I'm not a fan of crowds. Even before I was at risk of getting a respiratory infection. But this glorious sea of colorful splendor strolling, shopping, and strutting through these gorgeous hand-painted fields is an exception.

"We Dwell in Possibility" is a free gardening sandbox by queer game developer (and previous PC Gamer contributor) Robert Yang, whose work is summarized in "Hard Lads. His latest work, a collaboration with cartoonist Eleanor Davis, is a bit more gentle, but no less politically concerned with nudity.

In the empty-handed "We Dwell," a spacious field spreads out before you. Click and drag, and flowers are planted, and a parade of unseen nudes washes over you, slowly at first, then flooding in. Slowly at first, then like a flood, a parade of unseen nudes rushes in. Stereos make them dance, trees give them hats, and big cop hats may turn them into "Tories" who chase strangers around.

Unsightly objects can be dragged off the side of the screen to remove themselves. However, one of your visitors may steal something, whether you like it or not. Maintaining an ideal garden requires constant vigilance.

It is fun to watch the "peeps," as Jan calls them, interact and flow through the space in a manner immediately reminiscent of Michael Frey's crowd sim "Kids." In the commentary accompanying the piece, however, Yang describes his attempt to infuse "We Dwell" with a political bent.

"You, the player, have to negotiate all these decisions indirectly with the peeps who bring their politics and desires into the garden," Jan wrote. 'For example, there are police in this game. They wear pretty rainbow-colored flags. A liberal player might try to "balance" the police presence with "limited gayness," while a queer player might prune the police altogether.

We Dwell in Possibility was created as part of the Manchester International Festival's Virtual Factory installation, preceded by a museum tour inside Fortnite Creative by LaTurbo Avedon

We Dwell in Possibility was created as part of the Virtual Factory installation at the Manchester International Festival, preceded by a museum tour inside Fortnite Creative by LaTurbo Avedon.