Image credit: Handmade Studios  "Space Maestro is an interactive Kinect experience that enables players to create their own musical universe through free-form movement in physical space. By spatially moving both hands like a maestro conducting an orchestra, players fuse gas clouds in space into stars. As new stars are born, collide, and die, they trigger musical stingers that compose a unique audio-visual experience" Created by Jake Jonghwa Kim (a game designer from Korea studying Interactive Media at USC), Jasper Lee and other USC students at USC Interactive Labs. Space Maestro will be on display at USC, Los Angeles between... Continue reading

Photo by: Håkon ‘Archmage’ Repstad, Mark Thomas ‘Aumtron’ Ross and Jake ‘Jellica’ Manley (source: Click Festival) Swedish 8-bit master-of-disaster Goto80 is about to unleash his book Computer Rooms to unsuspecting legions of geeks. Expect "A photo collection of private computer rooms, often featuring older machines. A rarely documented aspect of digital network culture. An homage to the material computer world. Reality, not archeology." (Click Festival). Computer Rooms will be released in a few weeks. Let's face it, happiness is juicy hardcover. Look at the above image with all its phallic symbolism (Palace's Barbarian II poster is quintessentially '80s), the vintage... Continue reading

Coll.eo, Domesticated, 2013 DOMESTICATED A new project by Coll.eo May 15, 2013 - Coll.eo is delighted to present a new work, DOMESTICATED. The artwork consists of three model kit drones, one Hendryx metallic wire bird cage measuring 13 3/4" x 9" x 4" and marked "Made in U.S.A. Hendryx Reg. Pat. U.S. OFF", one additional model kit drone hanging from the ceiling; fish line, MP3 player, speakers, drone sounds. DOMESTICATED completes Coll.eo's drone trilogy, which includes Remote Play and Achievement Unlocked, both introduced in March 2013. "The achievement of the first technology might be said to culminate in human sacrifice:... Continue reading

Marc Owen's Avatar Machine - first mentioned on GameScenes five years ago - "replicates the aesthetics and visuals of third person gaming, allowing the user to view themselves as a virtual character in real space via a head mounted interface. The system potentially allows for a diminished sense of social responsibility, and could lead the user to demonstrate behaviors normally reserved for the gaming environment." This video was produced for Talk to Me @ MoMA which took place in 2011. LINK: Marc Owens's Avatar Machine Submitted by Matteo Bittanti Continue reading

Phil Solomon; Empire, 2008-2012. HD video, 48 minutes Phil Solomon: Before and After the Falls @ Young Projects, Los Angeles (Part of Design Lab at the Pacific Design Center) Opening Thursday May 16th 6pm to 9pm Through August 2, 2013 "Known as one of the key filmmakers of the American avant-garde, Phil Solomon is known for creating extraordinarily beautiful, deeply affecting film works that are often composed out of popular, abandoned or lost pieces of celluloid. In many cases, these works employ an optical printing process to further degrade, burn and amplify certain figurative elements, almost to the point of... Continue reading

If you read Italian, here's a book for you: An edited collection of essays on machinima featuring a variety of contributions on topics ranging from art to performance, appropriation and subversions. This is part of the ongoing Ludologica books series. Ttitle: Machinima! Teorie. Pratiche. Dialoghi. Edited by: Matteo Bittanti & Henry Lowood. Publisher: Edizioni Unicopli Book Series: Ludologica. Game Theory Volume: 21 Pages: 288 Release Date: April 18 2013 Price: 19 Euro Language: Italian Avaliable on iBS and Amazon Contributors: Matteo Bittanti, Matteo Bonvicino, Alessandro Cavaleri, Marque Cornblatt, Frank R. Dellario, Joshua Diltz, Jun Faklenstein, Douglas Gayeton, Friedrich Kirschner, Kate... Continue reading

Roger Machado deconstructs vintage Atari games. Above: 1N=V4S10N. Below: Else_3rr0r. Both projects were released in 2012. LINK: Roger Machado related Submitted by Matteo Bittanti Continue reading

GameScenes is conducting a series of interviews with artists, critics, curators, and gallery owners operating in the field of Game Art, as part of an ongoing investigation of the social history of this fascinating artworld. Our goal is to illustrate the genesis and evolution of a phenomenon that changed the way game-based art is being created, experienced, and discussed today. The interview between David Blandy and Matteo Bittanti took place via email in April of 2013. David Blandy (Image credit: Peckhamspace) Born in 1976, David Blandy is an artist based in Brighton and London who uses video, performance, digital technology,... Continue reading

A video of Marcel Conrado's interactive installation for Monstros, an exhibition that took place between Oct 12- Jan 13 2013 at the MUMA (Museu Metropolitano de Arte de Curitiba) of Portão, Curitiba - Brazil. LINK: Marciel Conrado Submitted by Matteo Bittanti Continue reading

Carlos Scolari (Teaching Coordinator at the University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona) has edited a new, expanded edition of Homo Videoludens, a compelling anthology of game studies essays. Subtitled De Pacman a la gamification, this massive tome (325+ pages) features contributions from the likes of Henry Lowood, Gonzalo Frasca, Massimo Maietti, Susana Pajares Tosca, and yours truly. LINK: Carlo Scolari Continue reading

I tragically missed the UCLA Game Arts Festival 2013 this year, but the mighty Jonathan B. at Things to Do in LA has unleashed one of his killer reports. The first episode can be found here. The second is here. Can't wait to read more. Sneak preview: "Packed with mini-games and set in an art gallery you could try out multiple creative titles as a LA Hipster, college student or someone who reads this site and decided to visit. The idea of UCLA Game Arts Festival 2013 is simple: college students and indie devs make games and you try them... Continue reading

A 25-minute video of Marco Mendeni's live piece that took place in Berlin on January 29, 2013. "I’m not playing" is an audiovisual performance the investigates the relationship between the videogame medium and the culture of simulation in the digital era. As Mendeni writes, "Through the years, videogames have influenced our perception of space/time and our concept of identity, and we have now reached a point where real and virtual worlds are merging their borders. In this process, the videogame as a container of ideological power cannot be underestimated. I’m not playing addresses all this through a war videogame played... Continue reading

Roger Machado deconstructs Nintendo's seminal platform game. LINK: Roger Machado Submitted by Matteo Bittanti Continue reading

Australian artist Georgie Roxby Smith's latest project features Lara Croft performing a series of mundane activities. As Smith writes, "[F]or the first time in 2013 was re-imagined by a female writer, deeply conscious of finding a balance between “a man with boobs” and exploring areas of the female psyche without overly feminizing the character. Whilst the body is less overtly sexualised than previous versions of Lara, and her vulnerability is a strength of her character’s development rather than a victimization – the incredibly violent and voyeuristic death scenes are unparalleled. In a tongue-in-cheek play on the stereotypical depiction of Lara,... Continue reading

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Cable Griffith, World Two Overview (Night), 2013, acrylic on canvas, 58 x 40 inches CASCADIA May 31 - June 21, 2013 Reception: May 31, 5 - 9pm Collar Works Troy, New York Exhibiting artists include: Aja Rose Bond, Anna Fidler, Michelle Forsyth, Cable Griffith, Britta Johnson, Molly Magai, and Ryan Molenkamp. "Cascadia explores the current artistic climate of the Pacific Northwest, specifically: Oregon, Washington and British Columbia. A geographic area that has several times proposed to become its own independent nation, this North American stretch has always stood uniquely against its adjacent states and provinces. Captivating with its distinctly coastal... Continue reading

"Dadaist Game Art: The Digital Ready-Made and Absurdist Appropriation." This game installation promises the "excitement, glamour, fear, violence and mayhem of a genuine Middle Eastern battle!" and features "the revolutionary Borgcycle™, a sensor equipped bike that allows/forces users to get a heart-pounding workout while hunting down some baddies. Mount the Borgcycle and suddenly you are riding through a 3D recreation of a desert city. Choose between the roles of an insurgent, an invader or an onlooker. Change sides if you feel the urge! Ride through the chaos and join in on the hunt for the main targets: George Bush, Tony... Continue reading

By far, one of the most exciting Game Art projects of the year. related: Ready for Action #1, Ready for Action #2, Ready for Action #3, Ready for Action #4, Ready for Action #5, Ready for Action #6, Ready for Action #7, Ready for Action #0 Bonus Round LINK: Kent Sheely Submitted by Matteo Bittanti Continue reading

Di seguito, potete leggere l'introduzione di Henry Lowood a Machinima! Teorie, pratiche, dialoghi appena pubblicato nella collana Ludologica. Henry Lowood “Un differente approccio tecnico”? “Il cinema attuale, commerciale e il cinema come pratica artistica non hanno nulla in comune con il nostro lavoro. anche a livello tecnico, ci sovrapponiamo solo... Continue reading

Video game education. Qualche idea per insegnanti ed educatori con Massimiliano Andreoletti, Anna Ragosta e Damiano Felini Insegnare ai ragazzi qualcosa sui videogiochi? Sì, se il qualcosa è la riflessione sulla loro esperienza, il pensiero critico, la comprensione delle logiche produttive; e molto altro! Lo scopo del webinar è quello... Continue reading

"Ready, aim, fire: based on these three orders commonly used in video games, Tempo scaduto is an interactive installation which places the spectator in the paradoxical situation of having to take up position both physically as well as intellectually and morally, faced with an image and a story that will make him aware of his act. Against the backdrop of mafia war in Palermo in Sicily in the '80s, place and time of the artist’s childhood, the story unfolds in different settings and several scenes, some of which are the stage of a murder. The «player» is informed on the... Continue reading

Coll.eo, YOU ARE DEAD (2013) "YOU ARE DEAD is a commercially obtainable single line electronic display sign that Coll.eo has programmed to visualize a series of statements relating to death and its ramifications in video games. The statements take the form of quotes, judgments, and sentences. Overall, there are approximately two hundred texts selected from a variety of video games. YOU ARE DEAD hijacks Jenny Holzer’s Truism series produced between 1977-9, which was subsequently adapted to programmable LED display signs. Specifically, YOU ARE DEAD is based on Holzer’s T03959 (1984). While Holzer’s statements were aphoristic - e.g. “DECADENCE CAN BE... Continue reading

YOU ARE DEAD (2013) A new project by Coll.eo LINK Coll.eo is a collaboration between Colleen Flaherty and Matteo Bittanti. Colleen Flaherty is a painter and sculptor currently living and working in San Francisco. Colleen received her M.F.A. in Painting from the San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco in 2002 and her B.F.A. Cum Laude, with emphasis in Painting and Drawing, Minor in Music from San Jose State University, San Jose, California in 1998. Her work has been presented in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Oakland, Montevideo, and Pienza, Italy. Matteo Bittanti is an interdisciplinary artist based in San... Continue reading

"In this video, artist Cory Arcangel and adjunct curator of new media arts Christiane Paul discuss Arcangel's work Various Self Playing Bowling Games (2011), on view in the exhibition Cory Arcangel: Pro Tools." (Whitney Museum) LINK: Cory Arcangel Submitted by Matteo Bittanti Continue reading