Two architecture students show games at the Bartlett

The Bartlett Autumn Show 2026 is the annual exhibition of postgraduate work at the Bartlett School of Architecture at University College London. Seven courses take part, including the Cinematic and Videogame Architecture MArch, whose students make films, games and VR pieces as design projects. It runs through Oct. 11 at 22 Gordon Street, and the full show is also online.

NIBO, by Jian Chen, is a 2.5D side-scrolling narrative puzzle game set deep underground in a distant future, in a world based on Boulby Mine in North Yorkshire. The player switches between two characters: NIBO, a mining robot, and an ancient slime mold. The robot walks a fixed side-on path and moves objects. The mold crosses walls and ceilings, grows over surfaces and breaks weakened structures from inside. While the player controls the mold, slow geological change becomes visible and opens new paths for the robot. The course posted footage on Oct. 7.

The Noon Loop, by Yuet Ching Lo, is a restaurant seating simulation set in a Hong Kong diner at lunch, where strangers share tables to save space and time. The player fits groups of customers into a procedurally generated floor plan. Some customer types dislike sitting together, regulars have favorite spots, and events in the city change who walks in. Lo plans to release it on Steam in the fourth quarter of 2026, and a trailer is on the course's Instagram.