MON September 8 2014, 5 PM
Ars Electronica Center, Deep Space

So-called serious games and other game-based solutions to problems have achieved notable successes in recent years when called upon to tackle a wide variety of problems—for instance, analyzing huge data sets or motivating XXL couch potatoes to get more exercise. Nevertheless, there’s hardly been any improvement in the framework conditions for the interaction of a lot of players in one and the same real space—it’s still gaming’s terra incognita.

Game Changer, a digital game suite assembled especially for Deep Space, boldly goes forth into this unexplored domain. It consists of several multiplayer game prototypes that function only by means of players’ physical presence and movements, and makes possible multifarious varieties of collaborative gaming.

Team
Jeremiah Diephuis (US), Andreas Friedl (AT), Wolfgang Hochleitner (AT), Georgi Kostov (BG), Michael Lankes (AT), Poorya Piroozan (IR), Christoph Schaufler (AT), Daniel Wilfinger (AT)

To illustrate the evolution of computer games Teh House of Pong compares iconic games from the past with recent games. The direct comparison of old and recent games shows both breaks and continuities in the technology, the game design and the visual style.

Tracing the basic genres

Vom Klassiker Pong ausgehend, widmet sich die Präsentation den Entwicklungen der grundlegenden Spielgenres: Shooters/Shmups, Action Games, Adventures, Jump & Run Games, und Racing Games.

Neue Konsolen

Starting from the original Pong game, the presentation traces some of the basic genres: Shooters/Shmups, Action Games, Adventures, Jump & Run Games, and Racing games. In the early days of computer games consumer expectations exceeded the technology. Graphical fidelity was one of the main selling points of any new system.

Constant change

Today there is a new console generation on the market; handhelds, tablets and mobile devices are everywhere. The market is constantly changing, just like the business and distribution models. Looking back at the past may just help shed light on the future.