Joe Medwid – Looking Outwards – 4
Zombie Frog Drum Kit
[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/31923751]
The name… says it all? A MIDI drum kit is used to coordinate electrical shocks directed at the bisected bodies of preserved frogs. Morbid? Sure. An ingenious interaction? Undoubtedly.
Rope Revolution
[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/26217095]
A collaboration between the MIT Media Lab and the Harvard School of Design lead to this little gem, a series of video games based on rope-related activities throughout the world. In the age of Kinect and Wii, it’s refreshing to see an input method so thoroughly grounded in a tactile medium.
Spyro The Dragon: Skylanders
[vimeo=http://vimeo.com/30858589]
You need to fast-forward quite a bit to get the point of this clever video game / real life mashup. The gimmick here is that you can buy physical action figures which are then “Transported” into a video game, unlocking the figurine as a playable in-game avatar. Not only is it an ingenious marketing strategy, it redefines the concept of “downloadable content” and playfully blurs the line between game and reality. If I were ten years younger, I would be eating this stuff up.