Intro

theBag project presents platforms for playing with different elements of the narrative base of video games in public. TheBag itself is our favorite for it is the most basic, easy-to-replicate hardware. It is portable and takes home gaming to public domains from museums to street corners. With it we encourage and invite playful participation in video gaming outdoors!

See other platforms

TheBag project supports the games: Owngoal and iDuet that hack into the narrative base of video game software to stir up and reclaim playfulness. By and large, video games hide their shortcomings in playfulness with offering their players a different position from games they are based on for example by granting a menu item for instant replay, “easy-to-use” settings control, and more lives…

For wetware (that embodies a social interface - which “is a critical point of intersection between different lifeworlds, social fields or levels of social organization, where social discontinuities based upon discrepancies in values, interests, knowledge and power, are most likely to be located.” Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_interface) - anonymous involves local forces who pull TheBag, start playing the game in situ to break the ice with audiences, to involve passer-byes and to explain how the games of Owngoal or iDuet are played.

Suggest another game!

Hints

1. Scout for alternative locations ahead.
2. Light colored wall surfaces are best to projection on.
3. “Ordinary” look is best when crossing into unknown outdoors.
4. Adjust volume to neighborhood tolerance.
5. Invite and let others play!