The Exhibition

1378 (km), through the medium of the computer game, allows for an immersive and interactive journey into sections of the inner-German border in the year 1976. There are two parties in the game, the first being the East German Border Guards, and second being the East German Refugees. The objective of the refugees is to get over the death strip to flee to West Germany. The objective of the border guards is to prevent that refugees cross the border. At first glance the serious game 1378(km) appears to be an ordinary first-person shooter, which is due to the fact that it is based on one. However the
modifications made on the first-person shooter for 1378(km) completely change the usual experience of such a game. Through the personal identification as either an East German Refugee or an East German Border Guard, and growing familiar with the border sections represented in the game, the players will become interested in this part of Germany’s past. The game is addressed mainly to a young generation that grew up with computer games as
their defining medium. In this computer game, as opposed to, for example, a documentary film, - I personally have control over my actions and reactions, which take place in real time and in changing situations.
The game 1378 (km) does not force someone playing as the "border soldiers" to shoot the "refugees". Players are left with the freedom of choice. The border guard has the ability to arrest refugees without the use of violence. They even have the opportunity to be a refugee. You are only able to win the game when you do not shoot. If there are too many deaths, the player gets teleported out of the game to a court yard in the year 2000. Stay there some time and account for his doings before getting back. The rules of the game are inspired by the situation at the former Inner German Border. Border camps, death strips, and orders to shoot are what make the game brutal.

www.elorx.com

Jens M. Stober (* 1986 Karlsruhe, Germany) is a media artist and game designer. His works are focused on handling computer games in an artistic way. Since 2007 he is studying media art at the University of Art and Design Karlsruhe under Prof. Michael Bielicky. In 2008 he developed in cooperation with “goldextra” the game “Frontiers – Welcome to Fortress Europe”, shown at the EMAF-Osnabrück and part of the exhibition “world of games” in ZKM Karlsruhe. In 2010 he developed the game 1378(km) as pre-diploma which is about the inner-German border. The game started a huge controversy in Germany if a computer game may act about this part of german history.

Chick'n'Run is a spectacular live game with adult size spring riders. It is perfectly suited for festivals, fairs and other types of events. In the game, up to three players compete with one another by riding the spring riders as fast as they can. The objective: leave all your opponents behind you and complete the virtual race-track first! Chick’n’Run guarantees big fun at a diverse audience. Simultaneously we are connecting people together in a playful way by letting them play, watch and encourage. At the Cinekid festival on October 20th 2011 the visitors voted in large numbers for Chick'n'Run. At the end of that evening we went home with the Best New Media Production (Audience Award).

www.fourcelabs.com

FourceLabs is a company designing innovative game installations in which the virtual and physical world blend together perfectly. All of our work and ideas can be characterized as playful, most of them having a non-virtual component. We design pervasive games on the cutting edge of experimental and physical interface design. Examples of our work can be found in student residences, in homes for the elderly and at festivals.

Decisions shape our character. They are essential for our life. Every day the fast pace of modern life demands more and faster decisions from us, so we
can bear up against the flood of information gushing out of the digital world. When we cannot stand this continuous pressure we get lethargic and turn
away from our life. „Doors of Decisions“ is a first-person computer game that emphasizes this situation of information overload. It lets you enter a strange world of identical rooms that confront you with a question and a choice of possible reactions. When you step further through the doors, you will be facing more and more situations. Once a decision is made, there is no turning back. Your lifetime is running out. You have to head for the future. Deciding in a way that the generated system does not like, will stress you and make your life even shorter. Also there is some point when you lose your power to decide for
yourself. The ultimate goal of the game is to decide on all situations included in the game before you die. Alternatively it is possible to kill yourself to end
the game at an earlier point. Every time you start the game it values the reactions on different categories of situations. While playing you have to learn acting conformal to the system of this virtual world. So you cannot decide based on what you have learned in the real world. In this way the game questions your attitude towards systems dictating you how to think. You have to learn the mechanics the system is made of, to have a chance of reaching the ultimate goal. Otherwise you will only be a name in a highscore list telling how long you lived.

http://postdigital.hfg-karlsruhe.de/gamelab

It is a crash course in cartography. Piri is a base jumper, who is exploring a planet called Ella. This game takes conventionality and turns it on its head (literally). Instead of a parachute, Piri has a plank acting as wings. Instead of playing as Piri, you actually assume the role of the planet. Your job is to shift your gravity so that Piri doesn’t get hurt as he explores the different caves.

www.fullcolorplanet.com

Mankind was prepared for a nuclear war, but nobody reached the shelters in time. Humanity erased itself. But not all creatures are as easy to exterminate: Just a few years later the young cockroach Jim set out on a journey to experience (and survive) the abandoned human world. In «Journey of a Roach» you are a cockroach on its quest to find the most beautiful place on Earth, in an underground maze of bunkers.

www.koboldgames.ch

Roswell is an adventure that takes place in a departement store. In Roswell two aliens crash into a mall on earth. It’s your job to search, to collect and to combine different Items and make sure that your UFO can fly back home. In your inventory, items are displayed only with their silhouettes/outlines. Texts are always describing the look of things and not the functionality.