Algorithm Dancing

If you search for "Algorithm March", you will find this particular song & dance that originated in Japan, wherein people begin a set of syncopated movements that result in funny interactive mechanics. It's a cute team exercise exhibiting creative group dynamics (which we like). Below is a version of an adapted dance created in New Zealand called "Algorithm Chores" (which we like even better).

A New Rube (Goldberg)

Couch Forts

A fundemental childhood development: fun & shelter built from found domestic resources. Creating an enclosed atmosphere of play within your living room. Inspired by basic human instincts. An environment is assembled, an ambiance is composed, an alternate reality set inside the most oridinary of settings. By nature the fort is exclusive, private. The question is begged; who is this fort for, and what (or who) does it protect against? The values and sensibilities of the builder are somehow implied in the act of construction. This is not simply a physical shelter. *Note: the close cousin; "Blanket Fort" (below).

SFZero

"If there is such a thing as open source games, sf0 is a beautiful version of it."- Greg Niemeyer

From the site: "SFZero is a Collaborative Production Game. Players build characters by completing tasks for their groups and increasing their Score. The goals of play include meeting new people, exploring the city, and participating in non-consumer leisure activities.
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SFZero: An interface for San Francisco. That is to say, a new representation for the data that's already there. Your mind is full of /inaccurate/ representations that are affecting the way you use the San Francisco dataflow: steering you away from interaction and collaboration and towards unproductive reflexive data loops (forNext). SFZero designers are working double-shifts to engineer this next-generation interface that will bring you together with your cohabitants to experience the freedom that is /hard-coded/ into San Francisco's protocol."

http://sf0.org/

Beautiful Katamari

We're not "gamers", in the traditional context. That's why it's so satisfying to find a contemporary video game that is so colorful, fun, and trippy. You're this little prince who has to roll up this little ball of human clutter, unitl it gets bigger and bigger and bigger! You start off with bottle caps and match books, moving on to bikes and vending machines, and finally buildings, killer whales, and entire continents. It's so gratifying to move on to the larger scales and start grabbing huge stuff.

This is another great example of the sense of *scale* & *scope* being creatively explored through modern media. Such a game we can surely get down with, like the ones we used to enjoy in the arcade! Q-Bert, Pacman, Berzerker, Tempest, Battlezone, Dig Dug, Burgertime, etc. etc. These were playful, conceptual, silly, and just delightful. Such a contrast to the loud and gloomy shoot 'em up flarnery being pushed so heavily today.