ALT CTRL Examines The Role Of The Participant In Gaming

Interactive artist and designer Matt Ruby is literally pushing the buttons of comfortable interaction. In his new series of work ALT CTRL, designed as part of his thesis at Parsons New School for Design, he questions the idea of usability. His interfaces challenge the mind and body to think about, and in some cases be uncomfortable with, the tools they’re interacting with. He’s interested in putting his finger on the gap (or disconnect) between the digital and physical world, and is using his games to do so.

Excitebike

In Ruby’s version of Excitebike the handheld controller has been replaced with a helmet embedded with a microphone that is completely controlled by the gamer’s voice. Volume controls the speed of the bike, while pitch controls lane changing. While yelling (ok, yodeling) in a public place may make timid users a little uneasy, the more you let go of your inhibitions and get into it, the more the system responds… just think of the helmet as a temporary disguise.

Sympathy for Pacman

Sympathy for Pacman attempts to fuddle the player’s movement through space by forcing users to rotate a television around a fixed axis in order to move the onscreen character. Finally able to physically experience the innate frenzy of the Pacman world, gamers run around in circles while being force-fed cheese puffs. Who’s controlling who now?

Swap Meet

In Swap Meet the controller has been stripped down to its circuitry, so unless your fingers are moist, you can’t play the game. Obviously this saliva exchange makes users wonder about the people who have touched the interface before them, but how does this compare with the actual exchange of bodily fluids, like sweat, during physical games like, say, wrestling? Will you think twice about who’s armpit our head is stuck under?