Snake the Planet!

Overview

Snake The Planet! by the collective MPU takes the classic video game Snake and adapts it to the urban canvas. When projected on to buildings, each level is generated individually depending on the selected facade. Auckland Central's windows, doorframes, pipes and signs will become boundaries and obstacles in the game.

Collaborator Lukasz Karluk explains why MPU chose to work with less than majestic architecture. "We felt that everybody was doing massive projection mapping for big festivals but the lane ways and backstreets were being forgotten. In our opinion they are just as interesting to work with as the bigger, more iconic buildings.

"We started working with scanning walls to look for features we could use for our interactive installations and eventually arrived at the idea of creating game levels that people could play on. Due to the geometric nature of the walls, Snake felt like a really fitting game to play."

Taking part is quite intuitive because touch screen devices have become ubiquitous up to the point that people expect a screen to do something when it is touched, he says. With a bicycle, camera, projector, computer and a portable battery, the MPU artists can pretty much go anywhere. Follow the van to the next spot and see the game created live.