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SUITED UP.
Project: The Voyager update project
Project: The Voyager update project
Wii Ware
It is funny to think of what my group and I ended up designing after looking back to the original premise of the class. There were so many different avenues then, and even with a much more concentrated idea, the avenues keep on rising. We definitely followed through with our original goals of creating a powerful, fun, exciting new view on what it means to be a human. Even though we accomplished this, the questions and implications of the project did not stop there.
Our project says a whole lot about humanity and our place in the universe. With every day we are getting closer and closer to creating artificial brains and being able to manipulate and control them just like a computer. Every time I search the Internet, and especially on websites like Digg, I notice the great interest in brain function and neuroscience advancements. The idea of artificial intelligence has been a topic of every science fiction enthusiast for many years now. The idea of creating machines that can think like humans and even of just being able to recreate the functions of a human brain are profoundly interesting and important to society.
Humans are at the point where we have interfaced with machines and technology so much that we are losing the very humanness of ourselves for cold, hard metals and plastics. The Wii Ware acts as a reminder of our humanness in the skin that we are actually in. It is there to tell people about their natural states and how far we are from being perfect. It is not creating better humans, but insists on illuminating the idea of a human as a work in progress. As we begin to evolve the state of the human as it is in 2008 will eventually be forgotten. It is an image of humans before they lost themselves in their own creations.
There is however the interesting snag that the object that allows you to understand this on the level the Wii Ware allows is with a machine. There is the fact that most mind hacks can be accomplished as the human is in the natural state, but the Wii Ware just feeds off the idea of mind hacks and allows people to take it so much farther. In the end the machine is used just as a tool, and nothing more. It does not want to take over the body or give it sensations on its own, but rather taking inputs of the real world created by the player, and simply rerouting or facilitating them to other receptors in the brain to create sensory illusions. We already know that the brain can be manipulated through mind hacks, and the Wii Ware just allows for that to happen, but in a more advanced and powerful way.
The introduction of a machine however should not be forgotten when using the Wii Ware, but that is what I hope would happen as the person experiences their bodies. The idea of singularity and our connections with machines is unavoidable, but that is why it is that much more important for people to realize that Wii Ware is a mere facilitator of sensation, and not a creator, because that leaves the human separate and in control of what is happening with the object.
Just as the Wii Remote essentially becomes invisible to the user when playing games like Wii Cooking, or a James Bond shooting game, or just a simple one like Wii Sports, the remote is no longer a remote, but the object the person imagines on the screen. This means that people can still experience their bodies and understands its functions without giving complete credit to the machine for allowing such sensations to be created. At the end of the day it is the person that allows for all the sensations they feel, and the machine is just a tool that aids in making that experience more powerful.
The Wii Ware means lot of things when trying to place it in our culture. It becomes an object of media art, of sociological critique, of fashion, of science, of everything. It applies to the full human experience, just as it attempts to convey such feelings in the use of it. The Wii Ware is about revealing intricacies of the human mind and body that every person can relate to. We are all the same on the level the Wii Ware works because it uses things that nearly every human has, the ability to feel sensations, and the ability to understand such sensations through their cognition.
I think what is so great about Wii Ware is that even though we have formatted it to fit into the Wii brand scheme; the actual idea works on so many levels and can be understood in so many different areas of our culture. It teaches people how the body and mind can be exploited and reflects on anything from art to fashion to science. It is not just a scientific advancement that would be so great, but the way it affects how people share and understand each other, how it could be used to send some artsy philosophic messages about humanity, and acts as an agent of bringing different cultures together.
The creation of such an object would have great effects on society as a whole. Where does the use of it stop, and how far can the creation of sensations be taken? People will always use technology in new and different ways to extend its abilities and uses. There will always be someone that will somehow exploit such an object for the sole reason of creating revenue, while others will somehow discover some perverse use for the Wii Ware. When it comes to the brain and learning how it works to the extent where sensations can essentially be created (even though this is not how our own project works) there will be a lot of apprehension and fear about people who would use the technology for evil.
It might be something that would be better if no one ever even got interested in because of the moral and social implications it could have. Brain control is a pretty big deal and could be used in horrible ways. Pain would obviously be the biggest fear, and if someone can receive pleasure as with the Wii Ware, what would stop someone from sending pain. The ability to send pain to people would be a horrible extension of such a project and would certainly not be very "Wii".
There are plenty of ways that his project could be very successful in its application, but the ways in which it works and the design guidelines of the project are integral in its success. There are some things the Wii Ware should be able to do, and a whole lot that it should not be able to. There has to be great uses of control and moderation designing something this powerful. Of course the creation of such an object is inevitable. People will always be interested in the body and mind, and especially the interface of it. If the Wii Ware explores such territory, another will undoubtedly exploit the technologies associated with it. Just like there are so many moral implications of something like cloning, the Wii Ware would be the same. The uses of it have to be strict and limited, because if such a powerful technology was put in the wrong hands there is no knowing what someone could do with it.
Our original idea of creating a “human suit” was never lost, and that makes me very happy. We began with an idea of thinking of aliens as completely unknown creatures in the universe that we did not understand in any way, shape, or form. When we thought about how to communicate with such an alien the only thing we could really say was about our own experiences, the human experience. Providing aliens with a suit that would make people understand what it meant to be a human. We ended up creating a type of human suit that provided humans as a way to understand their humanness, discovering just how little we know about the body and the skin that we take for granted.
I would also like to take a few words to speak about the class, something that seems to be a highly discussed topic among the students. The class was not exactly what I expected when signing up with brand lab, however, I do believe the experience was very important and allowed us to think in some ways that we would usually not be allowed. There were no limits in how we thought about our human suit and Wii Ware, and that is something that most people cannot afford in the so called 'real world'. I wish that we learned a little more about the traditional branding universe, but there were some very sucessful moments in the class. One thing for sure is that I think my group and I were very happy with the final product we produced, and all the fun we had during the quarter. So all in all, even though we did not get to take a traditional brand class, screw it, Wii Ware rocks.
It is funny to think of what my group and I ended up designing after looking back to the original premise of the class. There were so many different avenues then, and even with a much more concentrated idea, the avenues keep on rising. We definitely followed through with our original goals of creating a powerful, fun, exciting new view on what it means to be a human. Even though we accomplished this, the questions and implications of the project did not stop there.
Our project says a whole lot about humanity and our place in the universe. With every day we are getting closer and closer to creating artificial brains and being able to manipulate and control them just like a computer. Every time I search the Internet, and especially on websites like Digg, I notice the great interest in brain function and neuroscience advancements. The idea of artificial intelligence has been a topic of every science fiction enthusiast for many years now. The idea of creating machines that can think like humans and even of just being able to recreate the functions of a human brain are profoundly interesting and important to society.
Humans are at the point where we have interfaced with machines and technology so much that we are losing the very humanness of ourselves for cold, hard metals and plastics. The Wii Ware acts as a reminder of our humanness in the skin that we are actually in. It is there to tell people about their natural states and how far we are from being perfect. It is not creating better humans, but insists on illuminating the idea of a human as a work in progress. As we begin to evolve the state of the human as it is in 2008 will eventually be forgotten. It is an image of humans before they lost themselves in their own creations.
There is however the interesting snag that the object that allows you to understand this on the level the Wii Ware allows is with a machine. There is the fact that most mind hacks can be accomplished as the human is in the natural state, but the Wii Ware just feeds off the idea of mind hacks and allows people to take it so much farther. In the end the machine is used just as a tool, and nothing more. It does not want to take over the body or give it sensations on its own, but rather taking inputs of the real world created by the player, and simply rerouting or facilitating them to other receptors in the brain to create sensory illusions. We already know that the brain can be manipulated through mind hacks, and the Wii Ware just allows for that to happen, but in a more advanced and powerful way.
The introduction of a machine however should not be forgotten when using the Wii Ware, but that is what I hope would happen as the person experiences their bodies. The idea of singularity and our connections with machines is unavoidable, but that is why it is that much more important for people to realize that Wii Ware is a mere facilitator of sensation, and not a creator, because that leaves the human separate and in control of what is happening with the object.
Just as the Wii Remote essentially becomes invisible to the user when playing games like Wii Cooking, or a James Bond shooting game, or just a simple one like Wii Sports, the remote is no longer a remote, but the object the person imagines on the screen. This means that people can still experience their bodies and understands its functions without giving complete credit to the machine for allowing such sensations to be created. At the end of the day it is the person that allows for all the sensations they feel, and the machine is just a tool that aids in making that experience more powerful.
The Wii Ware means lot of things when trying to place it in our culture. It becomes an object of media art, of sociological critique, of fashion, of science, of everything. It applies to the full human experience, just as it attempts to convey such feelings in the use of it. The Wii Ware is about revealing intricacies of the human mind and body that every person can relate to. We are all the same on the level the Wii Ware works because it uses things that nearly every human has, the ability to feel sensations, and the ability to understand such sensations through their cognition.
I think what is so great about Wii Ware is that even though we have formatted it to fit into the Wii brand scheme; the actual idea works on so many levels and can be understood in so many different areas of our culture. It teaches people how the body and mind can be exploited and reflects on anything from art to fashion to science. It is not just a scientific advancement that would be so great, but the way it affects how people share and understand each other, how it could be used to send some artsy philosophic messages about humanity, and acts as an agent of bringing different cultures together.
The creation of such an object would have great effects on society as a whole. Where does the use of it stop, and how far can the creation of sensations be taken? People will always use technology in new and different ways to extend its abilities and uses. There will always be someone that will somehow exploit such an object for the sole reason of creating revenue, while others will somehow discover some perverse use for the Wii Ware. When it comes to the brain and learning how it works to the extent where sensations can essentially be created (even though this is not how our own project works) there will be a lot of apprehension and fear about people who would use the technology for evil.
It might be something that would be better if no one ever even got interested in because of the moral and social implications it could have. Brain control is a pretty big deal and could be used in horrible ways. Pain would obviously be the biggest fear, and if someone can receive pleasure as with the Wii Ware, what would stop someone from sending pain. The ability to send pain to people would be a horrible extension of such a project and would certainly not be very "Wii".
There are plenty of ways that his project could be very successful in its application, but the ways in which it works and the design guidelines of the project are integral in its success. There are some things the Wii Ware should be able to do, and a whole lot that it should not be able to. There has to be great uses of control and moderation designing something this powerful. Of course the creation of such an object is inevitable. People will always be interested in the body and mind, and especially the interface of it. If the Wii Ware explores such territory, another will undoubtedly exploit the technologies associated with it. Just like there are so many moral implications of something like cloning, the Wii Ware would be the same. The uses of it have to be strict and limited, because if such a powerful technology was put in the wrong hands there is no knowing what someone could do with it.
Our original idea of creating a “human suit” was never lost, and that makes me very happy. We began with an idea of thinking of aliens as completely unknown creatures in the universe that we did not understand in any way, shape, or form. When we thought about how to communicate with such an alien the only thing we could really say was about our own experiences, the human experience. Providing aliens with a suit that would make people understand what it meant to be a human. We ended up creating a type of human suit that provided humans as a way to understand their humanness, discovering just how little we know about the body and the skin that we take for granted.
I would also like to take a few words to speak about the class, something that seems to be a highly discussed topic among the students. The class was not exactly what I expected when signing up with brand lab, however, I do believe the experience was very important and allowed us to think in some ways that we would usually not be allowed. There were no limits in how we thought about our human suit and Wii Ware, and that is something that most people cannot afford in the so called 'real world'. I wish that we learned a little more about the traditional branding universe, but there were some very sucessful moments in the class. One thing for sure is that I think my group and I were very happy with the final product we produced, and all the fun we had during the quarter. So all in all, even though we did not get to take a traditional brand class, screw it, Wii Ware rocks.
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