Feng Mengbo – Q4U(2002)

Chinese new media artist Feng Mengbo brought a novel, personal spin to the 1996 computer game Quake. Q4U is a 32 minute video created from the Quake game engine, with a spectator’s perspective on an in-game battle. Instead of using the stock characters, Feng modified the skins and made the main character look like himself. After an original 1999 beta version, named Q3, Feng replaced all the skins in the game with his own images. I think this is neat, very early example of the in-game character creation options many video games have today. Additionally, Q4U bends the perspective on gaming, and reminds me that characters in games can be whoever we want them to be- this idea is the basis of modern day virtual reality (eg. Oculus Rift), a concept that I’m highly interested in.

Marie Sester – Kyosaku (2011)

Marie Sester, a French-American new media artist, started prototyping a stress monitoring wristband four years ago. Kyosaku is a multi-monitoring wearable that will wirelessly relay the wearer’s heart rate, skin conductivity results(ie. sweat level), and skin temperature in real-time to an Android device. The device seems to be in its early stages (or possibly discontinued), but it represents the growing need for people to be able to monitor themselves, relax. and de-stress. I think a quickly growing disorder like anxiety deserves innovations from technology, and not only medicine, in order for us to be able to handle it as a species. This is personally important to me, as I despise unnecessary stress, and I think a device that can remind me of my current physical state can prove useful in meditation, exercise, or work.