Introduction

The HistoryOf theComputer

The development of the computer was a turbulent period that dragged on for years and years till it became the product we know today. It was the genesis of this so called virtual violence, ironically starting out as pet government project has developed into a world wide sustance and now back to being used by the army and government for future warfare. Here is the history of the computer.

1939 - Hewlett Packard was founded by Bill Hewlett and David Packard.

1940 - The CNC is created; the first demonstration of remote access computing.

1943 - Project Whirlwind is begun by the US Army and M.I.T to create flight simulators for bomber crews.

1944 - Harvard Mark I computer is created, taking up an entire room.

1944 - Era 101, the first commercially built computer.

1958 - The SAGE project linked hundred’s of America’s radars together, creating the first large scale computer communication network.

1976 - Steve Wozniak designs the Apple I.

1977 - The Commodore PET, first of several computers released this year with an inbuilt keyboard.

1976 - The CD-ROM is created, in turn allowing for greater storage and more powerful machines.

ViolenceAndVideo Games

Recently Obama has invested $10million to research the links between violent media (games included) and violence.

“The research behind violence and video games has not really changed in the past few decades”

“On average, the research shows that exposure to violent video games increases aggressive thoughts.”

Ever since gamings incarnation there has always been some sort of invisible link between videogames and violence whether someone likes it or not. Whenever their seems to be an unfortunate act of violence (such as the recent TDKR shooting) videogames automatically assume the blame, but should they?

The first major violence and videogames study was undertaken in 1984, which surveyed 250 students asking pretty broad and silly questions such as “Somebody picks a fight with you on the way home from school. What would you do?”, after each student has had a chance to play a violent videogame. The scientists carrying out the study came up with this conclusion “The data indicates that videogame playing is neither the menace that many of its critics have portrayed it to be, nor necessarily without possible negative consequences.”. Not much of a conclusion, but yet nothing directly stating that videogames make the player violent. Since this study there have been over a 100 more carried out, with each one stating something different to the other...

“anybody who tells you that there’s any kind of consistency to the aggression research is lying to you, quite frankly”

There are two sides to each argument and they generally go down like this;

Someone arguing for tend’s to say “Kids who play more violent video games—it changes their attitudes and their beliefs about aggression. It does desensitize them. In the long-term it probably links aggression with fun, which is a really weird idea. Or aggression and relaxation, another weird idea.” Doug Gentile.

While on the other hand you have someone like Ferguson who says “There are over 100 studies at this point that in some way or another tap into video game violence and aggression. Most of them are horrible.”

One of the major problems with these studies is they have been trying to find links between videogames and violence rather than an increase in aggression, which is much more viable. Also whenever there are null links they tend to be ignored rather than investigated, as well as the measure for aggresion can’t really be quanitfied. The fact that the studies tend to test teenagers rather than children is also not ideal.

Conflict

and

Science

Radar

Radar is one of the best examples of conflict accelarating technological development. It all occured when a number of scientists were trying to use radio antenna’s and playing around with their properties; the credit for the creation of radar goes to Sir Robert Watson-Watt. This technology helped the miltary to track opposing sides, create new warfare strategies, develop technology which lent itself too stealth aircraft, while it also made the USA heaviliy invest in finding new ways of using radar.

What use has radar been to us? Well when a scientist called Percy Spencer was standing next to a magnetron (a device that powers radars), his chocolate began to melt. Which led to the Microwave being created.

The Space Race

Although their is no direct representation of technology used to go out into space being used at home, the battle between the USSR and USA put massive strain on the smartest minds from both countries, which ended up with them developing loads of amazing pieces of technology. Prior to this event we had only dreamed about leaving our atmosphere but due to the conflict between the two countries it let to us building rockets, fuels, space suit’s and so on, some of which would have inspired future pieces of home based technology.

Head Up Displays

The Head Up Display (HUD for short) naturally evolved through a pre-WWII sight technology for pilots called reflector sight. As the sight’s developed and got more complex; reticles created to track moving targets etc, they started getting organised and designed which led to the creation of the HUD for pilots. This amazing piece of technology let the pilot know and control his surroundings much easier, rather than have to pay attention to millions of dials positioned all around him. Currently HUD’s are in development for soldiers and other military uses.

For us the HUD is something that is prominant in almost every single game. Recently it has also been developed for cars to display useful, up-to-date information and pretty much created Google Glass.

The Internet

In a way, the internet is a war baby. The US Department of Defence funded a project called ARPANET – the purpose of which was to allow multiple computers to communicate with each other. A computer network also had a benefit to do with National Security – in the event of a catastrophe access to the countries super computers could still occur using a network. ARPANET’s protocols would allow for an alternative route if one is blocked off. All of this is the basis of the internet and how it works – although no war directly influenced this, the threat of war did.

The benefits to us are endless, it allows us to communicate to anyone all over the world, socialise in new ways, transfer information, Google.... etc.

Global Positioning Systems

The GPS was invented by the US Department of Defence and scientist Ivan Getting, with a whopping cost of $20billion. It’s creation was out of necessity for soldiers on the ground, so the army could track their lost comrades and find them, whilst also making travelling safer and easier. It work’s by transmitting over a small group of satelities spread around the world, to then pinpoint location, sort of like astrology.

The GPS became a consumer tool after Korean Arlines Flight 007, was shot down carrying 286 people over Russian airspace, not knowing it was so. For us it’s used almost entirely as a navigational tool.

Penicillin

The creation of penicillin was pretty much due to the horrific injuries and number of deaths occuring during WWII. By chance scientist Alexander Fleming left a number of petri-dishes outside (having attempted to create the ‘wonder drug’ for years) and something clicked. It’s development was accelerated by the British Gorvenment and was sent out to the injured asap.

VideogamesInReal life

This re-creation of an iconic game environment is absolutely crazy, but it shows how much is possible with today’s technology and where we might be heading in the future. Will we be taking our supposed anger out on each other in the future, in let’s say a real world ‘Call of Duty’? Looking at these attempts anything is possible?

Super Street Fire

Street Fighter is one of the most iconic and recognisable games out there, pretty much starting out the entire beat em-up craze which the likes of Mortal Kombat picked up later on. Who hasn’t before thought about being able to re-create their favourite characters moves (Ryu’s Kick anyone?), shoot fireballs etc; well led by Seth Hardy, Studio 3 have recently made it possible, sort of...

Essentially this is Steer Fighter II, a re-creation of Ryu’s Stage, and giving you the ability to shoot fire balls, the famous HADOUKEN has come to life. All of this is possible through some ingenious computing, game design, engineering, carpentry and pyrotechnics.

To be able to play each player is given two pairs of gloves which contain accelerometers, the player pressing a button with their thumb when they want to make a gesture, which is sent out wirelessly through Wi-Fi. They are sent to a gesture receiver that interprets them and then allows for up to 32 different fiery outcomes. The fire comes from pipework laid underground in a specific grid that allow’s for movement from each player, but so they dont get burnt.

Resident Evil Escape

Resident Evil is pretty much the difinitive sivival horror game, one that has been scaring players silly for over two decades. A company called Scrap in partnership with Capcom have re-created an icon hospital level from the game in Tokyo, using a real abandoned hospital as its base (presumably with a number of fatalities happening there).

For this to succeed they worked closely with the games designers to try and re-create everything to the smallest detail, including all the gore. Extremely talented actors and make-up artists have also been involved to make this as real as possible, blurring the line between the virtual and the real.

The most interesting thing is that you are able to nominate a friend to be ‘kindnapped’ into the game, so they awake in an environment their not familiar with. This, for the meer price of $40 gives the player the best and most frightening experience.

Having looked at the link between videogames and violence as well as how technology had been accelarted by conflicts, I had to take a more specific step towards my outcome. I had become interested by how these pieces of technology had been used at the home front and during war; looking at taking the virtual into the real was the logical next step.

Arambartholl

Aram Bartholl

Aram Bartholl is a German born, multidisciplinary designer. His work varies from pretty cool typographic pieces to set designs, but what he always tries to achieve is to bring the virtual into the real world.

A lot of his theories are based of the ‘paragim of research’ where not only is he interested what media does to man, but what man does to media. He often tries to re-create the tension between offline and online etc. with some fascinating and creative outcomes.

Map

The project known as ‘Map’ is a public space installation that run from 2006-10, questioning the iconic red marker in Google Maps. The idea was simply to try and re-create a physical map marker that people could identify with and realise how big these journeys and places their venturing too really are.

I find this project extremely interesting due to Bartholl trying to communicate something that used to be only analogue, from digital back to its original state. Although it is quite a simple translation from screen to the real world, its powerful and suggestive due to its size and the iconicness of the Google needle.

First Person Shooter

This project caught my attention for a few reason; It’s based on my all time favourite game ‘Counterstrike’ and it ties it brilliantly with the idea of conflict. The first person shooter almost always tends to have a hand holding a gun in the bottom right hand corner of the screen, and thats what Bartholl has attempted to play with.

In this project, Bartholl supplied anyone that wanted to join in a cut-out postcard where the user could put together a pair of glasses with a gun put into the same space, just in real life. In game the players head movements control the hand, and its the same with the glasses wherever the user looks the gun follows, hence the recreation of the game mechanic.

1h

The 1H event was a one day workshop run by Aram Bartholl where anyone involved tried to re-create their favourite 1H (one handed) weapon from World of Warcraft. Once built everyone takes their home made weapon out on a day, but in the unusable state (just like in the game) bringing it into a real environment.

The thing that interested me about this was mainly how he brought something that is extremely game orientated and virtual, made it contemporary, cool as well as creative. Something you don’t see very often.

KeichiiMatsuda

Keichii Matsuda

Keichii Matsuda is a Japanese designer and film-maker who works with a variety of subjects. His work with film began during his Masters for Architecture, where he used video to try and represent technologies influence on architecture. He often focuses on how media integrates into our every day life, using multiple mediums to create hyper realistic outcomes.

Augemented (hyper)Reality

This series of motion graphic videos looks at how augemented reality and synthetic spaces may impact our everyda life in the near future. The video explores how we would interact with everything having an augemented reality interface, how advertisements would bombard us as well as move out of the way etc.

The way the visuals are organised around the user are based on a pilots cockpit. With the app’s and augemented reality circuling the user 360 degrees just like in a jet. This insight gives me a good idea how something like a game interface might interact with a soldier and vice versa.

The futureof

warfare

Robots

Robots used to be only found in sci-fi films and our imaginations, but now 12,000 (yes that many) are deployed in Iraq and other warzones and they make Robot Wars look like Crufts. One of the most interesting robots is the LS3 Robot Dog; resembling somewhat a giant Rotweiller, technically its harmless and helps the soldiers carry their equipment over any terrain.

The pentagon is investing billions into robotics and the benefits are endless; a robot has better and steadier aim than a human, doesn’t feel pain, don’t get tired or hungry and so on. The design of the robots are begging to be tailored to terrify other’s just by their pure aesthetic (one resembling the icon T-800).

By 2015 it is estimated 1/3 of the US Army is going to be robotic; are the Matrix or Terminator scenarios a possibility? At this moment in time it is more likely death will be caused by glitches; in 2005 a anti-aircraft robot malfunctioned and started to shoot out explosive shells at incredibly high rates, causing huge amounts of damage.

Supersoldiers

The US army have tried to create Supersoldiers through eugenics, genetics, hypnosis and more crazy ways for years. Today the Pentagon spends $400million a year financing their Supersoldier programmes.

American’s are getting fatter and more unfit year by year, while the military are desperate for more recruits, obesity is quickly becoming a matter of national security. Though instead of forcing American’s to excercise the ‘Metabolic Dominance’ programme which tries to convert body fat into energy is taking over. Then you have a ‘pain vaccine’ that would help soldiers supress pain for months in a time. That’s not as weird as it gets though; the US army are developing ways of regrowing severed or destroyed limbs.

It is common knowledge that all of this is only limited by our biological DNA but it is likely in a number of years we will be resembling something out of Deus Ex.

Direct Energy Weapons

Besides developing laser weapons the US Army are also working with direct energy; essentially a microwave and a weapon combined. Essentially a beam is fired from the weapon that is able to boil water - pretty useful considering humans are 75% liquid.

Then their are weapons that are able to fire plasma energy which can paralyse you as well as infa-red rays that are can inflict extreme pain when concentrated. The army are also developing lightsabers, sort of... knives which use plasma ray’s are able to cut through flesh and bone, pretty crazy stuff.

It is an extremely interesting cycle seeing how war ahad influenced gaming and the way games tell their stories. The fact that now war and militaries are influenced by gaming and sci-fi is even more crazy, showing technology is accelrating to new and untested territories.

Videogamesand themilitary

“The research behind violence and video games has not really changed in the past few decades”

“On average, the research shows that exposure to violent video games increases aggressive thoughts.”

Ever since gamings incarnation there has always been some sort of invisible link between videogames and violence whether someone likes it or not. Whenever their seems to be an unfortunate act of violence (such as the recent TDKR shooting) videogames automatically assume the blame, but should they?

The first major violence and videogames study was undertaken in 1984, which surveyed 250 students asking pretty broad and silly questions such as “Somebody picks a fight with you on the way home from school. What would you do?”, after each student has had a chance to play a violent videogame. The scientists carrying out the study came up with this conclusion “The data indicates that videogame playing is neither the menace that many of its critics have portrayed it to be, nor necessarily without possible negative consequences.”. Not much of a conclusion, but yet nothing directly stating that videogames make the player violent. Since this study there have been over a 100 more carried out, with each one stating something different to the other...

VideogameInterfaces

Experimentation