This year, we're taking our Open Access Week (October 19-25) celebrations completely online!

Join us from anywhere and play...

Open Axis: The Open Access Video Game. Choose your own adventure.  

About Open Access Week

International Open Access Week is a time for the wider community to coordinate in taking action to make openness the default for research and to ensure that equity is at the center of this work. Open Access is a growing international movement that uses the Internet to throw open the locked doors that once hid knowledge. Encouraging the unrestricted sharing of research results with everyone, the Open Access movement is gaining ever more momentum around the world as research funders and policy makers put their weight behind it.

Why the game?

Gamification can be a useful tool to explain concepts with lots of “it depends” answers. Crucially, games acknowledge that there are many different paths to success, much like scholarship. Appreciating current circumstances, we want to reach our users asynchronously and online, through dynamic modes of engagement. Our original game has elements of both interactive storytelling and classic 8-bit video games, capturing the familiarity and nostalgia of simpler times.  

Why important?

As our library and services continue to evolve to support scholarly life during the pandemic and beyond, we recognize the need to constantly reflect on the role of the library in a scholar’s journey. The experiences reflected in the game underscore the cornerstone role of the library at UCLA. The emphasis on Open Access is organic, since the need for accessible, sharable research is integral to Bruin values and identity. Interactions with our users and real lived experiences have informed the creation and development of the game. We hope that everyone playing our game will be able to see themselves in the diverse character profiles and experience the profound impact open access can have on scholars.

Why now?

Each year in October, the UCLA Library works to highlight Open Access principles and impacts. Last year, we made gamified Open Access an event, highlighting how open access touches the lives of all of our scholars. As most of our community continues to work and study from home, we wanted to enable connections to UCLA Library and fellow Bruin researchers. This browser-based game provides a unique, play-based environment where Bruin’s imaginations can roam. As the Library works to adapt and continue our services to support research and instruction, the game facilitates learning through play. There has never been a more important time to celebrate the power of openly accessible research.