Created by Santa Ragione, a micro game-studio based in Milan, Fotonica is a “Pay What You Want” first person game about jumping, sense of speed and discovery. The key is timing, the goal is exploring and traveling flawlessly through the environment. The setting is an abstract – mainly duotone – outlined world, with a look referring to the geometrical abstractions from the 50s a the 3D low-poly gaming era.

Continue reading.... Fotonica [Games]

Created by Matt Ruby, ALT CTRL is a series of works that examine the way we interact with digital systems through the use of experimental interfaces. The three major works in this series are Excitebike, Sympathy for Pacman, and Swap Meet. All three works appropriate an early video game: Excitebike, Pacman and Pro Wrestling as the content for interface. The controls of each game have been subverted to create new experiences with these existing systems.

The series builds on the premise that our relationship to the systems that we use is an fundamental part of who we are and how we understand the world. The focus is on experimental interfaces that attempt to push the boundaries of comfortable interaction by challenging the user with foreign and difficult controls. These interfaces provoke foreign and expressive interactions in hopes of inspiring viewers to question their role as participant.

Excitebike is a piece that replaces hand controller with a helmet embedded with a microphone to control original Nintendo game Excitebike. Sound generated by the user is sent to openFrameworks app for analysis. Volume controls the gas buttons and frequency/pitch controls the lanes up and down.

Sympathy for Pacman is a piece that attempts to recreate the life of the Pacman character. Users must turn around the television to rotate the onscreen character, confronted by an oncoming stream of cheese puffs.

Swapmeat is a piece that includes stripped down Nintendo controller requiring user to moist their fingers tips to allow button presses to be registered (if I read this right). In any case, new behaviour requires user to rethink operation of the interface.

More information as it becomes available on altctrl.matt-ruby.com

Matt Ruby is a designer living in New York City. He is working towards his MFA at Parsons the New School for Design. Skills include logo, identity, print, web, three-dimensional and interactive design as well as producing fine art.

The interactive installation „Game Milestones“ is located in the new permanent exhibition of the Computer Game Museum Berlin. Created by The Product a berlin-based spatial and media-related design practice, the installation includes a wall of cubes (refereed to as ‘pixels’) displaying the most influential computer games in history. The user can access more detailed information and an in-game video by steering a light cursor towards the pixel, using a joystick. The information and video are then displayed on two monitors which are integrated in the exhibition architecture designed by Schiel Projektgesellschaft.

The glowing cursor, the archetypical selection tool, as a manifestation of the digital in the physical world is a commentary on the current trend to augmented reality, a technique which is more and more being used also in mobile gaming.

Commissioned by computerspielemuseum.de

Exhibition designed by Schiel Projektgesellschaft

The installation was created using openFrameworks for video playback and text rendering as well as creativecomputing.cc for joystick input and DMX control.

Created by Roger Ibars (2002–2011), Hard-wired devices combines game controllers and alarm clocks. Daniel puts it beautifully “frees the controller from it’s console and lets the beauty of it’s interface to sing”.

Each item includes manufacturer, designer, serial number, newly mapped control details and much more..

rogeribars.com

In July 2003 Roger Ibars graduated with a Master in Interaction Design from the Royal College of Art in London. Here he initiates a research interest in how objects would be loosing interest in interacting with the users. He illustrated this research in the book “Self-made objects”, a collection of daily objects that experience their functions. These objects investigate a new area for interaction design where things take control of their functions and therefore use themselves.more..

/via danielrehn, retrothing.com

Released in 2009 and developed by Camel Games, Space Physics is … (ok, you guessed), a physics game for Android with something like, let’s say, a “neo-retro-gaming-tron-like” design.

Your goal is to help a little green ball reach a shiny star (or many of them) in a gravity environment (uses box2d physics engine), through a solid structure made of static and sometimes moving elements (usualy in white) which, in this case, can be moved or animated. If the ball goes outside of the screen limits, another one drops at the same initial location. The only aim is to do it as quick as possible, having no time limit. Note that you’re not tight to a level-by-level progression as well and can jump to any of the 80 currently existing ones (for the full version) whenever you want.

To complete a level, the green ball can be slowly moved via a double-tap or pushed, carried and guided by the elements that you draw on screen. Elements kind (wire, wheel, gear) is defined by how and where you draw them. They later can be erased via a double-tap or by shaking your device. Round shapes are turned into wheels which can roll on underneath structures, unless drawn in the middle of a solid structure, in which case they become a gear and have a fixed position. Free shapes fall on underneath structures and can be used as guides, hooks, trampolines, …
Free shapes or wheels can also be attached to a gear, in which case, they can rotate, until they hit (or push) another element. Finally, you can also link two wheels, turning them is a sort of a car.

These elements thus can be combined in a lot of different ways to help you reach you goal. And that’s where the real added value of this game is, in a sense that there is not a single approximative path to complete a level, unlike many other games of this kind. There are as many paths as your imagination and elements combination skills can elaborate. And as you gain experience, you’ll probably want to go back to previous levels and do a better score.

Developed by Camel Games
Platform: Android
Version: 1.8.0
Cost: free (10 levels), $1.99 for the full version (80 levels)
Available from: Android Market

Nominated as the finalist for IGF 2011, Hazard: The Journey Of Life, created by Alexander Bruce aka Demruth is a philosophical first person single player environmental puzzle game.

Built using Unreal Engine 3, Hazard is a response to the monotony of popular games and Demruth desire to create a game he always wanted to create. Starting with simple rules such as removing ability to shoot in the first person shooter type game, Hazard focuses on immersive experience of something that resembles Snake, but instead of controlling a snake, it is you navigating the virtual space, exploring and discovering and defining goals for yourself.

Lets go back to the beginning. The development of “Hazard” technically started at the end of 2006 when I created the Dynamic Geometry system. It started out as an abstract prototype for Snake, and I somehow ended up with a cool way to build levels that were completely mutable. Back at this stage, Hazard got its name because the game was all about being violent and having the world kill the player if they weren’t skillful enough. Although Hazard existed as a multiplayer arena combat game, I was more interested in seeing what I could do with the geometry itself. I spent about 6 months working on it at this stage, which was also 6 months of learning the Unreal Engine, before I decided that I wouldn’t get it all working smoothly over a network, and I put the system down. more

The game is not avaialable for download just yet but you can follow the development on Demruth’s blog including read about general thoughts and processes that have influenced how the game has developed into what can only be described as layers of imagination driven by personal pursual to create and change.

(images source uncommonassembly.com)

Artist Paul Slocum, inspired by keyboards of the 80′s like Casio SK-1 and Yamaha, created Sampleton, an iPhone application that allows you to sample sounds and play them on the keyboard. In addition, a number of tempos are available to work on top as well as ability to save configurations and switch on demand.

Sir Sampleton is a sampling keyboard, which means it can record sounds through the microphone that you can then play on a keyboard. If you want the sound of bagpipes or bells, then just use Sampleton to sample some bagpipes or bells. Or if you want more unique sounds, you can make samples with your own voice or noisy objects you find around the house.

Features:

- Sample through the microphone and then play your samples on the dual keyboards
- Save and recall your samples
- Add rhythm with the built-in beats and random beat generator
- Tweak advanced sound settings such as vibrato, note trail length, and sample time
- Put one sample on each keyboard in dual-sample mode

sir Sampleton is the first release from Paul’s new software company SOFTOFT TECHECH.

Platform: iPhone
Version: 1.0
Cost: $2.99
Developer: SOFTOFT TECHECH

(found via rhizome)

Latest game from Shaun Inman, Horror Vacui 2 is a two-player abstract strategy board game based on the antiquated notion that nature abhors a vacuum. The game involved two players (cpu or 2 humans), Water and Earth, who take turns placing pieces on the board. The temperature of each piece affects adjacent pieces. The player with the most normal temperature pieces when the board is full wins.

This is a paid update to the first version we wrote about few months back. Ver 2 brings two player mode, isometric view and a new soundtrack EP. Interestingly, unlike the audio in the first Horror Vacui which was created using the Korg DS-10 the sequel’s music and sound effects were produced generatively in MML.

Mac version of the game has also been submitted to the Mac AppStore.

NEW IN HORROR VACUI 2
- Same engaging strategy
- New dexterity-based reels and familiar luck of the draw cards
- Two board sizes for longer or shorter play times
- All new 8-bit isometric graphics
- Unique temperature and element animations
- Expanded and remixed 8-bit music plus all new sound effects

Platform: iPhone/iPad (Universal)
Version: 1.0
Cost: $1.99
Developer: Shaun Inman

Previously on CA:
Fever [WebApp]: New RSS Reader WebApp by Shaun Inman …
Horror Vacui [iPhone]: Find complexity in even the most simple of …
Mimeo [iPhone, Games] – Game by @shauninman

It’s been a long wait but we all knew it was coming. Edge from Mobigame is now available for the iPad. It is one of those games that should probably ship installed on iPhone and iPads and personally one of my favorite games ever made for the platform. This is what we wrote back in January 2009:

Edge adopts slightly retro graphics, consistent throughout the interface and gameplay. Beautifully designed menus, icons and the levels make the game truly enjoyable. A nice addition is the tilt controls although it is something we can see using once we have completed all the levels, which definitely adds to the replay value. We were also very pleased to see that should you make an error and fall off the “edge” you continue where you left of rather than restarting the level. This allows you to take more risks which is great and not be too worried if you miss the edge. Perfection, of course, is the key and your movement through the level for your cube to be in harmony with the landscape.

Edge won many awards and in case you haven’t played it yet, there is no longer any excuse. It is universal and available both for the iPhone and iPad.

What’s new:
-Faster, Better, Stronger!
- General Performance Improved
- 5 unlocked levels instead of 1
- New login screen to send your score with iOS4
- Optimized for Retina display
- Optimized for iPad

“Milthon Award for Best Mobile Game”. (Festival du Jeu Video). Awarded at the International Mobile Gaming Award in the “Excellence in gameplay” category. Triple finalist in IGF mobile 2009. Named by Apple as one of their 30 “Favorite Games” on the App Store’s first birthday.

Platform: iPhone/iPad (Universal)
Version: 1.5
Cost: $2.99
Developer: Mobigame

The theme of the pixel invaders has accompanied Christian Gross for several years now. The first projects was the blinkdrawer, an arduino based installation that draws random generated invaders with light. Latest in the series was the creation of  32767 invaders generated using Processing. They are collected in posters (see below) each including 2352 invaders.

Created using Processing.

Project Page

Like space invaders? See also:
Space Invaders Infinity Gene 3.0 [iPhone, Games]
Light Invaders [Flash, WebApp, openFrameworks]