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Pippin Barr's philosophy of developing 'curious' games
Pippin Barr's doctoral thesis is titled Video Game Values: Play as Human-Computer Interaction, submitted in 2008 to the Victoria University of Wellington as the final stage of his degree, Doctor of Philosophy in Computer Science. In the thesis, Barr highlights the act of playing a computer program rather than simply using one, with case studies in Civilization 3, Fable, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, and The Sims 2.Schoolwork completed, Barr spends his time teaching at the University of Malta's Institute of Digital Games, and developing small, profound games with an experimental edge. Barr's projects are simple, thoughtful and play with the boundaries of what a "game" can be:The Artist is Present is a game about waiting in line at New York's Museum of Modern Art, complete with real-life museum closing times and hours of standing, doing-nothing excitement. Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment is a series of short games about Greek myths – short because they're all unwinnable, with death as a constant outcome looming behind each stark, pixelated scene. Barr's most recent project, the Mumble Indie Bungle, features six games based on popular indie titles as if your grandmother misheard them at the last family dinner, such as World of Glue, Carp Life and Gurney. They're short, minimalistic and frustrating, but they're definitely not all supposed to be "boring," Barr tells me."I want to make games that controvert the standard rules – I spent quite a bit of time on that in my early games – well, maybe all my games," he says. "Games that you can't win, games where you just have to wait for a long time, games where you win but it's not satisfying, games where you're not very important in the world of the game, and so forth. These games can be boring if you're not prepared to embrace a different perspective on things – but if you are prepared to do so, I think they can be quite interesting experiences."Surprisingly, Barr has never been called a hipster.
You won't win Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment, that's the point
Pippin Barr first hit our radar in September when he made a game so boring it couldn't be ignored -- and it seems he's done it again. And again. And again. Barr's games are made to be simple exercises in thought and social commentary; at least we hope they are, because otherwise they're simply extremely tedious and don't offer any reward for effort exerted. His most recent installment, Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment, offers insight into the futility of desire and mankind's attempt to thwart the powers that be, whether they're godly, psychological or stemming from ritualistic self-abuse. Or it's just a series of games that will really piss you off. We haven't quite decided yet. Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment tells the tales of Sisyphus, Tantalus, Prometheus, Danaids and Zeno through the clever use of the G and H keys, pressed rapidly and continuously until you tire and your punishment is enacted. Peregrin Took's Dr. Pippin Barr's other titles include Trolley Problem, ZORBA and All's Well That Ends Well, and they're no less, ahem, enlightening than Let's Play: Ancient Greek Punishment.
The Artist is Present is a game about waiting in line at a museum
Writing articles about video games is so much fun that we often have to stop, wipe the manic grins off our faces and find something really boring to do. Sometimes we stare at a blank white wall and recite the Declaration of Independence under our breath, other times we watch Lost in Translation. Now we have a new option: We can play The Artist is Present, a game about waiting in line at New York's Museum of Modern Art created by Pippin Barr. Unfortunately for us, the game's backstory is pretty entertaining. Contemporary artist Marina Abramović held an exhibit in 2010 that had people waiting hours in line for a chance to look into her eyes for as long as they wanted, and Barr used that idea to make a hilariously serious game about the contemporary art experience. In the game, you enter MoMA, buy a ticket and -- surprise -- wait in line to stare into Abramović's eyes. The game mimics MoMA's hours in real life, meaning when the real museum closes, the game kicks you to the curb and you can wait until it opens again IRL to get back in line. Or you can leave and grab a slice of pizza. Not in the game; in reality. We haven't made it to the front yet, but already we feel enlightened. And bored.
