Register as a gamer
(important: read the instructions before registering)
WHAT IS WOYZECK GAME?
Woyzeck Game is a rewriting of Georg Büchner's classic play that utilizes form of videogame. It is at the same time an installation, a theater performance, and a process-like game experience to be shared with the public, in which the audience can participate, either as a spectator, a gamer or a game character. In addition to the spectators in the audience, 2 gamers are admitted to each show. The gamer gets to play the Woyzeck character with a performer body avatar. In the game that works with remote-controlled-human technology, the player's task is to survive the consequences of a precarious reality. The experimental work explores the entanglement of bodies and machines, dreams and ghosts in precarious subject (or cyborg citizenship).
We are especially interested in the joint play and communication between the gamer and the player/character. And we hope to get information about what contributes to the creation of a safe space and trust, to play, to be freed to experiment and invent together.
MEMBER OF THE WORKING GROUP
director-performer Lauri Antti Mattila, performer Lin Da, dramaturg Klaus Maunuksela, set designer Teija Turtio, technical implementation and sound designer Viljami Lehtonen, lighting designer Alina Pajula, costume designer Jenni Räsänen and producer Veera Lamberg. The show is produced by the Performing Arts Society.
WHAT IS THE GAME CONSISTS OF?
The game consists of initial instructions, the game itself, and a feedback discussion after the game together with the player and the game. Each player can play on one of four chapters that change nightly.
WHAT DOES THE GAMER DO?
The gamer is directed to a separate gamer's room, where he plays the game using a computer. The game combines a text adventure with a first-person video-mediated view. The game character played by a human is controlled by remote-controlled-human-technology (i.e. using earphones, a microphone and a video connection as help), either by voice control (via a microphone) or by writing giving instructions to the game character. Depending on the chapter to be played, the game character can also be an independent agent who chooses his own answers and ways of reacting to the gamer's suggestions.
In the game that combines play, simulation and escape game, the gamer’s task is to take care of himself, go through everyday routines and survive the effects of a precarious reality in a plexi-walled container. In some of the chapters, the game has the opportunity to change the role to be played, i.e. to move to the stage as a game character - however, you can refuse this opportunity if you wish.
The gamer's room is a separate space from the stage. The spectators follow the life of the game character on the stage through the plexiglas, so the only thing that is visible to the spectators about the gamer is his actions through or with the game character. So you can play the game without revealing yourself to the spectators.
WHAT DOES THE PLAYER/CHARACTER DO?
By playing this role, you get to experience how it feels to be a game character. Depending on the chapter to be played, you are either guided by remote-controlled-human technology or you are an independent agent and choose your own answers and ways of reacting to the player's suggestions.
The playing field is a 6 m x 1.5 m terrarium, the three walls of which are made of transparent plexiglass. The terrarium is placed in a market tent in a public space. You get a headband with a camera attached to it, the image of which is transmitted to the gamer, and earphones in your ears, where you can hear the instructions the player gives you, the questions the player asks, or narratives relevant to the story. The spectators follow the life of the game character on the stage through the plexiglass. The gamers's room is a separate space from the stage.
The identity of the game character is unclear. He may or may not be Franz Woyzeck. It is also not known exactly what happened in the past and how he ended up living in a plexi walled container. The game combines play, simulation, mystery and ceremony. The gamer's task is to take care of his game character, go through everyday routines and survive the consequences of the precarious reality. The gamer and the player/character already meet before the game in a shared moment where we review the safety rules. Due to the shallowness of the stage space, the game involves a lot of movement on the floor surface and the space is not suitable for people with reduced mobility, the fur fabric in the space may be slippery.
WHAT IS IMPORTANT FOR ME TO KNOW?
· We strive to guarantee a safe space for all participants. https://www.esitys.fi/info/esitystaiteen-seuran-turvallisemman-tilan-periaatteet
· We do not offer a finished endpoint, but a glimpse into an unfinished process. So the game may also not work.
· Content warnings: may contain nudity, contains references to violence.
· The performance event in the public space may be photographed.
· You can always leave the game unfinished if you feel like it. There is no need to explain the interruption.
· Dress warmly so you don't get cold while playing. Just in case you decide to choose a route where you go on stage as a game character, it's good if you're not dressed in your best clothes.
· What we are interested in: play and cooperation, cooperative play
WHEN WILL I COME AND WHERE, AND HOW MUCH TIME CAN I RESERVE?
· The venue is Rautatientori, east of Helsinki Central Railway Station. You can find us in the pink tent. You can register at the manual program point of sale.
· It is important that the game starts on time. Please arrive on time, no later than 25 minutes before your reserved time, so that you will have time to receive instructions before the start of your own game shift.
· The duration of the game is just over 1 hour. After the game, there is an opportunity for a small feedback discussion.
ACCESSIBILITY
Unfortunately, the player's room is not accessible.
Registration is binding. Please let us know immediately if, for some reason, you can't make it to the game you booked, so we can reschedule the time. Contact information: Veera Lamberg: +358 44 725 77 00, info@esitys.fi.
(If the gamer has not arrived 20 minutes before the start of the game, the turn will be passed forward.)
I WANT TO REGISTER AS A PLAYER. Press here.