An interactive role play – a computer game on CD ROM

featuring evelyn ortiz-prinz / dorel coban / helmut eder
concept | script | game design | mise-en-scène alexandra reill

camera / video material alexandra reill / captured film footage
illustrations | animations evelyn ortiz-prinz / alexandra reill
image editing alexandra reill
soundtrack muren ismail / sigrid liesz / alexandra reill / roby ster
vocals sigrid liesz / alexandra reill
sound mix roby ster

game programming
martin deininger / amatus mitellehner / alexandra reill / manfred sabitzer

production team
christian henner-fehr / barbara raninger / alexandra reill
production kanonmedia | vienna 1998 – 2001

S.P.I.N.Y. is an entertainment product as well as an interactive collage which experiments with the options and the boundaries of interactivity to provoke interactivity in the user’s personality. S.P.I.N.Y. problematizes the position as well as the consciousness of women and their environment in Western society today, after the changes having emerged from emancipation.

S.P.I.N.Y. is a kind of psycho game using a film script as its basis & telling the story of Sandrella’s (S.) Problem (P.) in (I.) New York as an interactive text & photo story. S.P.I.N.Y. shows a woman who needs to confront herself with decisions she cannot avoid.

The principles of collage and fragmentation as well as the navigation structure are used to reflect the theme itself: the fragmentation and variety of female identities today and the difficulties and conflicts on the way of finding the kind of life one wants to live.

The user’s phantasy & associations form the story, especially if the user’s ways of playing do not let her / him find the chronological thread through the plot. The user’s associations will create the imagination of a story which might be purely individual. Each user might experience a totally different story.

S.P.I.N.Y. is a play which uses film techniques for its basic structure. S.P.I.N.Y. is a merely interactive media title and would not work as a film or video product. It tells its plot between the interactive lines. It defines interactivity as one of the major factors of development & – finally – activity. It lets the user create real instead of fictitious nteracitivity.

A time code & answers the user is asked for before she / he can go on in the plot evaluate the rhythm of playing & each decision. Each click is added to a ranking list belonging to a certain category of individual consciousness. In every moment the user has the fresh chance to reconsider her / his decisions, to decide for or against happiness, love, freedom, sex, lust or frust.

A film script produced as a text & photo story on the basis of collage principles allows the user to surf through the story of Sandrella which describes the phases of personal development the main figure has to live through until she can find her way out of dependencies into freedom of decision.

S.P.I.N.Y. is an interactive collage experimenting with the options and boundaries of interactivity to provoke interactivity in the user’s personality. Collage, fragmentation and an intuitive navigation structure reflect the theme itself: the fragmentation and variety of female identities today.

So-called beauty tests stop the user from going on in the story and ask for an interactive decision – psychological tests of the kind of psycho tests being found in fashion magazines.

The test evaluations give the user a characterization of his behaviour, provoking in the user at the same time the question whether he / she should take for serious the judgement imposed on him / her or whether he / she could form his / her own opinion about him- / herself.

Being a game, S.P.I.N.Y. creates the outer task of finding the chronological way through the story and the inner task of sensually developing a personal attitude towards Sandrella’s and – much more so – one’s own process of decision-finding.

S.P.I.N.Y. supported by

S.P.I.N.Y. was developed with the kind support of the MEDIA Programme of the European Union.

S.P.I.N.Y. is the first Austrian interactive feature script implemented as game on CD ROM and funded by the MEDIA Programme of the European Community.

Our further thxs go to

— austrian film institute
— herbert gnauer
— izone
— dr. sascha kostrba-steinbrecher
— lomographische gesellschaft
— paul pazdera
— german pizzinini
— public netbase
— wolfgang sos
— uli steininger
— paul tavolato
— viennadesign
— wulz & meesen oeg

S.P.I.N.Y. installed at / included in

— frauenvernetzungstag / rema / vie / a / 04
— in the framework of free manifesta @manifesta 4 / frankfurt / d / 02
— rhizome artbase selection / nyc / us / 02
— multi-screen installation: stein. fushion fashion / vie / a / 02
— in the framework of grenzenlos / brucknerhaus linz / linz / a / 02
— lux / vie / a / 01

S.P.I.N.Y. featured by

— art game studies / chicago / us / 12
— mymecaze / int / 08
— logo22 – video / d / 08
— net art connexion / int / 08
— world hotel guide / int / 08
— der standard / vie / a / 04
— nettime / int / 02
— amsterdam.nettime / nl / 02
— silverserver pipermail / vie / a / 02
— fashion network / vie / a / 02
— rhizome artbase / nyc / us / 02
— raffaseder.com / vie / a / 02
— e-zine / f / au / 01
— maxima / vie / a / 01
— fashion.at / vie / a / 01
— beautyme.com / vie / a / 01
— fashionoffice.org / vie / a / 01
— confashion.com / vie / a / 01