Prototyping/2025-2026/XPUB2

Compared to last year, prototyping is a bit different this year. Where in the first year prototyping provided you with a lot of input, the second year is all about you processing this input (mixed with other sources of input of course), to find something specific that you would like to focus on this year.

In the beginning of the year, it is quite likely that you do not know exactly yet what this focus point is, and that's oke! ☺ The prototyping classes will support you in this search, in different ways, through:

prototyping (of course!)
peer learning
tutorial support
public try-outs/release events

An important note to add is that you can choose to work collectively or individually throughout the whole year, or find a combination of the two. You cannot write a thesis collectively^[1], but you can graduate with a collective research project! Maybe some parts of your prototyping research are done collectively, while other parts are done on your own. Or maybe you and others work on something very specific that is presented within a collective framework at the gradshow. Just find a way of working that works for you!

Another important note to add is that the thesis and the research project (can) go hand-in-hand! It is up to you how you combine the two, we recommend to not approach these as two separate things. How can the one feed the other and visa-versa?

The public try-outs/release events of this year:

XPUB try-outs night #1: Monday 1 December 2025 @ PZI
XPUB try-outs night #2: Monday 16 March 2026 @ Leeszaal
XPUB gradshow: July? 2026 @ ???

Trimester 3

This schedule is based on 1 hour tutorials for each student every two weeks, without assigned tutor groups (the schedule is too irregular for this). Which means that each student has 5 tutorials this trimester.

WEEK 0

Monday 6 April

No class: Easter

WEEK 1

Monday 13 April

10:00 -11:00 Class Catchup
11:00-13:00 Interpretive Licensing workshop by sevgi
14:00-17:00: tutorials with Kamo + Manetta

Tutorials with Kamo

Fred
kim
Martina

Tutorials with Manetta

kiara
lexie
<sevgi>

WEEK 2

Monday 20 April

10:00-11:00: Trimester 2/Leeszaal feedback
11:00-12:00: grad publication handover
14:00-17:00: tutorials with Manetta

Tutorials with Manetta

tessa
feline
<claudio>

Tuesday 21 April

10:00-17:00: tutorials with Manetta

Tutorials with Manetta

morning:

eleni
chrissy
charlie

afternoon:

wyn
imre
<yourname>

WEEK 3

Monday 27 April

No class: May break

WEEK 4

Monday 4 May

14:00-17:00: tutorials with Kamo + Manetta

Tutorials with Kamo

zuhui
<claudio>
<yourname>

Tutorials with Manetta

kiara
feline
kim

WEEK 5

Monday 11 May

10:00-11:00: tutorial with Manetta
15:00-17:00: tutorials with Manetta

Tutorials with Manetta

feline
<yourname>
<yourname>

Tuesday 12 May

10:00-17:00: tutorials with Kamo

Tutorials with Kamo

morning:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

afternoon:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

WEEK 6

Monday 18 May

10:00-13:00: tutorials with Kamo
14:00-17:00: tutorials with Kamo + Manetta

Tutorials with Kamo

morning:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

afternoon:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

Tutorials with Manetta

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

WEEK 7

Monday 25 May

No class: Pentacost

Tuesday 26 May

10:00-17:00: tutorials with Manetta

Tutorials with Manetta

morning:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

afternoon:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

WEEK 8

Monday 1 June

14:00-17:00: tutorials with Kamo + Manetta

Tutorials with Kamo

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

Tutorials with Manetta

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

WEEK 9

Monday 8 June

10:00-17:00: tutorials with Kamo 
14:00-17:00: tutorials with Manetta

Tutorials with Kamo

morning:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

afternoon:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

Tutorials with Manetta

afternoon:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

WEEK 10

Monday 15 June

10:00-17:00: tutorials with Kamo + Manetta (presentation rehearsals)

Tutorials with Kamo

morning:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

afternoon:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

Tutorials with Manetta

morning:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<kiara>

afternoon:

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

Tuesday 16 June

14:00-17:00: tutorials with Manetta (presentation rehearsals)

Tutorials with Manetta

<yourname>
<yourname>
<yourname>

WEEK 11

Monday 22 + 23 June

Assessments

Trimester 2

WEEK 0

Monday 5 January

No class (workshop with Clara)

WEEK 1

Monday 12 January with Manetta

pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-trim2-WEEK-1

morning: collective organising

introduce this trimester
feedback/reflect on Try-outs night #1
Try-outs night #2
graduation publication
workshops.xpub.nl proposal

afternoon: tutorials with Manetta

14:00-15:00 kiara + lexie
15:00-16:00 eleni + kim
16:00-17:00 wyn + claudio

WEEK 2

Monday 19 January with Manetta + Kamo

morning: workshops (self-organized)

10:00-11:30 <workshop>
11:30-13:00 <workshop>

afternoon: tutorials with Kamo

14:00-15:00 kiara + charlie
15:00-16:00 sevgi + wyn
16:00-17:00 lexie + ...

afternoon: tutorials with Manetta

14:00-15:00 eleni(got a tut last week too, so if anyone needs this slot lmk) + fred
15:00-16:00 tessa + chrissy
16:00-17:00 imre + zuhui

WEEK 3

Monday 26 January with Manetta

pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-trim2-WEEK-3

morning: collective organising + workshop

10:00-11:30 collective organising: try-outs night #2 x publication x graduation
11:30-13:00 <workshop> ✧ Charlie's ZineFair Magic Workshop Prototype Workshop ✧

afternoon: tutorials with Manetta

14:00-15:00 kim + ...
15:00-15:30 lexie 
(From 15:30-17:00 Manetta in check in + resubmit.)

WEEK 4

Monday 2 February with Manetta + Kamo

morning: workshops (self-organized)

10:00-11:30 <workshop> Tessa
11:30-13:00 <workshop> (definitely not Lexie)

afternoon: tutorials with Kamo

14:00-15:00 Fred + ...
15:00-16:00 kim (had a tutorial last week, if someone else needs this spot, pls take it!) + ...
16:00-17:00 ... + ...

afternoon: tutorials with Manetta

14:00-15:00 ... + ...
15:00-16:00 ... + ...
16:00-17:00 ... + ...

WEEK 5

Monday 9 February with Manetta

pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-trim2-WEEK-5

morning: collective organising + workshop

10:00-11:30 collective organising: try-outs night + publication (Martina + Feline + ? will prepare a prototype)
11:30-13:00 <workshop> Feline

afternoon: tutorials with Manetta

14:00-15:00 Martina + wyn
15:00-16:00 Charlie (online) + ...
16:00-17:00 sevgi + ...

WEEK 6

SPRING BREAK

WEEK 7

Monday 23 February with Manetta + Kamo

morning: workshops (self-organized)

10:00-11:30 <workshop>
11:30-13:00 <workshop>

afternoon: tutorials with Kamo

14:00-15:00 ... + ...
15:00-16:00 ... + ...
16:00-17:00 ... + ...

afternoon: tutorials with Manetta

14:00-15:00 charlie + ...
15:00-16:00 fred + ...
16:00-17:00 ... + ...

WEEK 8

Monday 2 March with Manetta

pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/030226prototyping

morning: collective organising + workshop

10:00-11:30 publication: Tessa, Kim, Chrissy and Imre present prototype
11:30-13:00 Try-Out Night Discussion w/ Manetta

- [update] we can gather at Leeszaal at 10:00 in the morning (instead of 16:00)

- [warm up] starting from the middle: what format does your collective memory carry already?
(5 min solo, then sharing)
>>> jam session (sounds of marmelade)
>>> fair (zine fair)
>>> ...

- [parameters] what is possible in the time and space we have?
(all together)

- [preps] what do you want to try out? 
(in groups of 2)

--- research related
>>> use this as a deadline to make something and present it
>>> gather data for research
>>> organise workshop
>>> rehearse performance
>>> game testing
>>> ...

--- collective organising related
>>> produce/gather material for publication
>>> invent protocols for collective decision making  
>>> practice specific role in self-organising process
>>> test a format
>>> ...

- [next steps] what needs to be done?

afternoon: tutorials with Manetta

14:00-15:00 chrissy + eleni
15:00-16:00 ... + ...
16:00-17:00 claudio + sevgi

WEEK 9

Monday 9 March with Manetta

morning: workshops (self-organized)

10:00-11:30 <workshop>
11:30-13:00 <workshop>

afternoon: ~~tutorials with Manetta~~ (cancled due to sickness)

14:00-15:00 imre + ...
15:00-16:00 kim + ...
16:00-17:00 ... + ...

Thursday 12 March with Kamo

afternoon: tutorials with Kamo

14:00-15:00 charlie + kiara
15:00-16:00 chrissy + zuhui
16:00-17:00 imre + kim

+ claudio +fred?

WEEK 10

Monday 16 March with Manetta

pad: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-trim2-WEEK-10

morning: collective organising + workshop

10:00-11:30 collective organising

check in: Projects in Progress
- is invite text + flyer ready?
- who to invite + who sends the invites
- plan for the day at Leeszaal

discuss: grad publication
- kim prepared questions for the group to respond to: https://pad.xpub.nl/p/gradpub26-sliding-scale
- feline will calculate production of 300/400 pages books
- a first rough draft for how the budget can be split
- a first rough draft for how the budget can be split
- what workflow could be used to produce the publication? (mapping postponed to April)
- who will join the publication station session on Monday 30 March?

11:30-13:00 Sevgi Workshop

afternoon: ~~tutorials with Manetta~~ (cancled due to sickness)

14:00-15:00 ... + ...
15:00-16:00 imre + ...
16:00-16:30 ... 
17:00-19:00 EXTRA: presentation by secret guest of Doriane (CONFIRMED!)

WEEK 11

Monday 23 March with Manetta + Kamo

all day: prototyping @ Leeszaal

10:00-18:00

+ evening: 18:00-21:00/22:00 Try-outs night #2

WEEK 12

Monday 30 March

No class (XPUB1 assessments)

morning: workshops (self-organized)

10:00-11:30 <workshop>
11:30-13:00 <workshop>

Trimester 1

To support the explorative making process of your research this year, we will focus on making a range of prototypes this trimester! The idea is that you make (at least) 5 prototypes in the coming 10 weeks, either collectively or individually. A prototype can be many things: different (small) performative situations, a range of mini-games, a technical exploration, a material research, a range of tools made with a specific intention, a series of scripts for writing particular stories, a set of poetic webpages... (etc!). Make sure that (1) these prototypes can stand on their own feet to some degree, in other words: they don't need your presence to be meaningful to someone else; and (2) that you document them well.

To activate and share your process, we will organise peer learning workshops every Monday morning. During these sessions you are asked to translate your research (in whatever state it currently is) into a workshop. The format of this workshop is totally open and up to you to fill in. These workshops can be hosted collectively or individually and will last 1 hour, after which we will take 30 minutes for a conversation and feedback moment. This makes the workshops short, which is something to keep in mind for your preparations, and will force you to filter something out of all the things that you in the middle of. Each of you is asked to do at least one, there are 18 slots in total, so there is space to do a second one eventually.

There will be time in the afternoon for tutorials, again in groups or individually -- that's up to you, in which you can ask for any kind of support, related to your prototypes, workshop or adjacent things.

At the end of the trimester we will organise a XPUB try-outs night on the 4th floor of the PZI!

SESSION 0

Monday 15 September
with Manetta

morning: Welcome to prototyping season II!
afternoon: Q&A with Michael + tutorials (individual this week, in groups of 3)
- 14:00-15:00 - Q&A with Michael
- 15:00-16:00 - kiara + Feline + Tessa
- 16:00-17:00 - Fred + sevgi + Kim

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-sept-15

SESSION 1

Monday 22 September
with Manetta

morning: workshops
- 5 minute conference how to not dual boot (Kiara can show life examples)
- Glitches Corruption and Noise - How To Gore Files
- Knitting 101
afternoon: tutorials (individual this week, in groups of 3)
- 14:00-15:00 - imre + lexie + chrissy
- 15:00-16:00 - charlie + claudio + zuhui
- 16:00-17:00 - eleni + ... + ...

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-sept-23

SESSION 2

Monday 29 September
with Michael

morning: workshops
- Feline + Sevgi → User:Sevgi/Word Workshop
- Michael on git → https://git.xpub.nl/XPUB/git_workshop/src/branch/main/NOTES.md
afternoon: tutorials (individual, in groups of 3)
- 14:00-15:00 - lexie + ... + ...
- 15:00-16:00 - .sevgi. + ... + ...
- 16:00-17:00 - Claudio + kim + ...

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-sept-30

SESSION 3

Monday 6 October
with ~~Manetta~~ (Michael will be filling in)

morning: workshops
- imre User:Imre/Creation Relations Workshop
- ...

afternoon: tutorials (individual, in groups of 3)

   14:00-15:00 - Feline + sevgi + fred
   15:00-16:00 - wyn + Charlie + Imre
   16:00-17:00 - Claudio + ... + ...

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-oct-7

SESSION 4

Monday 13 October
with Michael

morning: workshops
- Lexie - Crafting Digital Stories - Interactive Fiction
- Eleni and Kim - Alt Text Workshop
afternoon: tutorials (please sign in to pick a grouping)

15:00-16:00 - kiara + eleni + martina
16:00-17:00 sorry i needed to reclaim this slot
17:00-18:00 - Lexie + ... + ...

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-oct-14

BREAK

Monday 20 October

Vacation: Autumn break

SESSION 5

Monday 27 October
with Michael

morning: workshops
- martina: collective mapping
- Deno - CLI Quizes???
afternoon: tutorials (individual, in groups of 3)

   14:30-15:30 - KIM + Chrissy + eleni
   15:30-16:30 - Lexie + Fred + tessa
   16:30-17:30 - Claudio + zuhui + Charlie

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-oct-27

SESSION 6

Monday 3 November
with Manetta

morning: workshops
- charlie: Protocols for Magic
- kiara: XPUB Magic webring
afternoon: tutorials (individual, in groups of 3)

14:00-15:00 - collective temperature check (prototypes, mock assessments, try-outs night #1)
15:00-16:00 - imre + sevgi + Feline
16:00-17:00 - Kiara + Lexie + Fred

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-nov-3

SESSION 7

Monday 10 November
with Michael

morning: workshops
- sevgi (willing to trade slots if you need this spot)
- Feline
afternoon: tutorials (individual, in groups of 3)

   14:00-15:00 - wyn + ... + ...
   15:00-16:00 - lexie + ... + ...
   16:00-17:00 - ... + ... + ...

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-nov-10

SESSION 8

Monday 17 November
with Manetta

morning: workshops
- kim: writing script(s)
- fred
afternoon: collective check-in try-outs night (20 min) + tutorials

15:00-16:00 - Lexie + Fred + ...
16:00-17:00 - Claudio + Chrissy + Sevgi

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-nov-17

SESSION 9

Monday 24 November
with Michael (afternoon) + Manetta (morning)

morning: workshops
- Claudio: https://git.xpub.nl/c3/workshop-lost-in-terminal
- chrissy: weasyprint workshop
afternoon:

14:00-15:30 - workshop with Wyn
15:30-16:00 - tryouts night check-in
16:00-17:00 - claudio + ... + ...

https://pad.xpub.nl/p/XPUB2-prototyping-nov-24

SESSION 10

Monday 1 December
with Manetta + Michael

Building up for XPUB Try-outs night #1 tonight!

Open questions:

start & end time: proposal 17:00-19:00
announcement: poster? message to all PZI students?
snacks: ?
available spaces: Tryoutnights available space 2025

Footnotes

↑ Though you can individually write about your respective roles in a collective project in your thesis, as was the case in the project Habitat, by Jacopo Lega and Federico Poni.

[1] Though you can individually write about your respective roles in a collective project in your thesis, as was the case in the project Habitat, by Jacopo Lega and Federico Poni.

[1]