D spatial mazes on a cosmic transcendence adventure, has been a significant success story enabled by the Daiwa Scholarship. Squingle merges science, technology, innovation, and art to create a surreal, ongoing collaboration between the UK and Japan, deeply influenced by partnerships with Keio University and Enhance Games, a Japanese game studio. Ben Outram will recount his journey from studying Physics and Liquid Crystals, to being awarded a Daiwa Scholarship, to receiving a JSPS Fellowship for study at Keio University, to VR game development, and finally to securing a publishing deal with one of Japan’s leading VR game studios. Squingle Studios continues to foster Japan-UK collaboration with Squingle and future exciting projects. Currently, Squingle holds the highest user rating on the Meta Quest Store, boasting an almost perfect 5/5 star rating.

After the talk, guests will have the opportunity to try the game themselves on VR devices.

Click here to learn more about Squingle.

About the contributors

Ben Outram

Ben Outram was awarded a Daiwa Scholarship in 2013 after completing a Master’s in Physics and a DPhil in Engineering Science at the University of Oxford. Following the Daiwa Scholarship, he pursued research in Japan, shifting fields to complete a JSPS Postdoc in Virtual Reality and Media Technology at Keio Media Design. There, he contributed to over 10 papers and showcased novel multisensory VR experiences at Sundance Film Festival, Tokyo Game Show, and SIGGRAPH. Returning to the UK in 2017, he worked in the VR industry, authored a book on liquid crystal technology, and founded Squingle Studios, a VR game studio. Squingle has seen successful business development from prototype to global publishing, culminating in a publishing deal with one of Japan’s leading VR game studios, MyDearest.