Social Hardware

Nintendo Amusement Park was created by Noah Shibley, Dan Albritton, and Huang-ling Chen, its a real life obstacle course which a player jumps through using a power assist harness. The project is quite simple in design incorporating no electronics or computer interfaces, however through its use of elaborate costumes and props that convey a sense of cultural history to many of the users, the users become immersed in the unique reality of the game. By themselves the kinetic actions of the piece are stimulating for the user but its the nostalgic props and game story goals that sparks a sense of wonderment and child like amusement. Groups of people that participated in using the project found themselves bonded together by their immersion into familiar cultural elements of childhood video games combined with the suspension of reality that is created through participation in any physical game.