Syndicate: Happy Doomsday!

[calin@euronet.nl (Calin Dan)]

HAPPY DOOMSDAY!

HD! is an art environment using the conventions of computer games. and
reflecting on the culture of war as seen from Europe at the threshold
between historic and post-historic times. The project was first presented
at the Ars Electronica Festival (Linz, September 07-10, 1998), with a
single user prototype; and will be part of DEAF (Rotterdam, November 17-29,
1998), with a two users installation.

1. General. HD! is an installation with 2 fitness machines connected to a
media system. The installation interfaces to a multi users 3d environment,
which is a simulator of the European war history based on the political map
of the continent. Through workout the users are given an instrument to
induce dynamic changes of the borders, and also to navigate in spaces
presenting warfare as a set of narratifs.

2. Game set-up. Before starting to play, the users make 2 options on a
touch screen.
User 1:
a. avatar (any political unit that the user wants to represent);
b. target (any political unit that the user aims at conquering).
User 2:
a. avatar (any, except the avatar of User 1);
b. target (either the avatar or the target of User 1).

3. Navigation.
a. Tactical level: a 3d map of Europe, with the countries designed as
autonomous objects, separated by emphasized borders.
b. Exploration level: same as bove, but perceived from a ground prospective
and populated with objects and events setting the environment for war
clashes.
c. Adventure level - a system of dungeons containing narrative threads
based on war related issues (money, media, natural resources, technology
etc.).

4. Hardware interface. The fitness machines are set at a low level of
weight in order to allow extended work out; they are interfaced with the
computers through sensors reading the movements of each respective user.
The machines are designed in order to perform the function of a joy pad,
allowing the player to:
- influence the war procedures (work out increases the surface of the avatar);
- navigate in real time at and within all levels of the HD! environment.
- perform tasks connected to war games routine (shooting, hitting, bouncing).

5. Interaction. The users are involved with each other directly, by the
behavior of the avatars at the tactical level, and by the mediated action
of helpers, agents and weapons at the other two levels. The set of rules
which determine the game resolution are as follows:
- tactical level provides direct response to the work out by the
increase/decrease of the avatars/target;
- ground level requires a correct navigation towards the target;
- dungeons level offers a set of opportunities to perform direct aggression
on the content of the game (destruction of textures, geometries, light
system).
A good performance in all those aspects will respond in the increase of the
respective avatar until it takes over the target.

With a graphic and sound environments redesigning samples from art history,
military history, science, media, folklore, pop culture etc.,
HD! is a metaphor based war machine, and also a game about game playing.


The production of HD! was possible due to the support of V2_Institute for
Unstable Media; V2_Lab; Mondriaan Stichting; Prins Bernhard Fonds; Ars
Electronica Center; Fonds voor de Beeldende Kunst, Vormgeving en Bouwkunst.