ART GAME: AND-OR'S PLEASE DONT TOUCH ME! (2019)
Please, Don't Touch Me! is a new artgame by Swiss collective AND-OR. The project begin in 2012 but was never exhibited or released. It can be "played" here or freely downloaded for mac/win. According to the developer, it is about an artificial intelligence on the screen awaiting our input and attention. Below is the official description:
"Please, Don't Touch Me!" makes the dilemma of bullying in social media and in video games immediately perceptible. The user harasses the avatar with every touch (of his cursor) and triggers emotional restlessness that cannot be avoided. Like the analog world, the digital world ultimately is about control. At some point, the annoyed AI has enough and commits suicide - and thus becomes a submissive game ball. A fun slave and new avatar is born.
As René Bauer writes, "The meta question is: Where the npcs and avatars come from, what is the relation between real ai and avatars/npcs - our funslaves. and at the end: this is only a debate about yourself in society - our lives embedded in rules and game mechanics."
Speaking of which, Beat Suter, Mela Kocher, and René Bauer have just released a game studies book titled Games and Rules. Game Mechanics for the Magic Circle. It's an open access publication so you can get the full pdf by clicking here.
AND-OR is an artgroup specializing in media art and gameArt. The group consists of René Bauer, Beat Suter and Mirjam Weder. The group has been operating since 2001 and its HQ is Zurich, Switzerland.
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