Pain station
A PainStation (v. Engl. Pain "pain" u. Station "Station") is an on Pong -based art object and arcade game with pain feedback from the artists' group "////////// for //// art entertainment interfaces "( sic ).
history
The system was originally developed by Tilman Reiff and Volker Morawe, two students at the Art Academy for Media Cologne in 2001 as an interactive art object and later under the name of the artist group “////////// fur //// art entertainment interfaces ”. The designers were inspired by the children's game Torture- Mau-Mau and the development of modern computer games . There was a cinematic role model back in 1983 in the James Bond film Never Say Never . The loser in the fictional computer game "Domination" is punished with electric shocks via the joystick. Whoever lets go of the joystick has lost.
The original concept was followed by several further stages of development, which are regularly exhibited around the world in a wide variety of cultural contexts.
After discussions with Sony , the artists now refer to the system as "The artwork formerly known as PainStation".
construction
While the underlying artistic concept was consistently retained over the years, the group developed the system evolutionarily.
Basic concept
Painstations consist of a specially made housing that gives two players the opportunity to play a specially adapted variant of the classic Pong video game against each other. The electronic control is connected to several components via digital-to-analog converters, which provide the players with sensory feedback.
During the game, the player's left hand rests on a support surface (“Pain Execution Unit”, PEU), which serves both as a sensor and a feedback instrument. Possible feedback impulses are heat impulses, power surges and a miniature whip integrated into the game console. The feedback depends on the course of the game and can increase in intensity. The respective opponent can try to change the feedback specifically about his actions.
The following bonus items can be activated by hits in the 2006 software version:
- Increase ball speed (3 levels)
- Double Pain Execution Time
- Quadruple Pain Execution Time
- Almost Unblockable Ricochet
- Cut High Of Bar By 50%
- Deadly Row
- Electric boogaloo
- Burn in Hell
- Death penalty
- Cheese!
- Ease the pain!
- Cluster Bomb
If one of the two players removes his hand from the contact surface during the game, he has lost the game.
Pain station
The heart of the original system was the hardware of an Apple G3 Macintosh, as well as a specially made control board. The programming was done under Macromedia Director and C ++ . The model was created mainly from available scrap materials using a tube monitor . The first 5 highscore places were originally computer-generated at absurd heights for reasons of deterrence, but an entry was actually overwritten by a player at the Games Convention 2006. Since then, "GOL" has been in 2nd place with 300 points.
Painstation 2.0
From 2002 the successor Painstation 2.0 was created.
In addition to a game-dependent variable pain intensity, it offers several exchangeable whip inserts and an additional light source that can be used to dazzle the opponent. After the Director- based software of the previous model was based on outdated hardware, it was completely reprogrammed for the new model for use under Windows . The application is executed under C ++ and the use of OpenGL . The PEUs were first carved out of stainless steel with a laser . The higher processor performance now allows the speed of the whip motor and the strength of the electric shocks to be individually adjusted during the game. The system was equipped for the first time with a coin acceptance system in order to make it possible to pay a fee. The device is equipped with a 15-inch LCD monitor and was first presented to the public on June 25, 2003 at the Harald Schmidt Show .
Painstation 2.5
The new housing, which is painted in three colors of metal, consists mainly of MDF panels and has a modular structure. This makes it easier to transport the system and replace defective components. In addition to a 15-inch color screen, standard PC technology and a special control board are still used internally . The pain level can be adjusted from 50 percent to 150 percent. Before starting the game, the player must expressly confirm via an opt-in button that he would like to take part in the game. The players' seats are upholstered in leather, the control elements of the system have been arranged more ergonomically . A newly added fan in the PEU cools the system down more between game rounds in order to avoid electronic problems and has a pain reliever during the game rounds for the players.
Exhibitions
Permanent
Since 2011 as an exhibit in the permanent exhibition in the Computer Games Museum Berlin , January 2011
Temporary
The system has been presented to the public in the following exhibitions and trade fairs, among others:
- Pain exhibition in Berlin 2007
- pong.mythos in the Museum for Communication in Frankfurt am Main from November 16, 2006 - January 21, 2007
- Emergences 2006 , Maison de la Villette, Paris , from September 29, 2006 to October 1, 2006
- GamesConvention, Leipzig , 2006
- Electrical Fantasista Exhibition , BankART NYK, Yokohama , February 24, 2006 - March 14, 2006
- Blind Spots , Hannah Maclure Center, Dundee , January 30, 2006 - May 19, 2006
- Venus in fur , Neue Galerie, Graz , 2003
- DEAF 03 , Parkhuis, Rotterdam , 2003
- Cyberarts Exhibition , OK Center, Linz , 2002
- Altitude 2001 , Cologne , July 20, 2001
- Technical Museum , Vienna
In recent years, the system has also been exhibited repeatedly in clubs , as well as at LAN and BDSM parties .
Awards
- International Media Art Award, SWR / ZKM 2003
- Prix Ars Electronica 2002, Recognition / Interactive Art
Art collections
- The art collection of the art group etoy is owned by a Painstation 2.5
- Pain exhibition in Berlin 2007
See also
Web links
- Painstation.de Information page about the project
- fursr.com Project website and blog of the artist group
- Wired (via archive.org): No Pain, No Game ( Memento of February 7, 2003 in the Internet Archive ) (March 7, 2002)
- Tech Live: PainStation: Gaming Till It Hurts (April 22, 2002)
- Wisconsin Public Radio: Video Games: from Pong to Painstation
- Telepolis : Painstation Suffer and Let Suffer (March 12, 2002)
media
Individual evidence
- ↑ cf. Painstation-Modern Dueling Artifact ( Memento of the original from September 28, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 265 kB)
- ↑ On the Media, June 27, 2003, transcript and interview as .mp3 under They Like Pain (Station) ( Memento from May 23, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Sample video (Quick-Time) under Painstation - Do you feel the pain? ( Memento of the original from November 29, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ cf. Even more enhanced dueling artefact , online under PainStation 2.0 ( memento of the original from March 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ The Collection (representation of all models with further information)
- ↑ cf. z. B. New Computer Games Museum - Point, Line, Pain , spiegel.de, January 20, 2011
- ↑ pong.mythos ( memento of the original from April 16, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ cf. Battle against ESD , http://blog.fursr.com/ ( Memento of the original from September 27, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
