Evolution, one might argue, was the original interactive technology. Randomness, through interaction with stimuli, is organized into with an underlying sense of logic. Then it all happens again. This is the underlying idea behind Daniel Rozin’s exhibit “Descent With Modification,” which is running a
Before Miyazaki, Disney, or much of what can be deemed modern animation, there was the zoetrope. Popularized in Victorian Britain, the zoetrope is a circular device upon which a series of frames are either painted or affixed. If spun at a sufficient speed, these frames appear to be in motion. In eff
The act of prototyping a game is a game in its own right. It involves the conceptualizing of space and the solving of puzzles. So why not just turn prototyping into a game? the best of both worlds Bloxels, which is currently halfway to its fundraising goal on Kickstarter, takes this thought to its
Selfie sticks are extensions of a person’s power more than their arms. They are tools of conquest, a way for their owners to claim dominance over a larger swath of space in the name of better self-portraiture. If you frequently give in to the siren song of thinkpieces, you’ve seen this selfie shtick
You’ve got crabs, videogame lover—a crab simulator and crab-shaped controller, that is. The controller was created by John Choi, a student in Carnegie Mellon University’s Interactive Art and Computational Design Program. It consists of an orange body with four articulated crab legs. Unlike the real
There’s obsessive portion control as a dietary practice, and then there’s millimeter-perfect portion control as an aesthetic statement. “Cubes,” the latest project by Dutch artists Lenert and Sander, falls into the latter category. The artists responded to a commission for a food spread in de Volks
This is not a joke; it’s a jetpack. Well, maybe it’s a joke, but it’s definitely a jetpack. More specifically, the object at hand is a wing that can be attached to a sort of backpack worn by the skydivers Yves Rossy and Vince Reffet. The wing is equipped with multiple small engines that can propel t
Coffee Powered Machine, the wonderfully named developers behind the forthcoming game Okhlos make only one promise: there will be angry Greek mobs. What more could you ask for? Before you start rampaging, a little bit of context: Okhlos is set in ancient Greece. Its 16-bit style feels loveably and su
The Montreal Canadiens’ season is over. Last night, following a 4—1 loss at the hands and sticks of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Habs were eliminated from the National Hockey League’s playoffs. Their barren run of seasons without bringing home the Stanley Cup now sits at twenty two. Viewed in the li
You’re not against free speech, are you? This interpretive trap awaits anyone attempting to publicly wrangle the legacy of Charlie Hebdo. In late April, the PEN American Center announced that its literary gala would honor the French satirical newspaper. In response, a series of authors including Jun
The metaphor is so obvious that explaining it feels wasteful. Drones capture footage of ghost towns: drones and death, drones and abandonment, drones and societal disintegration. Sadly, we’ve seen this morbid movie before. drones remain macabre vehicles. Well, not exactly this movie. Mic’s Max Plen
Who needs words when you can have a keyboard that only dispenses Taylor Swift quotes? Tay Text has the Taylor Swift quote for every occasion, with the possible exception of natural disasters.
The beauty of an imaginary childhood is that it never has to end. You can keep going back to the well in search of inspiration. Thus, Swedish artist Simon Stålenhag, whose 2014 book Tales of the Loop depicted the suburban milieu of his youth albeit with a sci-fi twist, is now raising funds on Kickst
Crowdsourced map studies are being used to locate earthquake victims in Nepal The crowds that tried to find MH370 are now trying to help with the earthquake in Nepal
The stock market, which is a representation of transactions and not a physical reality, is commonly described as a roller coaster. The reasons for this are understandable: that fun thing you ride at the amusement park sounds way cooler than “the aggregation of buyers and sellers,” even if that’s wha
You’re walking down an alley alone at night when a hoodlum—a hoodlum with exposed biceps, no less!—demands that you hand over your money. What do you do? The obvious answer is to just hand over the money. It isn’t worth risking your life for a small portion of your net worth. But, as a million Batma
There are sad nights on Twitter, nights where one scene of senseless repression bleeds into the next. There have been plenty of these nights in recent years: Tahrir Square, London, Bahrain, Ferguson. Last night, it was Baltimore. Soon it will be somewhere else. For brief moments, the phenomenon of w
The invading army carried selfie sticks, or maybe those were just their arms. At this point, aren’t all arms just selfie sticks anyhow? Aren’t all arms just selfie sticks anyhow? In Selfie Assault, an entry to the Ludum Dare 32 game jam, your army of one is armed only with a cellphone. You walk aro
What do aliens see when they look at One Direction? Do they see, a musical monstrosity straight out of Simon Cowell’s fever dreams, a band that can melt your heart with sincere ballads like the sublime “Gotta Be You”, or a blank cultural canvas that can be used to take over the world? use your boy
There are things you want to see while locked in an elevator. And then there’s the sight of the neighboring skyscraper suddenly disappearing from the skyline. The elevators leading to 1 World Trade Center’s observatory offer both. This is not a malicious prank. As they ascend to the 102nd floor, the
