jonas hansen

Jour Fixe: ./neu(see)land.log

Fri, 12 Dec 2025 10:12:50 +0000

Talk about my sabbatical semester in Aotearoa/New Zealand in winter 2024/25. I explored the question of how game design can contribute positively to the climate and sustainability debate. During my research semester, I exchanged theory for practice: in an artistic residency in a renaturation project in Kawakawa (Aotearoa/New Zealand), I literally stood with my feet in the swamp – searching for a meaningful creative contribution.

The lecture took place on October 21st 2025 as part of the Jour Fix programme at Burg Giebichenstein - University of Art and Design Halle. Produced with the kind support of BURG StreamLab.

Wairepo Wetland Stories - Episode 3, 2024

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 23:11:19 +0000

Wairepo Wetland Stories - Episode 3

A musical and poetic walk through a small place with a big story.

Audiowalk by Nora Hansen (norahansen.de)
Digital experience by Jonas Hansen

Featuring stories by Sonja van Kerkhoff and Sen McGlinn, Maori proverbs by Wiremu Keretene and Binny Birch, poetry by Piet Nieuwland (pietnieuwland.com), music played by Nora Hansen, Ensemble La Rubina(la-rubina.de) and I Fedeli (ifedeli.org) and Taonga Pūoro (trad. Maori instruments) by Ben Hoadley (soundcloud.com/ben-hoadley).

Wairepo Wetland Stories - Episode 2, 2024

Fri, 13 Dec 2024 23:01:00 +0000

Wairepo Wetland Stories - Episode 2

A minimalist card puzzle game where you work to restore a threatened wetland. Free the area from invasive plants and rubbish, plant trees to create space for a vibrant and thriving ecosystem. Game inspired by the work of Sonja and Sen in their wetland in Kawakawa New Zealand.

Wetlands are among the most productive ecosystems on the planet. They filter water, protect against floods, provide habitat, and storing far more carbon per area than forests.

Wairepo Wetland Stories - Episode 1, 2024

Fri, 18 Oct 2024 20:09:26 +0000

“Our wetland may be small, but plays a crucial role in supporting the environmental health of animals and plants and it moderates flood risk.

Diverse ecosystems are the foundation of life. They can be big or small, but they all make a difference.

Help to create and protect them!”

Game inspired by the work of Sonja and Sen in their wetland in Kawakawa New Zealand.

Through the game, we aim to raise awareness about the vital ecosystems endangered by human activity, which play a crucial role in sustaining the environmental health of animals and plants.

games for future - research wiki

Thu, 25 Jul 2024 15:53:50 +0000

The man-made climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time. In every domain, we’re forced to question the status quo, and the gaming industry is no exception. On this wiki, we aim to tackle a fundamental question: How can we, as a sensitive and self-reflective community of independent game developers and academics, contribute to shaping a sustainable future for both our medium and our planet? Inspired by the positive utopias of solarpunk, we want to look into a hopeful future and discuss how games might play a positive part in it.

virtual boom, 2023

Thu, 30 Nov 2023 22:01:00 +0000

Virtual fireworks made for my children.

We can no longer afford to harm the environment by setting off firecrackers. It is crucial to be considerate and responsible with our Earth’s resources. Our climate and the animals will be grateful if we celebrate the New Year without firecrackers. However, for those who cannot do without them, I have developed this small app.

Light up a digital firecracker: //pixelsix.net/virtualboom

Happy New Year!

Talk: Expanding Media @werkleitz: Umbruch Film, 2022

Wed, 07 Dec 2022 20:53:21 +0000

On Wednesday 7.12.22 I was invited to give a keynote on the panel Intermediality/Hybrid Form as part of the symposium Umbruch Film by werkleitz in Halle. In my talk I gave a presentation on changing media reception in immersive media and what the challenges and strategies are in developing immersive narrative worlds.

This panel dealt with questions of how complex narratives can be conceived and produced not only as FIlm, but also in other media forms (video installation, VR & AR, apps and internet applications, podcasts, etc). Participating were: Clemens von Wedemeyer, Marleine van der Werf, Paul Kirsten, Katharina Weser, Maren Schuster, Lars Rummel, Thomas Taube, Ralph Wendt, Ana Maria Vallejo and Peter Zorn as host.

Talk: Games for Future @SpielKlima-Konferenz 2022 ENERGIETAGE Berlin

Fri, 18 Nov 2022 10:28:16 +0000

As part of the #SpielKlima conference from 3 to 6 May 2022, I gave a talk about Potentials, Opportunities and Risks of Digital Games in the Climate Discourse - “Games for Future”, showing projects we do at Multimedia|VR-Design at BURG.

I ended the presentation with the statement that:

Games can …
● create awareness
● create empathy
● change behaviour (nudging)
… and much more!

Players should …
● look at their own footprint (energy consumption and use of resources)
● question their own gaming behavior and interests.

Interview-Essay: „THIS FEELS GREAT“ 2021

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:20:22 +0000

Artist interview with Annesley Black and Marion Saxer about the development of our music game THIS FEELS GREAT.

Annesley Black, Jonas Hansen, Marion Saxer: THIS FEELS GREAT - Gamedesign und Komposition in Marion Saxer, Karin Dietrich & Julian Kämper (eds.): Musik als Spiel – Spiel als Musik. Die Integration von Spielkonzepten in zeitgenössischer Musik, Musiktheater und Klangkunst, transcript 2021, ISBN: 978-3-8376-4932-1

Link: https://www.transcript-verlag.de/978-3-8376-4932-1/musik-als-spiel-spiel-als-musik

Essay: T.H.E.Z.O.N.E. Ein postapokalyptischer Spaziergang 2019

Thu, 30 Dec 2021 10:00:37 +0000

Essay for the documentation of the stalker symposium at the Academy of Arts on April 26 and 27, 2019.

Jonas Hansen: Essay: T.H.E.Z.O.N.E. Ein postapokalyptischer Spaziergang in Cornelia Klauß, Claus Löser & Jule Reuter (eds.): Andrej Tarkowski. Stalker – Film und Ausnahmezustand, Akademie der Künste, Berlin 2021, ISBN 978-3-88331-243-9

https://www.adk.de/filmundmedienkunst/Tarkowski_Stalker.pdf

Swim! Don't drown. 2019

Sun, 01 Sep 2019 10:31:00 +0000

Swim!
Don’t drown.

A little game made for the https://itch.io/jam/picoware

Play it at https://pixelsix.itch.io/swim
Play the full game at: https://www.lexaloffle.com/bbs/?tid=34751

void Start() { Play( //game, 2018

Sun, 17 Mar 2019 14:34:06 +0000

A game about an exhibition about games.
Result of the void Start() { Play( GameJam();

sounds by me and freesound.org:
246028 | xylophone-toy-g by blukotek CC0 1.0
18824 | buzz-001 by futureprobe CC BY 3.0

License: Creative Commons (CC BY-NC 4.0)
Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International
by Jonas Hansen, 2018, //pixelsix.net

Download: pixelsix.itch.io/void-start-play (Win, Mac, Linux)

exhibition | void Start(){Play( | BURG 2018

Sun, 17 Mar 2019 14:12:11 +0000

In October/November 2018 we had an exhibition about art and culture of games: void Start(){Play( at Burg Gallery Volkspark.

Games are part of everyday culture. They can be played everywhere: at home, mobile and connected with others. They are an established medium, at the center of various subcultures and are also subject of sustained artistic inquiry. Players/designers/artists analyze and question rules, possibilities of agency and forms of expression in games and develop new forms of expression. The exhibition void Start(){Play( showed experimental games, as well as artistic comments about games.

Essay: Der Lauf der Daten, 2017

Sat, 21 Jul 2018 15:02:58 +0000

For the annual year book (Jahrbuch 2017: Transformation) of Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design Halle I wrote a short essay about the absurdity of digitalization:
Der Lauf der Data, Jonas Hansen (PDF, german).

Published by Hochschulverlag Burg Giebichenstein Kunsthochschule Halle
ISBN 978-3-86019-140-8

Talk: ¡SIN MARCO! Making art, animation and games in VR

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 11:20:33 +0000

In September I was together with Milan Grajetzki in Mexico City for an presentation and workshop at Facultad de Artes y Diseño FAD UNAM. It was a very nice crowd and we had lots of interesting discussions, till the earth began to shake and reality felt more virtual than VR …

Watch the presentation online.

Stream of the full presentation and performance:

Global Dreams @ Unauthorized SFMOMA Show 2017

Sun, 30 Jul 2017 08:26:00 +0000

Global Dreams was part of the Unauthorized SFMOMA Show. Unauthorized SFMOMA Show was a series of solo shows that took place within SFMOMA’s public spaces from April 6th – July 2nd 2017 on a rotating basis, without the consent or knowledge of the institution. The only requirement to visit an Unauthorized SFMOMA Show was to be physically present at SFMOMA and have access to a device connected to the Internet.

UNAUTHORIZED SFMOMA SHOW Intervention by Lasse Scherffig, Enar de Dios Rodríguez and Ana María Montenegro Jaramillo

Talk: No Frame, 9th Nov. 2016

Wed, 21 Dec 2016 10:19:10 +0000

In September 2016 I gave a talk about framing in animation, games and art at the Expanded Animation symposium that was part of the Ars Electronica Festival 2016 in Linz.

In this talk I focused on strategies that expand and question the traditional use of the screen and actively incorporate the human body and the physical space. Not only since the renaissance of virtual reality has the rigid format of the screen as a frame been challenged, but also through a long history of artistic inquiries that explored the boundaries between the real and the mediated space. The question we have to ask ourselves is to what extent these expanded spaces create a deeper understanding of reality or completely cut us off via immersive simulations of existence. I showed examples of my own work and also work of students of the newly formed department exMedia at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne to open discussions about the hybrid forms in art, animation and games.

VR performance/talk, 2016

Wed, 28 Sep 2016 10:24:54 +0000

Short excerpt of my performance during the exMedia evening Regel + Spiel on June 30th 2016 at the Academy of Media Arts Cologne.

pictures Thomas Reul

Paidia @ New Gameplay at Nam June Paik Art Center

Wed, 17 Aug 2016 09:57:40 +0000

Our installations Paidia Laboratory: feedback #2 and #6 are part of New Gameplay, a show at Nam June Paik Art Center in Yongin, South Korea.

The exhibition presents work by 34 artists and artist groups. The works range from art that has computer games as its subject to computer games designed by artists, putting these in dialog with classic video art. It is co-curated by Nam June Paik Art Center and ZKM | Center for Art and Media.

Global Dreams, 2016

Thu, 14 Apr 2016 07:55:31 +0000

dream-like experiments in global thinking

Skip Waiting, 2016

Tue, 12 Apr 2016 10:25:53 +0000

SKIP WAITING a game made with godot

by Jonas Hansen

Download it at itch.io (Win, Mac, Linux)

Skip Waiting Source Code (Godot Engine): https://bitbucket.org/onlyjonas/skipskipsky

VR.Connect, 2016

Tue, 02 Feb 2016 07:50:52 +0000

VR.Connect is a VR prototype made together with Andreas Schönau during the #ViveJamCPH, secretgamejam.com, organized by Julie Heyde & hosted by Unity

Many thanks for playing: Casper, Gian, Julie, Johan, Sara, Simon and all the others!

Song: Jangle by Blank & Kytt, Creative Commons (CC BY 3.0)

Press: Ein geheimer Vive Game Jam in Kopenhagen? WTF?! Da müssen wir hin! (vrnerds.de)

Talk: Computerspielen – perspectives of play, Nov. 2015

Mon, 07 Dec 2015 08:49:02 +0000

A short references list of a talk I gave at the Game Studies at the Museum event at Museum of Applied Arts Cologne (MAKK) on Nov. 27th. presented art works

Q4U, Feng Mengbo, Documenta 11, 2002
Long March: Restart, Feng Mengbo, MoMa, 2008

Computerspielen – perspectives of play exhibition, Next Level Conference 2013

A Mesmerizing Game of Snake, Animated GIF, Author Unknown 2013
Golden Calf, ////////fur////, 2012
Bejing Accelerator, Marnix De Nijs, 2006

Talk: Rules – make + break, Oct. 2015

Sun, 06 Dec 2015 09:37:23 +0000

RULES: make + break, making rules for critical play

Reference list of a talk I gave at the TH Köln as part of the KISDtalks (Program PDF) on Oct. 27th.

Game of Life, John Conway, 1970
16-bit ALU in minecraft, theinternetftw, Sep. 2010
assassin creed / paris photography, Damien Hypolite
Modern Chess, Europe, 9th century
GO, China, 2500 B.C.
Backgammon, Iran, 3000 B.C.
Skinner’s Box, B. F. Skinner, 1930s

“draw a straight line and follow it” – Composition No.10, La Monte Young, 1960

Duel42 @ play15

Wed, 16 Sep 2015 09:11:12 +0000

My game DUEL42 is part at this year PLAY15 festival from 15th till 19th of September. Under the topic of emotion the exhibition collected a fine selection of impressive games. For an overview of the selected titles have a look at the exhibition site or visit the festival in Hamburg.

ESCAPE 2107, 2015

Tue, 15 Sep 2015 12:49:36 +0000

ESCAPE 2107 no way out!

Escape an infinite array of vectorized spaces before time runs out.

Play it online | Download it at itch.io (Win, Mac, Linux)

DUEL42 @ Platine 2015

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 13:21:46 +0000

My game DUEL42 will be part of this year PLATINE festival from 3rd till 6th of August. An unique festival that takes place in Cologne-Ehrenfeld in local pubs, theatrical workshops and small galleries. It focuses on electronic media, from art up to alternative games.

Paidia @ GLOBALE: Global Games 2015

Mon, 06 Jul 2015 13:08:42 +0000

A video of our group installation/performance Rube-Goldberg-Lauf-der-Dinge-Electronic-Circuit-Feedback-Machine is part of the Global Games exhibition at ZKM, Karlsruhe.

Global Games is part of the massive 300 day GLOBALE laboratory, academy and exhibition at ZKM. The show can be visited from August 11th, 2015 until April 17th, 2016.

Rube-Goldberg-Lauf-der-Dinge-Electronic-Circuit-Feedback-Machine was built, performed and filmed in two days during Next Level Conference 2011, Cologne. It features instable arrangements of hard- and software translating between game worlds (on- and offscreen) by Paidia Institute/ Björn Theis, Jonas Hansen, Karin Lingnau, Lasse Scherffig, Sebastian Thewes, and Thomas Hawranke.

Paidia Feedback Lab @ Share Festival 2015

Fri, 13 Mar 2015 14:32:37 +0000

Share Festival 2014/2015: Autonomous, Turin

Paidia Laboratory: feedback has been shortlisted for SHARE PRIZE 2014 and will be shown at SHARE FESTIVAL 2014/2015 with the fitting theme “autonomous”.

Exhibition: March 19th-29th Venue: Temporary Museum, Corso Verona 15/C, Turin, Italy

DUEL42, 2015

Fri, 13 Feb 2015 10:00:43 +0000

DUEL42 is about two men fighting a gentleman-like duel on screen while the player’s hands engage in a wrestling match to press the right keys.

The game is played on one keyboard. The two players have to move their avatars five steps away from each other, turn around, lower their arm and shoot by pressing randomly assigned keys. The quickest and most stubborn wins.

May honour be restored… or whatever!

Paidia Laboratory: feedback, 2014

Sun, 25 Jan 2015 09:05:43 +0000

Installation together with Paidia Institute

documentation: Schwindel der Wirklichkeit, Akademie der Künste, 2014

Paidia Feedback Lab @ Schwindel der Wirklichkeit 2014

Sat, 23 Aug 2014 13:29:39 +0000

Three new works of the cycle Paidia Laboratory: feedback will be shown at the exhibition Schwindel der Wirklichkeit at the Akademie der Künste, Berlin.

Period: 17.09. – 14.12.2014 Opening: 16.09.2014, 19:00 Venue: Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg 10, 10557 Berlin

Paidia Laboratory: feedback is a project I did together with Thomas Hawranke, Karin Lingnau and Lasse Scherffig

teaching

Sat, 09 Aug 2014 15:03:32 +0000

Burg Giebichenstein, University of Art and Design Halle, 2016 - present

summer 2026: What if … - Games als Zukunftslabor. Komplexes Gestalten
summer 2026: Login - security satire. Creative Coding with Sebastian Thewes
winter 2025: Roads of Reflection. Komplexes Gestalten in cooperation with the Media and Communication Studies (MLU) and Computerspiele Museum Berlin | Burg-Arcade | Rave Racer
winter 2025: The Hike. Grundlagen Game-Design with Sebastian Thewes
summer 2025: Reise • Utopie. Komplexes Gestalten in cooperation with the Transport Museum Dresden
summer 2025: Sh!t happens. Grundlagen Game-Design with Friedrich Hanisch
winter 2024: sabbatical semester in Aotearoa/New Zealand, Talk:./neu(see)land.log
summer 2024: Games for Future v2: Solarpunk. Komplexes Gestalten
May 2024, Games for Future: towards a solarpunk gaming manifest, A.MAZE Festival (Berlin)
summer 2024: Interactive Mirror. Creative Coding with Tristan Schulze
winter 2023: Time to (inter)act! – Gestaltung von Zeit und Interaktion. Komplexes Gestalten
winter 2023: Silly Olympics. Grundlagen Game-Design with Tristan Schulze
summer 2023: ARCADE.minimal. Grundlagen Interface-Design with Tristan Schulze
winter 2022: Stuck in a Loop … Grundlagen Game-Design with Oliver Von Zweydorff
winter 2022: [Playing stories - Lebensgeschichten spielerisch erfahrbar machen](* * *https://www.burg-halle.de/design/multimediavr-design/multimediavr-design/lehrangebote/l/playing-stories-lebensgeschichten-spielerisch-erfahrbar-machen/). Komplexes Gestalten with Friedrich Hanisch. RatKing
summer 2022: Grüße aus Übermorgen - eine Auseinandersetzung mit interaktiven Szenarien alternativer Zukünfte. Komplexes Gestalten with Sarah Buser
summer 2022: WWVJ – world wide visual jockey. Grundlagen Interface-Design with Tristan Schulze
winter 2021: ESC + EDU. Komplexes Gestalten with Willy Dumaz
winter 2021: A day before/after … Grundlagen Game-Design with Oliver Von Zweydorff
summer 2021: 5 Inch Border Show. Komplexes Gestalten with Tom Hanke, Malte Westphalen
summer 2021: Body Movin. Grundlagen Interface-Design with Tristan Schulze

teaching report 2016 - 2020

Solar Wind Aeroscope, 2014

Wed, 16 Jul 2014 20:25:20 +0000

The Solar Wind Aeroscope is an artistic instrument dealing with atmospheric conditions that depend on “space weather:” a storm of electromagnetic particles from the sun that constantly affects our atmosphere. It uses an Internet connection (in the gallery) or a radio receiver (in the wild) to tap into a global network of amateur HAM-radio stations known as WSPRnet. Through this network, the Aeroscope can “see” the atmospheric conditions caused by the solar wind.

Solar Wind Aeroscope @ Strange Weather/Science Gallery Dublin 2014

Wed, 16 Jul 2014 20:16:10 +0000

The Solar Wind Aeroscope is part of the exhibition Strange Weather at Science Gallery Dublin.

›› Exhibition: July 18th – October 5th, 2014

The Aeroscope was built in cooperation with Lasse Scherffig and continues our Solar Wind Experiments that started with the Solar Wind Periscope in 2011.

Computerspielen. Perspectives of Play, 2014

Sat, 05 Jul 2014 20:31:15 +0000

Computerspielen. Perspectives of Play. Verlag der Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln, Köln, 2014 Jonas Hansen, Thomas Hawranke, Mischa Kuball, Lasse Scherffig (eds.)

Exhibition catalogue of the exhibition Computerspielen. Perspectives of Play at Dortmunder U in 2013-2014.

›› KHM Publishing ›› PDF (3.6 MB)

ISBN: 978-3-942154-34-5

off topic #5: verlieren, 2014

Mon, 21 Apr 2014 11:36:58 +0000

Off Topic is an annual magazine for media arts focussing on a variety of art forms in practice and theory. The fifth issue deals with the topic of “verlieren” (to lose). It collects personal stories, interviews, theoretical and visual essays, How-Tos and more.

Co-Editor with Olivier Arcioli, Konstantin Butz, Dirk Specht

Co-Author with Thomas Hawranke article: How to understand… Kill Screen (pdf)

Published by Media Art Academy Cologne, KHM January 201 4, ISBN 978-3-9421 54-30-7

cabin, 2014

Fri, 21 Mar 2014 11:20:37 +0000

Holographic digital Print, 2014

Paidia Laboratory: Feedback #1, 2013

Thu, 05 Dec 2013 22:00:20 +0000

In the experiment feedback #1 two game controllers of a fighting game are modified. The vibration feedback of the controller are used to create two closed feedback loops. The vibration motor of each controller is linked with the PUNCH button of the controller. As soon the setup gets a start impulse by pressing one PUNCH button the system plays itself.

In 2013 Paidia Laboratory: Feedback was part of the game exhibition “Computerspielen - perspectives of play” in Dortmunder U, Dortmund.

Computerspielen. Perspectives of Play, 2013

Tue, 03 Dec 2013 23:45:05 +0000

On Friday, December 6th our exhibition Computerspielen. Perspectives of Play opens at Dortmunder U(U2_Kulturelle Bildung/ Museum Ostwall). The exhibition presents artistic positions from the past decade that analyze computer games and the act of playing. It is organized for Next Level Conference 2013 and is open until January, 5th 2014.

Artists: Anna Anthropy, Sebastian Blank, Karen Eliot, Mary Flanagan, //////////fur////, Alexander Gurko, Guillermo Federico Heinze, JODI, Karin Lingnau, Feng Mengbo, Molleindustria, Marnix de Nijs, Paidia Institute, Eddo Stern, Olaf Val, Bill Viola, weAREmedienkuenstler

PAUSE – Computer games and cultural contingencies, 2013

Wed, 20 Nov 2013 11:47:59 +0000

exhibition catalogue, 2013

Concept with Thomas Hawranke, Karin Lingnau, Lasse Scherffig

As part of PLAY! CGN and for the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, the exhibition PAUSE at the Temporary Gallery (Cologne) presented works on the topic of computer games through the focus on waiting and interruption.

The catalogue provides an overview of the selected works, including: Pippin Barr (MT), Michael Bell-Smith (US), Karen Eliot (DE), Daniel Helbig (DE), Hörner/Antlfinger (DE), Miltos Manetas (UK), Kent Sheely (US), Jeroen D Stout (NL), Yuk-Yiu IP (HKN) and presents our game THIS FEELS GREAT.

PAUSE - Computer Games and Cultural Contingencies, 2013

Tue, 12 Nov 2013 17:39:33 +0000

As part of PLAY! CGN and for the Academy of Media Arts Cologne, we present an exhibition about the theme PAUSE in games at the Temporary Gallery, Cologne.

›› pause. computer games and cultural contingencies

With works by: Pippin Barr (MT), Michael Bell-Smith (US), Karen Eliot (DE), Daniel Helbig (DE), Hörner/Antlfinger (DE), Miltos Manetas (UK), Kent Sheely (US), Jeroen de Stout (NL) und Yuk-Yiu IP (HKN).

Opening: November 20th, 2013, 7 p.m. with Concert: Annesley Black performs together with Theo Nabicht and Ernesto Molinari, playing live music and our computer game THIS FEELS GREAT

Seminar, Winter 2013/14

Wed, 30 Oct 2013 19:12:35 +0000

This semester seminar @ KHM:

KHM, WS 2013/14: open _lab _discussion _source _access _play An experimental communicative platform with a focus on interactive formats, games and experimental 3D.

This Feels Great, 2013

Wed, 30 Oct 2013 18:54:15 +0000

THIS FEELS GREAT is the title of four computer games specially developed for Annesley Black’s portrait CD “no use in a centre” by Andreas Schönau, Jairo Gutiérrez, Jonas Hansen and Milan Grajetzki from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne. Each game is based on specific pieces of Annesley’s music and combines them with the wonderful bizarre illustrations of Hazel Meyer into an unique form of explorative and musical play.

Paidia Feedback Lab @ ZKM_Gameplay 2013

Wed, 12 Jun 2013 08:41:16 +0000

Paidia Laboratory: feedack #2 and Paidia Laboratory: feedback #6 out of the same series will be seen at the exhibition ZKM_Gameplay at the ZKM Medienmuseum in Karlsruhe.

Opening: June 21st 2013 Exhibition: June 22nd 2013 – Octobre 31st, 2014

zkm press release (PDF, german)

Paidia Institute is represented with Paidia Laboratory: feedback by Jonas Hansen, Thomas Hawranke, Karin Lingnau and Lasse Scherffig.

Sardegna. Dislocations 2012

Wed, 15 May 2013 14:44:05 +0000

The content of the publication is the result of a week long workshop in Southern Sardinia held by Susanna Schoenberg, Lasse Scherffig and me with participants from Academy of Media Arts Cologne, EESI Poitiers and Sint-Lucas Ghent.

The focus of the artistic workshop/laboratory was on waves trasmission and scanning as an approach to develop ideas of spaces or layers of spatial reality. Participants had the possibility to work with radio- receiver, capacitive sensors and 3d scan technology to invent enquiries and built instruments.

Seminars, Summer 2013

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 11:37:10 +0000

This semester I am teaching three seminars:

KHM, SS 2013: DREIxD - Introduction into three dimensional design

KHM, SS 2013: Open Lab - An experimental communicative platform with a focus on interactive formats and experimental 3D.

KHM, SS 2013: Contemporary Fine Games | join - A playful course with a focus on the correlation between games and art.

Infotext

ultrasonic hat, 2012

Thu, 06 Dec 2012 19:43:40 +0000

Mapmaking has been a fundamental part of the human history for a long time. Starting from the first cave paintings (map of stars in Lascaux), people create and use maps to define, explain, and navigate their way through the world. In our digital era maps are generated by a multitude of computative technologies and scientific method, with Satellites (GPS), WIFI triangulation, LIDAR scans or photographs, mostly to create an objective and accurate representation of the world.

Dislocations12 @ San Sperate (Sardinia)

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 08:00:08 +0000

Laboratory on revealing, scanning, expanted audio-visible making of environments, objects and territories

conceived and curated by Paidia Institute, Cologne

November 4 – 11, 2012

hosted and produced by Noarte, San Sperate, Sardinia

As an association of artists researchers focussed on the intereactions between virtual and material spaces and the possibility of action and creativity “in between” of them, Paidia Institute proposes a new laboratory with a strong vocation for field work. The choosen core location is a community in Southern Sardinia with an established tradition on artists residency and artistic intervention: a perfect (both logistic and cultural) pre-condition in order to produce a laboratory to be extended over a larger territory: the territory –the objects of architecture, pieces of landscapes and spatial facts–has to be seen as the experimental laboratory.

smw.smc, 2012

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 12:00:20 +0000

smw.smc is an artistic game modification of the SNES game Super Mario World. The usual world representation of the platform game is broken — all graphics are erased. The gaming experience is at the border between playability and aesthetic representation and tries to question this relationship.

It is an homage to the great work of JODI and Cory Arcangel.

Paidia Laboratory @ CHAOS! Complexity in Art and Science

Tue, 14 Aug 2012 22:17:16 +0000

Paidia Institute will show two pieces from the project Paidia Laboratory: feedback at the exhibition CHAOS! Complexity in Art and Science organized by ERES foundation in Munich.

Contemporary Fine Games @ Platine 2012

Fri, 10 Aug 2012 20:16:52 +0000

The Results of the Seminar Contemporary Fine Games will be shown at the Platine Festival in Cologne. The festival showcases electronic media ranging from art to alternative forms of gaming.

Unity Class

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 15:14:28 +0000

new Unity Class website: /unity

Teaching at KHM 2012

Mon, 02 Apr 2012 09:29:25 +0000

This semester I will teach two courses at KHM:

China 2011

Sun, 18 Mar 2012 10:48:39 +0000

Paidia Laboratory: Feedback at transmediale 2012

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 19:09:08 +0000

Paidia Laboratory: feedback @ transmediale 12 in/compatible

The cycle Paidia Laboratory: feedback examines computer games as closed feedback systems. In an ongoing series of artistic experiments the feedback behaviour of games is studied, by coupling their in- and output through modifications of hard- and software. The focus lies not on the usability of games, but rather on an archeology of interaction – determining the limits and boundaries of games in order to understand the media specific characteristics of computer games.

Mumuth 3D, 2012

Sun, 15 Jan 2012 08:00:48 +0000

Interactive 3D visualization

Mumuth 3D is a commissioned work for the Institute of Electronic Music and Acoustics (Graz) as part of their three years research project Choreography of Sound (CoS). The research project focuses on the spatial qualities in music, addressing in particular the domain of electroacoustic music.

In Mumuth 3D I supported the research team to develop an interactive 3D environment, which resembles the György-Ligeti-Hall at MUMUTH (Haus für Musik und Musiktheater) in Graz. The goal of the project is to create a visualization tool of spatial music compositions and performances with a 3D Ambisonics sound projection system based on an array of 24 loudspeakers combined with a professional motion tracking system.

Paidia Institute @ Next Level Conference 2011

Tue, 01 Nov 2011 12:25:41 +0000

Paidia Institute is part of the exhibition and panel programme of Next Level Conference 2011. As part of the conference, Paidia Institute takes part in Cologne’s Long Night of Museums 2011 as well.

Solar Wind Periscope, 2011

Sat, 15 Oct 2011 14:45:59 +0000

The Solar Wind Periscope is an artistic instrument visualizing atmospheric conditions that depend on space weather. It uses a radio receiver to measure HF radio signal range and relies upon a global network of amateur HAM-radio stations known as WSPRnet. It was developed for The Weather Tunnel Project at Translife Triennial 2011 and is part of an ongoing inquiry into weather beyond earth.

The project was developed together with Lasse Scherffig

More info at: pixelsix.net/swp

Paidia Laboratory: Feedback, 2011

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 12:53:02 +0000

Paidia Feedback Laboratory examines computer games as closed feedback systems, as servomechanisms or control chains that may or may not involve human elements. In an ongoing series of artistic experiments the feedback behaviour of games is studied and put in new contexts through modifications of hardware and software, creating an open structure of artifacts, schematics and patterns. The focus lies not on the usability of games, but rather on an archeology of interaction – determining the limits and boundaries of games in order to understand the media specific characteristics of computer games and the spaces they create.

Paidia Laboratory: Feedback at Platine 2011

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 17:18:21 +0000

Paidia Institute will be part of the Platine 2011 (Cologne, August 15th-19th) with the Paidia Laboratory: Feedback.

Weather Tunnel Project, Translife Triennial

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 15:12:00 +0000

July 27th - August 17th, 2011, National Art Museum of Chia, Beijing, http://mediartchina.org

As part of the Weather Tunnel Project at Translife Triennial in Beijing, China, two works from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne are shown: Blind Spots by Susanna Schoenberg and the Solar Wind Periscope by Lasse Scherffig and me.

KHM @ Beyond Festival

Thu, 19 May 2011 11:50:29 +0000

3D-Festival BEYOND, March 27-29th

RGLdDECFeedback Machine, 2011

Sun, 20 Feb 2011 13:14:30 +0000

Rube-Goldberg-Lauf-der-Dinge-Electronic-Circuit-Feedback-Machine
The installation couples a number of computer games, controllers and physical artifacts into a self playing machine. The project expands upon Paidia Laboratory: Feedback realizing a Rube Goldberg machine that crosses boundaries of platforms, interfaces and genres, answering the question: How to sink the putt?

How to sink the putt?
Plugging in the power connector (A) turns on robotic hand (B) which plays the Atari classic Decathlon hurdle game (C). As runner passes the finish line (D) light dependent resistor sends signal to solenoid (E) that presses a button on a game controller (F) which launches tortoise shell in Mario Kart killing Luigi (G) causing a black screen detected by light dependent resistor (H). Motor gets activated and coils up string that pulls mouse against hammer (J). Smashed mouse button clicks on Hyperlink (K) thereby sending a signal to Second Life having a giant mobile phone appear (L). Second Life avatar clicks on virtual mobile (M) causing text message to be sent to real mobile (N). Vibration of phone is detected by piezo sensor that activates solenoid which repeatedly presses a keyboard button (O) allowing a terrorist with a flashlight in the game Counter Strike to move forward (P). The light is detected by a light dependent resistor which causes a counter terrorist player to eliminate the terrorist (Q). The shot is detected by a piezo sensor (R) that activates a servo motor which opens a Play Station 2 CD tray (S), thereby a weight connected to a toy gun falls down (T). Gun shoots a wooden plank attached to remote control (U). Toy helicopter lifts off and pulls a mouse to the side (V) causing a virtual helicopter in the game Battlefield to go down (W). Crash is detected by light dependent resistor which turns on marble run that plays Winter Games bob sleight (X). Marble hits golf ball, golf ball hits Wii remote fixed with a rope to the ceiling (Y). Wii remote swings and sinks the putt in the Wii sports golf game (Z). If somebody gets shot by gun or electrified move away before cops arrive.

tagtics, 2011

Sun, 13 Feb 2011 15:25:29 +0000

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=764717417&aid=288893
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=764717417&aid=288894

Migrating:Art:Academies:, 2010

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 18:30:23 +0000

Migrating:Art:Academies:

Published by EESI, European School of Visual Arts, KHM, Academy of Media Arts Cologne, VDA, Vilnius Academy of Art. Octobre 2010, ISBN: 978-9955-854-91-3

The content of this book is the result of the two years Migrating Art Academies (MigAA) project led by European School of Visual Arts (EESI, FR), the Academy of Media Arts in Cologne (KHM, DE), and the Vilnius Academy of Arts (VDA, LT).

Next to papers, articles, essays about the academic strategies and practicies it documents numerous art works realized by MigAA participants, several of them I supported during the laboratories in Berlin, Vilnius, Linz and Bordeaux/Gironde .

CollecTic and Thumbs Down @ Platine, Cologne

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 13:08:35 +0000

From 16th till 19th of August two of my games ( CollecTic & Thumbs Down) will be presented at the PLATINE festival in Cologne.

Thumbs Down, 2010

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 12:36:57 +0000

Thumbs Down is the modern way of Pfahlsitzen (pole-sitting). Similar to pole-sitting, the player has to perform a specific action over a longer time. Thumbs Down is played on an android smart phone. The objective of the game is to hold down your thumb on the touch screen of the phone as long as possible. Instead of skilled actions, the abandonment of any activities brings you closer to the win. The player has to ignore calls and neglect other functions of his phone. The result will be added to a global high score in order to determine the best slacker world wide. The negative gesture of the “thumb down” is a symbol as well as the only play activity of the game.

Hyperkult 19 Mobiles – You Are Now Here

Tue, 06 Jul 2010 08:41:02 +0000

July 8th-10th, 2010, Leuphana University Lüneburg

Hyperkult is an annual workshop/symposium on computer science, culture and society at Leuphana University Lüneburg. This year’s theme is “Mobiles – You Are Now Here”. The KHM participates with a talk/performance entitled “Context Aware Devices – Context Aware Users” presenting artistic strategies for mobile devices and data spaces. The presentation is given by Jonas Hansen, Thomas Hawranke, Laura Popplow, Martin Rumori and Lasse Scherffig.

imprint

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 11:15:13 +0000

responsible for the general contents of pixelsix.net :
Jonas Hansen, Neuwerk 1, Halle (Saale), Germany

contact: j o n a s [AT] p i x e l s i x . n e t

privacy
The content of this site has been created with the greatest of care. I cannot, however, guarantee that the information in it is accurate, complete or up-to-date. As a service provider I am responsible under Section 6(1) of the German Media Services Inter-State Agreement and Section 8(1) of the German Teleservices Act for my own content on this site. Service providers are not however obliged to monitor third party information transmitted or stored on their site by them or to look for circumstances which may suggest a violation of the law. This does not affect my statutory obligations to remove or block the use of information. My liability in such cases shall however commence from the time I become aware of an actual violation. On becoming aware of such violations I shall remove this content immediately.

Tom Russoti @ Lab.D @ KHM

Sat, 19 Jun 2010 13:17:10 +0000

From 14th-15th of June, we invited Tom Russotti at Lab.D at the KHM, Academy of Media Arts. Tom Russotti is founder of the Institute for Aesthletics:

Augmented Reality Talk @ Amsterdam

Fri, 28 May 2010 16:12:53 +0000

I gave an overview presentation of all kind of augmented reality activities for the master class at the Amsterdam film academy.

During the talk, I showed lots of video examples. Here is an overview of most works I showed:

A good resource about augmented reality is the site: http://gamesalfresco.com/

Migrating Art Academies @ Angouleme, Bordeaux, Ryon

Mon, 10 May 2010 14:56:09 +0000

Point and Click. Adventure als Spielprinzip, 2010

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 11:58:05 +0000

The content of the publication is the result of a four day workshop by Aram Bartholl organized by Lasse Scherffig and me. During the workshop the adventure game genre was analysed and strategies of applying its rules to public space were developed.

Co-Editor with Lasse Scherffig Layout with Daphné Keramidas

Point&Click (PDF, 3mb) /pointclick

Point & Click Publication (german)

Sun, 11 Apr 2010 21:03:31 +0000

Just in time for the upcoming computer game conference NextLevel (20th - 21st of April, Cologne) we finished our small and shiny workshop publication:

Point&Click, Adventure als Spielprinzip

More info and a downloadable PDF version is available here.

Point & Click Workshop @ KHM

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 22:18:48 +0000

Last week, 8th-11th of march, we hosted an intensive workshop together with Aram Bartholl at the KHM, Academy of Media Arts. The workshop was dealing with adventure games and public space and was organized by Lasse Scherffig and me, its results will be presented at the upcoming computer gaming conference “Next Level“.

Reaction Machine @ Van Gogh Museum

Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:10:29 +0000

On February 26th the Reaction Machine is presented at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam as part of the friday night program:

Eight+ & Ludic Sound Play @ Amaze Interact @ CTM.10

Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:51:04 +0000

The two installations Eight+ & Ludic Sound Play will be shown at the Amaze Interact Festival at Club Transmediale 10 from January 29th till Februari 6th 2010.

Eight+ is an user-generated-content-post-new-rave-multiplayer-shooter, we developed at the play09 game lab in Potsdam last december.

Expanded City, 2010

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 10:58:31 +0000

Expanded City is a collaborative work, developed together with students from the Academy of Media Arts Cologne for the Amaze Interact exhibition at the Club Transmediale 2010 in Berlin.

For the installation we went on a sound walk through Cologne, capturing sounds and taking photos of the city. The images were projected on pyramids made of acrylic glass. A projection mapping technique was used, to display the images on all sides of the pyramids.

Eight+, 2009

Tue, 01 Dec 2009 10:54:35 +0000

Eight+ is a synaesthetic user-generatedcontent-post-new-rave-multiplayer-shooter in 2D.

Eight+ is an anarchic mix of rhythm, action, sounds and visuals provoking the conventions of standardized content and feedback loops in computer games. In this multiplayer game, players shoot at objects drawn live by other players. The longer they interact, the more distortion emerges. The borders between parties blur as ever more content is created and destroyed. The installation explores the social behaviors of groups as well as the limits of game design.

Gaming Lab at Play09

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 22:11:31 +0000

After the great succses of last year’s play08 festival, there will be play09. A festival about the creative use of games and gaming technologies. From 3rd till 5th of December there will be an exhibition, workshops, presentations and a lab with six media artists in Potsdam/Berlin. For a detailed overview of the program have a look at play09.de.

Indie Games Article in New York Times

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:06:25 +0000

Can D.I.Y. Supplant the First-Person Shooter, New York Times

An article in the New York Times, about how indie game developers are making waves in the scene and drawing attention from the mainstream. The article offers insights on why games like Flower, Braid, and Blueberry Garden became successful ventures for their developer…

Migrating Art Academies: Sequence

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 16:09:38 +0000

04 - 07 September 2009, Migrating Art Academies at Ars Electronica, Linz.

Sequence, the third episode of the two-year pan-European project Migrating Art Academies, begins at the end of August 2009. Students from art academies in three countries, Germany, France, and Lithuania, will continue a process of nomadic living and creating “on the road.” This time they will migrate to Linz, Austria, the home of Ars Electronica, one of the premiere global festivals for contemporary media art and science.

Migrating Art Academies: Transgression

Fri, 15 May 2009 08:14:39 +0000

Migrating Art Academies with its laboratory II during May 5th – 22nd, 2009 seeks further for the ways to step beyond habitual artistic routines of the students in order to inspire their successful creative development. Started with regime in november 2008 in Berlin, Migrating Art Academies continues with ‘Transgression’, working in open spaces in Berlin, Vilnius, Nida and on the road including seminars and workshops.

www.migaa.eu

Public Presentation: May 16th 2009, 18:00, Contempory Art Gallery, Vilnius railway station

Lanscape, 2009

Thu, 14 May 2009 11:32:53 +0000

Space-Time-Net-Scans: 1000 Pixel, 37 Seconds, 27.027 Hz, from Cologne to Vilnius and back.

In the project an image is composed with a slit scan technique (based on Golan Levis SlitScan Program, 2006) and the results of a scan for wireless network points in the area. The slit scanner uses only the center vertical line of a webcam and adds the line to the image from rigth to left. So that in 37 seconds an image is composed of the captured space/movement. Additionally the names of the wireless network points are added to the image.

Audiodome Playground, 2008

Sun, 15 Mar 2009 08:30:51 +0000

In the period 2008-2009 I was part of the Audiodome Playground research group at Animax Multimedia Theater in Bonn.

The goal of the research was the development of playful and interactive environments for a front/floor projected stage with a spatial sound system. Through a marker based rigid body video tracking system the movement of a person on stage could be tracked and used for interaction with the projections. During my stay I developed a couple of small playful miniatures to determine the possibilities of the system.

Weekend fun with Frankenface…

Fri, 13 Mar 2009 14:04:18 +0000

Here is something I really enjoyed playing with, the new Iphone app by Tilman Reif: Frankenface

Take your Iphone make some pictures and shuffle…

my personal 3 minutes of uniqueness…

Wed, 04 Mar 2009 08:53:29 +0000

after three weeks of trying I made it to 3 minutes and some seconds:

what a simple but genius little game Heather Kelley & Jonatan Söderström developed during the Nordic Game Jam 2009: 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness (inspired by John Cage)

also now with geographical visualisation:

this is definatelly the best game of the last month :-)

MoshPit

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 12:30:12 +0000

Tilman and Volker from Fur just finished their newest project the MoshPit an automata that converts headbanging movements into metal music. Just see for youself :-)

Welcome to a new metal-lennium!

Warum2.0 exhibition at V2_ Rotterdam

Sat, 17 Jan 2009 14:05:29 +0000

From the 21 January - 01 February 2009 V2_ in Rotterdam will turn into a media war-zone with the installation arena ‘WARUM2.0’.

WARUM2.0 is a public experiment where the visitors can explore documentary images and media shaped by YouTube, Second Life and surveillance cameras. Passively watching is no longer sufficient - instead we need to select, evaluate and choose. The installation features unique videos from Darfur, Afghanistan, Haiti, Gaza, Iraq and Kosovo by acclaimed cameraman Daniel Demoustier, as well as interviews with cultural theorist Paul Virilio. The installation can be seen as an ongoing investigation of media and the influence of mediated images that more and more determine our relation with the world around us.

Warum 2.0 is a production by CARGO and Stefaan Decostere, with Christian Decker, Edwin Uytenbroek, Jonas Hansen, Chris Devriese, Johan Blaeke, and with students architecture TU Delft/Media Studies.

augmented reality residency, 2008

Sun, 14 Dec 2008 11:59:50 +0000

In the summer of 2008 I did an artist in residency at V2_lab about augmented reality.

Two years ago V2_lab started developing the first version of an augmented reality system in collaboration with the artist Marnix de Nijs (NL). That resulted in the first public user test of a project called Exercise in Immersion 4 during the Dutch Electronic Art Festival 2007 (DEAF07).

After this presentation they went on refining the system and invited three artists-in-residence. They where chosen to explore various sub topics: Marnix de Nijs (NL) will continue his Exercise in Immersion 4 project, Boris Debackere (BE) researches spatial sound, and my focus was on 3D and visual aspects of augmented reality. In the fall of 2008, a series of workshops will be given, open to (art) students, artists and other professionals who are interested in artistic use of augmented reality.

‘Better than Reality’ documentation videos

Sat, 01 Nov 2008 18:14:20 +0000

Finally the documentation videos from the ‘Better than Reality’ residency are finished…

Better than Reality interview

Sun, 12 Oct 2008 16:11:18 +0000

Ori Inbar from Games Alfresco (a Blog In Pursuit of the Ultimate Augmented Reality Game) interviewed me about the Better and Reality project at V2. If you are interest about augmented reality you should check out his website, he made a nice overview of all different kinds of developments within Augmented Reality. To read the interview go to link or keep reading here:

iobox, 2008

Sun, 14 Sep 2008 11:27:25 +0000

iobox is an experimental game, developed during the Play08 (play08.de) Festival in Potsdam, Germany by Creative Gaming Lab08:

Jonas Hansen (Cologne)
Karin Lingnau (Cologne), karinlingnau.com
Leif Rumbke (Hamburg), rumbke.de
Marek Plichta(Potsdam), marek.monoid.net

Better Than Reality Residency

Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:51:41 +0000

I am currently participating at the ‘Better Than Reality, Augmented Reality Residency’ at V2 in Rotterdam.

new site :: from .org to .net

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:54:08 +0000

Because of changing my hosting server I changed from .org to .net. It sounds unnecessary, but it was the easiest way for me. So my brand new site can now be found under: pixelsix.net

From the outside not much is changed, but now it is completely build with wordpress.

Wanderer featured in Neural #30

Sun, 06 Jul 2008 21:43:10 +0000

In the Neural #30 the game Wanderer is featured by Julian Oliver in his article Be My Controller: Opening up the Urban, Button by Button.:

“Wanderer (Jonas Hielscher and Jiri Heitlager 2005) explores strictly automated instruction, a machine’s authority over the movement of an otherwise ‘free’ subject, as a platform for a kind of auto-dérive. (…) The real game of Wanderer is between the player and themselves, their ability to wholly and effectively commit their bodily movement, their freedom of action, to the instructions of a machine. (…) As such by playing with control in urban environments, with authority over ourselves, we’re given a valuable opportunity to learn more about how and why we allow cities and societies to steer our desires, actions and movements within them.” Furthermore the issue is packed with lots of interesting articles about new media art . Ludic Society/Margarete Jahrmann interview . Homo Ludens Ludens exhibition report . Play Cultures, the world of digital games in contemporary art and culture report . Be My Controller, opening the urban, button by button .news: Emotoscope, Modi 2.0, Rom Check Fail, Amalgus Cycle

portfolio

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:40:17 +0000

[thumbnailgrid]

about

Sat, 05 Jul 2008 15:39:12 +0000

Hallo, my name is Jonas Hansen.

I am a media artist/designer and professor of game design and interaction at Burg Giebichenstein | University of Art and Design Halle.

I was a co-founder and member of the Dutch media art collective Stichting z25.org and the Cologne-based Paidia Institute.

In my work I explore the aesthetic and social connections between design, art, and technology, from interactive installations to experimental games that often examine the boundaries between the physical and virtual worlds.

Augmented Reality workshop

Sun, 01 Jun 2008 21:29:38 +0000

From June 2nd till 4th I will be teaching an Augmented Reality workshop at Mediamatic together with Julian Oliver and Klaas Kuitenbrouwer. It will be a 3 day intensive workshop in which the participants will design and construct a prototype of an Augmented Reality Game using the ARToolkit (with OAGART) Basic 3d modelling will be done with Blender.

For more information have a look at www.mediamatic.net/artefact-36632-en.html

Cube challenge

Tue, 06 May 2008 21:28:31 +0000

This Weekend Sterling Roth [mexicoxican] started a challenge over at Blender Artists: what can you make with just 10 cuboid shapes?The rules are:

use only cuboid shapes, you can scale them to long sticks, or squash them to flat boards, just keep them rectangular(or square) .
use 10 or less cubes.
the ground plane is free
you can rotate them any way you’d like, but they cannot intersect each other.
default grey materials only.
keep the lighting generic, AO and soft lights are fine.

3D Scanning

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 21:27:12 +0000

Today I started experimenting with different methods of 3D scanning.

The first tool I used was Friedrich Kirschners Mikscanner. It is a simple and genius way to scan objects by putting them in bucket with milk. What you need is a webcam, a Lego rig (or something else to attach the camera), a plastic bucket, a spoon, milk and the software. To scan you put the object in the bucket, put some milk in it and make a picture and so on. In the end the software generates an greyscale image with height information. The image you can use as a displacement map in Moviesandbox or in any other 3D APP. To see my result in Blender, download my Blend-file (to view it in the GameEngine press P to start). To see the Milkscanner in action have a look at the Milkscanner Intro.

Documentation of the WARUM 2.0 Installation

Thu, 06 Mar 2008 21:26:26 +0000

The Documentation of the WARUM 2.0 Installation at the ARTEFACT festival is finished. A preview of the Documentation can be viewed here .

WARUM 2.0 in 4 dvd’s with interviews with Paul Virilio and cameraman Daniel Demoustier; a visual and sound tour through the installation arena & ‘the unbearable lightness of doom’ sequence as bonus.

Info at cargoweb

MS Blast, 2008

Mon, 25 Feb 2008 22:00:53 +0000

MS Blast is a game prototype made in the blender game engine, in which a virtual ship can be moved by blowing into the microphone. The intensity of the blowing determines the speed of the ship. By moving the camera around, the ship can be blown in different directions. The goal of the game is to collect all boxes in the sea without getting shot by the black pirate.

MyBot at ARTEFACT, Belgium

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 21:25:16 +0000

Kinetic Life / MyBot will be exhibit at

ARTEFACT festival 2008 –> 12 - 17 February 2008 –> STUK kunstencentrum Leuven, Belgium

The installation will be part of Warom2.0 from Stefaan Decostere (CARGO) at the ARTEFACT festival in Belgium.

In my installation, a robotic hand plays the computer game Second Life. By pressing keys of a computer keyboard, the hand moves a virtual Avatar on the screen. The movement of the hand’s fingers is an automated ongoing routine. The routine will be interrupted, when a person stands close to the hand. But after a short while the hand, and with it the virtual avatar, will go back to their monotonous routine. The installation can be seen as a physical and virtual kinetic performance. In Second Life the avatar walks through a collage of photographs and interview fragments by Daniel Demoustier about war victims.

Warum 2.0 :: MyBot, 2008

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:46:09 +0000

MyBot 2.1 :: work in progress

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 21:24:02 +0000

MyBot 2.1 is project I am currently working on. The basic idea is to have a robotic hand, that will play Second Life and creates an automated virtual and physical performance. The piece will be part of a bigger installation Warum 2.0 by CARGO. It will be exhibit in Februari 08 in Belgium (more info later on).

For the Robotic hand I used an existing toy (The Pianist) and put my own servos in. the Servos will be controlled by an Arduino board or the Parallax USB Controller. The Parallax Controller is very easy to use, programming simple routines over time for the servos is quiet easy. But using sensors to influence the routines, is not possible. In order to also use a PIR sensor to sense movement, I will probably go for the Arduino board.

Machinima Festival Europe 07

Sat, 06 Oct 2007 21:22:28 +0000

Today starts the Machinima Festival Europe 2007 in Leicester, UK. I was honoured to be part of review panel. You can get an overview of all nominees at the nominees festival page.

If you are a registered in Second Life have a look at:

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Innenstadt/186/208/25

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/Pixel%20Expo%20II/2/45/51

and

HatHead Incubators, a highly creative virtual experiences company, specializing in immersive environments and digital communities

SLURL: http://slurl.com/secondlife/HatHead%20II/250/161/313

Come Out & Play Festival 2007

Sun, 30 Sep 2007 21:21:05 +0000

In September CollecTic was played at the Come Out & Play Festival 2007 in Amsterdam. The Festival was part of PICNIC'07 and was a great platform to present my game and meet people who love to play.

Mission of Come Out & Play:

The Come Out & Play Festival seeks to provide a forum for new types of public games and play. We want to bring together a public eager to rediscover the world around them through play with designers interested in producing innovative new games and experiences. Oh yeah, and we want to have city-size fun.

ARS Electronica 2007

Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:19:44 +0000

Picture and link collection of this year Ars Electronica, “Goodbey Privacy” event: Second City, collection of art works based on Second Life and other online worlds.

Machinima at GC 2007

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 21:18:40 +0000

In August I had been at the Games Convention Germany 2007 in Leipzig. It is one of the biggest consumer game fairs in Europe, so all known game companies are there and presenting there new titles.

Besides this commercial event, there is also a complete hall about Game Art and here was also a Machinima booth with machinima movies exhibited, workshops and talks. I was invited to give a talk about Games and Art. If you are interested what my talk was about, have a look at my powerpoint presentation.

V2 TestLab:PLAY

Wed, 25 Jul 2007 21:17:27 +0000

In July I had been at the Test_Lab : Play event at V2 presenting CollecTic.

TEST_LAB: PLAY! will feature a selection of the best European electronic-art graduation projects. The pieces have been selected according to originality and quality, and especially the way they use the concept of play - that is, the playfulness evoked by the work. At TEST_LAB: PLAY! these projects will be demonstrated, tested, and discussed among makers, audience and experts.

working at the KHM

Sun, 06 May 2007 21:15:53 +0000

Sinds April I am working now at the Media Art Academy in Cologne as a teacher and researcher in 3D animation and games. It´s a great place to work and to get inspired by all the people and cool projects, that going on here.

Two weeks ago we did a very cool workshop, the Ludotronic workshop together with Tilman Reiff and Volker Morawe from Fursr. During the workshop we played with Wiimotes, Arduino boards and Electronics. In the end we developed paper puppets controlled by Wiimotes (MaxMsp, Arduino boards and Servos):

Physical Computing Workshop

Tue, 06 Feb 2007 21:14:37 +0000

In the week from 29 January till 3 February I gave a ‘Physical Computing’ workshop at the Utrecht School of the Art. Together with Joris Wijdom, Marcel Dolman and assisted by Tim van Elferen we provided the workshop for the second year of the ‘Design for virtual Theater’ class.

In the workshop we focused on creating creative IN and OUTPUTS with the computer using Max/MSP, the Arduino board and electronics.

The workshop task was, to create an interesting chain response between the group computers, without connecting them with a network cable. Every group had to create at least one input and output plus an interesting processing of it, so that in the end a chain response between all computers could be made.

Cross Media & Alternate Reality Gaming Workshop

Wed, 06 Dec 2006 21:13:05 +0000

In 11/12 November and 2/3 December 2006 I participated in the ‘Cross Media & Alternate Reality Gaming Workshop’ part of the CARGO WORKSHOPS 2006 in Oostende, Belgium.

The results of the workshops will be presented at CARGO MEDIA SPACE on February the 4th 2007. http://www.cargoweb.org/

The workshop was initiated and coached by Jensen Dehaes (Wisper vzw). Participants of the workshop were Jo Cleykens, Jiri Heitlager, Walter Langelaar, Bruno De Bondt, Jeroen Neus, Edwin Uytenbroek and me.

During the workshop we discussed the topic Alternated Reality Games (ARGs) and the concept Wep2.0. Based on these topics we developed our own project ‘Chuba… ?’.

Baghdad, Oct. 2, 2006

Wed, 01 Nov 2006 10:00:35 +0000

The movie is based on CBS news from Oct. 2, 2006 about the ordered tight security curfew to break the curve of violence and the difficult and dangerous situation in the streets of Baghdad.

The movie is made in the games Battlefield 2 and The Sims 2 and is made in 3 days for the Machinima Competition organized by Holland Animation Film Festival, Mediamatic and Virma.

Machinima workshop No2

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 21:07:25 +0000

The second Machinima workshop was successfully held at the Mediamatic institute between 26th - 29th of October. Again the workshop was held by Friedrich Kirschner (Germany | machinima maker, editor Machinimag), Daniël van Gils (NL - interaction designer, machinima teacher), me and of course Mediamatic.

During the workshop Friedrich presented the tool moviesandbox, he is currently working on. We have already had the chance to experiment and make films with it. Moviesandbox is a free graphical movie scripting environment for the game Unreal Tournament 2004. You can simply script your own character animations, place cameras in a scene and lots more…

Dat-A Installation at Paradiso...

Sun, 29 Oct 2006 21:11:17 +0000

Thursday October the 26th was the Dat-A installation by stichting z25.org presented at Paradiso in Amsterdam during the ParaPlay evening. The evening was about profiling, tagging and security. The installation was first shown last year in Utrecht at Huis a/d Werf. This time the self made technology was improved and worked for almost 200 people, that where tracked.

Here are some nice pictures of the evening, more at cpu-theatre: Transmitters, that handed out at the entrance.

Are Games Art?

Thu, 26 Oct 2006 21:08:38 +0000

http://www.manifestogames.com/node/2481: Update: RESCHEDULED. Due to a schedule conflict for one of the guests, we’re rescheduling the chat–tentatively for the following week at the same time and day. I’ll update again when the time is nailed down.

Life Chat on Manifisto Games about “Are Games Art?” on Wednesday, Oct. 25 with on the subject of games and art with Henry Jenkins, Jesper Juul, Marc LeBlanc, and Eric Zimmerman. Network: irc.freenode.net Channel: #gamesandart Time: 6PM PST, 9PM EST, 2 AM GMT Participants: Henry Jenkins is the Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program and the Peter de Florez Professor of Humanities. He is the author and/or editor of nine books on various aspects of media and popular culture, including the recently published Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide.

Cinekid festival Amsterdam

Mon, 23 Oct 2006 21:09:54 +0000

On saterday the 21st October ‘06 the 20th edition of the Cinekid festival started. Cinekid is an annual Film, Television and New Media Festival for Children that is held in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.

This year the installation Reaction Machine is also part of the New Media programme. This time we encourage the children to create a ongoing story by listening carefully to the previous recording and try to continue the story. The recorded films can be viewed back online.

Game Studies 2.0

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 21:06:51 +0000

Julian Kucklich wrote a resume about the last five years of game studies (since the year 2000, when Arseth announced the ‘year one’ of game studies) and now Julian Kucklich announced Game Studies 2.0:

So what I have called Game Studies 2.0 is really a phase of transition between colonialist game studies and postcolonial game studies. The outside interest in our little corner of the world, both academic and non-, draws attention to just how comfortable this corner has become. However, complacency is hardly the appropriate attitude in the face of ongoing change all around us. We like to think that we have developed theories and models that allow us to speak with some authority about a topic that is dear to our hearts. We still like to play, after all, even if the games are getting more derivative and lacklustre year by year. This might easily turn out to be a fallacy. In a world where prominent theorists are becoming increasingly aware of gaming culture, playing games might just not be enough.This is the reason why I look hopefully toward signs of change such as the development of MMOG studies, steeped in jargon as it may be, spearheading a renewed interest in the diversity of gaming cultures…

Ubiquitous Play and Performance…

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 21:04:07 +0000

Avantgame’s Jane McGonigal recently finished her dissertation and she’s now posting chapter after chapter as pdf files at her site. As you may know, Jane research deals with ubiquitous games and she’s lead game designer at 42 Entertainment (of I love Bees fame). When she’s not making or playing games, she writes down Camus’ essays with cookies (that enough should drive you to read her dissertation!

via: ludology.org

Since I am interest in game studies I often came across Jane McGonogals writings. I think she really has very interesting ideas about gaming. I especially like here focus on performance in game activities and the way how she interferes the real world with her own games.

Manifesto Games

Wed, 06 Sep 2006 21:03:32 +0000

There is hope for young independent game developers:

There has been alot of complaining - some constructive, some not - about the relative plight of Independent Gaming in the face of towering production budgets, IP gorging producers and guarded distribution monopolies.

One of the most active voices, Greg Costikyan, has actually done something about it, along with other industry activists behind the Scratchware Manifesto. It’s called Manifesto Games, an alternative distribution and publishing context for developers with small teams and budgets, and especially those teams with the kinds of risky game designs (read ‘innovation’) the videogame industry believes it can’t (ironically) afford to make.

Participatory Design Conference

Fri, 25 Aug 2006 21:02:52 +0000

In the week from the 1st to the 5th of August 2006 I had been to Rovereto (Italy) to exposit the installation reaction machine in MART Museum of Modern Art together with Klaas Jan. The exposition was part of the ParticipART art track during the Participatory Design Conference.

Other exhibiting artists were: Natacha Roussel, Mauro Annunziato, Nell Breyer, The Sine Wave Orchestra, Daria Loi, Pekka Ala-Siuru, Victoria Vesna, Martin Mairinger, Peter Edmunds, Gruppo Làbun, Stijn Ossevoort, Susanne Schuricht.

for a overview of the works have a look at http://www.participart.org/

Collectic @ Media Technology

Sun, 06 Aug 2006 21:01:41 +0000

My graduation project CollecTic is finished. I presented it on 30th of June ‘06 at Media Technology, Leiden University. Since August 2006 it is available for download at http://www.pixelsix.net/collectic

Here you can also find the paper and some more documentation material.

CollecTic is further discussed online at:

Pasta and Vinegar
Pspupdates.qj.net download Collectic at dl.qj.net
Kotaku.com
YouTube
Dcemu.co.uk (1) Dcemu.co.uk (2)
Techeblog.com
Awayfromkeyboard.org
Numberless.net
Homebrewhowto.com
Blinklist.com
Ownage.nl
Atocorp.free.fr
Unmediated.org
Bashers.nl
…

CollecTic, 2006

Sat, 01 Jul 2006 10:00:17 +0000

CollecTic is developed as a part of my graduation project for the Master’s program Media Technology (MSc) at Leiden University in 2006.

The game is made for the Sony Playstation Portable and uses existing wireless local area network access points in a city as a main game element. In the game, the player has to move through the city to search and collect new access points. In this study I concentrated on developing game concepts, that use real life properties as game elements, but can be easily played everywhere at any moment. By using the physical world as a game board I hope to stimulate players to rediscover the real world around them in a new and playful way. I am also interested in the social effects, that result from expanding the magic circle of play by mixing the real world with the game world.

Wanderer goes Dublin…

Sat, 20 May 2006 21:00:50 +0000

In the weekeend of 09-05-2006 I had been in Dublin at the pergames workshop and presented a poster about the GPS game Wanderer, that I developed together with Jiri last year. The workshop was full with a lot of different project presentations about using the physical space and environment in games. An overview of the program can be found here.

Wanderer, 2006

Sun, 14 May 2006 12:43:49 +0000

The prototype is developed during the CARGO WORKSHOPS in Oostende, Belgium. The object of the GPS game Wanderer is to be in continuous motion and to follow auditive commands given by the game system. Because the game is not mapped onto the coordinates of the physical space, it can be played in any location. The player is continuously confronted with the objects in public space functioning as game obstacles. In this way the game transforms the meaning of the physical object in public space.

Animal Controlled Computer Games

Thu, 06 Apr 2006 20:59:13 +0000

Animal Controlled Computer Games is the graduation project from Wim van Eck, a study college and friend of mine. In his project he build a Pacman game, in that the player can play Pacman against real crickets, that controls the ghosts in the Pacman maze. By doing this he analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of real-time behaviour of live animals in comparison to behavior-generating code in computer games.

Interesting about this idea in my opinion is, that through the use of real life elements in a game, the game gets unpredictable. It happens once to him that during playing the game one cricket piled his skin. Because of the new and white skin of the cricket, the color detecting system of the game could not detect the cricket for certain period. During this period the cricket was a real ghost for the system.

Machinima workshop

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 20:58:27 +0000

From 14-17 march ‘06 was the Machinima workshop at Mediamatic. Together with Mark Meadows (US | artist, 3D animator, game developer), Friedrich Kirschner (Germany | machinimamaker, editor Machinimag), Daniël van Gils (NL - interaction designer, machinima educator) and of course Mediamatic we provided the workshop. The main tools we used for the workshop were Machinimation 1 & 2 and Sims2, but also any other game was possible to use.

What I really like about machinimas (making films in games) is, that it is a development out of the fan culture, where gamers stopped playing a game and started creating their own content. The shift from consuming to creating makes it interesting. To get an idea of machinimas have a look at films at the official machinima site, check out the online readers or have a look at wikipedia.

Crystalpunk wokshop

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 20:55:47 +0000

In the weekend of 11-12 March 2006 was the Crystalpunk workshop for soft architecture in Utrecht (NL) with a lot of cool speaker: Mario Campanella, Mirjam Struppek, Adam Somlai-Fischer, Pablo Miranda Carranza, Nicolas Nova, Jelle Feringa and me with z25.org :). I presented the RFID installation Dat-a, that I developed together with z25.org.

The slides from my presentation can be found here: dat-a_pres.pdf

To get a good overview of the lectures, have a look at Nicolas Blog.

Profile Intermedia

Tue, 20 Dec 2005 20:50:46 +0000

Reaction Machine presented at the Profile Intermedia 2005

In the weekend from 09 - 11 december ‘05 my installation Reaction Machine was presented at the Profile Intermedia in Bremen, Germany. Profile intermedia is a international conference on the crossover in design, art, architecture, film, video, photography, digital media, sonic art, revolution, visual effects, music, fashion, protest and performance.

Here some links of interesting artists and designers that presented their works:

Boyle Family (GB) is a family of collaborative artists based in London. They uses all different kinds of media, like performances, film, sound, photography, drawing, assemblage, painting, sculbtures,…
Michael Saup (GER) “Maybe on the other side of the World lies the answer to your own local situation”
Wally Olins (GB)
Andy Symanowski (GB) from Aardman, key animator of “Wallace & Gromit: The Curse Of The Were-Rabbit”
Troika Design Studio (GB/F/GER) is a multi-disciplinary art an design studio with a background in graphic and product design
Olaf Arndt & Andrea Sick, TROIA (GER) about “Demons and non-lethal strategies”

Dat-A, 2005

Mon, 14 Nov 2005 10:36:03 +0000

Dat-a is an art installation made by me together with z25.org for ‚Soiree des Ateliers‘ at Huis aan de Werf, Utrecht Netherlands. Subject of the installation is Radio Frequency Identification chip (RFID) and the consequences when this new technology will be implemented in everyday life. With this installation z25.org is hoping to create a discussion about RFID and the influence of this technology on who we are. Central question is how do we experience our identity when our movement through space is continuously monitored and when this collected data about where we are and where we have been is used to make assumptions about who we are. All the receiving and sending devices were custom made by z25.org.

Reactionmachine, 2005

Wed, 14 Sep 2005 12:30:14 +0000

The installation Reaction Machine plays with the intimate field of tension between the people. Balance of power, personal input and connecting old and new technology are all part of this experience. Reaction Machine is an open system, in which the visitor‘s reaction determines the art work. In the Reaction Machine different kinds of technologies are combined in one object, a television screen is combined with a old rusty gear wheel and a handle, all together connected to a computer with a web cam, microphone and speakers. The object looks unfamiliar, but the interface is clear: a chair in front of it to sit, a television screen to watch and a handle to turn. When a curios visitor sits down and starts to explore the use of the machine, he will

For the Birdz, 2005

Sat, 14 May 2005 11:12:37 +0000

For The Birdz is a motion tracking game, where the player can can fly a virtual bird by real body movements. The player is standing in front of a camera. A computer is analyzing the movements in the image and will filter out the positions of the users hands. The positions are translated to a virtual 3D bird, which is projected in front of the player. By moving the hands the player can control the wings of the bird and start to fly.

4by3, 2004

Wed, 13 Oct 2004 10:00:37 +0000

4by3 is a co-production between media artist/researcher Kaisu Koski and me together with z25.org. The project was initiated by Kaisu as part of her PhD research at the University of Lapland, Finland. z25.org was approached by Kaisu to support her conceptually and to realize the projects in technical terms. The starting point for the 4by3 was Samuel Beckett’s play Quad. 4by3 opens the idea of presenting variations of the same choreography in 3 different media environments. The first part of the trilogy is the creation of the narrative space and is technically a motion tracking installation, where participants interact with cell-like figures projected on the floor. The second part of the installation is the exploration of the previously created narrative space through dance and a live video feed. The last part is the destruction of the narrative space and is a dark room where infra-red technology is used to trigger audio samples that function as the memory of the dancer from the second part.

qbic, 2003

Sun, 14 Sep 2003 12:24:06 +0000

qbic is an abstract computer game, an interactive environment, where the user is challenged to build audio visual sculptures. He is encouraged to express himself and to develop a sensitivity in the use of colors, forms and sounds. In qbic the user can build audiovisual sculptures, which are determined by different parameters:

First the user chooses a basic form (pyramid, sphere or cube) with a color. He can define this color with three RGB sliders. Depending on the chosen form and color a specific sound fragment is linked to that object. He can place that object in the 3D environment. The position in the space defines the moment when the object is activated and plays its sound. The shape of the object can be deformed, by which the pitch of the sound fragment changes. Through these different parameters, there are infinitive possibilities to create own compositions. The created composition can be saved and presented to other users.

Text-Jockey, 2003

Thu, 20 Feb 2003 11:04:09 +0000

For the theatre play Ääärrgh! A Loss in Transl(oc)ation , together with z25.org I developed a textual VJ machine, the Text-Jockey. Instead of mixing images, Text-Jockey is an application with which live written text can be projected and manipulated in real-time. The application can also load and display animations and prewritten texts. Text-Jockey creates an interactive dialogue between the projection and the actors, by letting the projection itself become an actor of the play.

Intentio Luminis, 2002

Thu, 14 Nov 2002 11:23:16 +0000

Intentio Luminis is an 3D computer animation of two fishes traveling through all four elements (earth, water, air, fire) while following a ray of light. The story is inspired by the Greek myth of Ikarus, who flew too high to the sun and burned. The animation can be seen as a virtual dance, that tells the story through movement.

Jonas Hansen concept, 3D design & animation, editing
Arnaud Loonstra concept, 3D design & animation, editing
Matthew Groen concept, 3D design & animation, editing
Robin Dorland concept, music & composition
Mirjam Schouten concept, music
Buddy Baars concept