Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley: The Delusion

The Delusion is an immersive video game installation by Danielle Brathwaite-Shirley, presented at the Serpentine Gallery in London from September 2025 to January 2026. Set in a fractured future called "Peace by Isolation," visitors play cooperatively using a set of bespoke physical controllers — navigating questions of polarization, censorship, and social reconnection through participatory gameplay.

As part of my ongoing relationship with The Serpentine Galleries Arts Technologies team, I was asked to help research and prototype a number of custom game controllers across three games. Working from initial conceptual designs, I developed the electronics and firmware for three controller types: a tilting table controller, a controller built around the physical action of opening and closing a door, and four working floor lamps that functioned as joysticks. Each went through iterative prototyping before I delivered the final production electronics and mechanical components, which were then incorporated into their finished forms by The White Wall Company.