Monobanda

Visible Voice — Show(s) your emotions, 2021

Monobanda and Constant

In New Babylon, Constant Nieuwenhuis assumes a view of humanity that anticipated the thinking and working methods of many interactive artists and game designers today. The view that every human being is by nature a creative and autonomous being who possesses the power to be creative. With his manifesto, Constant anticipated the topics that interaction designers and game designers are currently dealing with on a daily basis. Empowering people’s self agency.

How do we use technology to create a world that facilitates and enhances the intrinsic potential of humans?

Monobanda on “Labyrism”

In these litho’s, architecture almost disappears. All that remains are the elements that empower people. Elements that deal with human choices, behavior and movement. Lots of ladders, lots of doors. Freedom for man. Spaces that illustrate and facilitate human behaviour. The litho’s do not show what the space ‘is’, but what you can ‘do’ with the space. Or as it is called in game design: only the ‘Affordances’ are visible. These images remind me of ‘greyboxing’ in game design. The design process in which the interactive environment in a game is set up very simply with gray blocks, designed from the actions of the player. Where can one jump? Where can one climb? What kind of play affords this space to the player? Spatial design driven from the player’s behavior.
This series of litho’s could almost be gameplay design sketches. Which makes sense considering Constant’s thinking in relation to Homo Ludens.