PlayfulNESs

Mar Canet, Jayme Cochrane, Travis Kirton
2010
Interface Cultures

In the field of interactive installation artwork, GameArt interfaces have been extremely popular means of expression. In most cases GameArt pieces take single concepts, standarized and popularized throughout the history of computer gaming, and expand on them through new forms of interface design, computational design, or enhanced graphic environments. With PlayfulNES  we are creating new, fullbodied interfaces for classic Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) games. The artistic purpose behind the design of these installations (PunchOut!!!, Super Mario Treadmill, capGunsmoke) is to explore the possibilities of expanding old games and old technologies to create new experiences using low-level technical approaches for interactive media artworks.

Exhibition at:
IC at ars electronica 2010, 2nd to 11th September 2010, Linz, Austria.

Im Bereich interaktiver Kunstinstallationen sind GameArt Interfaces sehr populär. In den meisten Fällen nehmen diese einzelne Konzeptteile standardistierter und populärer Computerspielen, und erweitern sie durch neue Formen des Interface und  Computer Design, oder verbessern das grafische Environment. Mit der Arbeit PlayfulNESs, die aus drei Installationen PunchOut!!!, Super Mario Treadmill, capGunsmoke besteht,  kreieren wir neue, mächtige Interfaces für klassische Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Spiele. Die künstlerische Absicht hinter dem Design dieser Installationen ist es, Möglichkeiten der Erweiterung von alten Computer Games und Technologien zu erforschen um neue Erfahrungsmodi mit einfachen technischen Ansätzen in der interaktiver Medienkunst zu erschaffen.

PunchOut!!!
PunchOut!!! is an artistic installation that remediates the classic Nintendo game of the same title. It achieves its classification through the design of a custom interface that forces participants into a fullbodied experience. The installation actually “fights back” with a player… When the character on-screen is hit during a boxing match, the installation briefly flashes a bright light in an attempt to create a sense of disorientation for the player. The physicality of punching the soft screen, hopping back and forth in all directions, and the consequences of being “hit” amount to a physically embodied experience of a game that was originally playable only with one’s fingertips.

Super Mario Treadmill
One of the most recognizable video games of all time, Super Mario Bros., takes a twist when a treadmill is re-configuringed to act as the game's original control pad. Switching thumbs for feet, players must run on the treadmill – backwards and forwards – to move the character left and right. By tracking speed and direction, the treadmill enables players to move Mario at both walking and running speeds in either direction. By hopping back and forth onto pads at each side of the treadmill, players can also jump and duck their character on screen. In the same light as PunchOut!!!, Super Mario Treadmill creates an entirely new physical interface with all the same functionality of the original game.

capGunsmoke
The sound of a (cap)gunshot triggers a new kind of physical interaction in capGunsmoke. Playing off the old-west style shooter game for the NES, players are forced to shoot a real cap gun in order to take down outlaws. In the original game, Gunsmoke, players had to shoot off an incredible amount of bullets in every level. Now in capGunsmoke, not only do they have to take down as many opponents, they also have to aim and shoot their own cap gun. Through the use of floor pads, controlling the game is like moving back and forth in the saloon itself. As players move side to side for aiming, the system tracks the gun for aiming and registers the shots. As the smell of burned caps fills the air a machine billows smoke across the floor, creating a truly multi-sensory physical game experience.