In the game, each alien is created based on a random file on the players computer. If the player kills the alien, the file it is based on is deleted. If the players ship is destroyed, the application itself is deleted.
Although touching aliens will cause the player to lose the game, and killing aliens awards points, the aliens will never actually fire at the player. This calls into question the player’s mission, which is never explicitly stated, only hinted at through classic game mechanics. Is the player supposed to be an aggressor? Or merely an observer, traversing through a dangerous land?
Why do we assume that because we are given a weapon an awarded for using it, that doing so is right?
By way of exploring what it means to kill in a video-game, Lose/Lose broaches bigger questions. As technology grows, our understanding of it diminishes, yet, at the same time, it becomes increasingly important in our lives. At what point does our virtual data become as important to us as physical possessions? If we have reached that point already, what real objects do we value less than our data? What implications does trusting something so important to something we understand so poorly have?
Gage’s website warns: KILLING ALIENS IN LOSE/LOSE WILL DELETE FILES ON YOUR HARD DRIVE PERMANENTLY.
lose/lose from zach gage on Vimeo.
More info and download link (if you’re planning on reformatting a drive) via Zach Gage’s website here.
[Attribution: Infosecurity (UK). Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader “Carl H.” for the heads up.]
The only way to “win” is to not install it in the first place.
I won.
Someone should take Mr. Gage into an alley and beat the shit out of him.
How about a nice game of chess?
I wonder how Mactards will protect/know if a trojan is on their system? LOL
http://www.bing.com When it comes to decisions that matter, Bing & Decide
I am quite surprised at the number of people who didn’t get it here (those who think this is dumb, stupid, idiotic, etc).
A few people had actually touched on the right point of this game. I guess Americans tend to be trigger-happy and assume that in every competitive game the goal is to win by shooting at others (explains their love for foreign wars).
The author of the game is quite smart and the game is an excellent lesson in life. Not many are actually ready to learn, though…
This blurs the line between game and malware, but it’s not a trojan if it tells you right up front in red text what it’s going to do.
You can’t even install it on someone else’s computer as a prank, as soon as it’s run they’ll see the exact same warning.
haha all he would have to do is dont describe what it does.. and it would then almost be a virus…
It’s not meant to be a game you play.
It’s an art project.
It’s designed to challenge your perceptions, and to have you question what might seem to be obvious aspects of your life, the present, the recent and not so recent past, and the future.
I think it succeeds very well, and I applaud the artist, Zach Gage.
So the software is capable of deleting files on your computer without your password or permission? I didn’t know it was that easy to program something that could harm your data on OS X. One thing I love about OS X is the safety of trying out new software without worrying about it harming my computer. If this is true, then I suppose I was wrong.
Confoozed- Of course you can delete files from w/in a program… If you can write a file to create it…you can also delete a file.
What you CAN’T do w/out root password is delete system and other user’s files… but your Documents directory is fair game for ANY rogue app you’re dumb enough to install to destroy…
Time Machine makes it a moot point. 0:-)
Reminds me of the old movie “War Games;” ‘Joshua’ says, “Strange game, Prof. Falken. The only way to win is not to play.”
@Mac-nugget
“@PR, it’s a message that is being delivered in a very unique way, if you don’t understand it, then, how can you qualify it as dumb. I think this is actually very creative way to express a concept.
If you see it just as a game, you missed the entier premiss of what this is all about.”
How do you know he doesn’t understand it? Do you really think liberal appeasement training is so difficult to understand?
It’s like a computer version of the movie “Untraceable”.
It would be cool if you could assign folders of files to be available for deletion – leaving all the others safe. It sure would be a fun, time-killing way to delete your Trash.
@Altivec Guru:
Not if it destroys the files in your Time Machine app…
Sad part is there are idiots who will download this. Isn’t that behavior the same kind that the show “Jackass” is based on?