Work in progress
The Psycho-Ludic Approach
Exploring play for a viable future – AR787
Monkeys, Machines, and Multi-Perspectivities OPENING
May 2025
Transmissions from Within the Ludic Mind -Otto-Wagner PSK Kassenhalle/ AIL. An exhibition by the PSYCHOLUDIC / ROBOPSY researchgroup.
07.05- 28.06.2025
Monkeys, Machines, and Multiperspectivities is a call to embrace the transformative power of play. As visitors move through this experimental landscape, they will encounter new perspectives, rethink their roles in the world, and explore how small shifts in perspective can unlock vast potential for creative and collective action. Through this dynamic intersection of art, science, and play, the project offers a vision of a future defined by empathy, interconnectedness, and the endless possibilities of the ludic mind.
Presented through the lens of the Psycho-Ludic Approach (with methods by artistic research, experimental psychology and neuroscience), this exhibition challenges conventional ideas of agency, perspective, and societal structures and explore alternative motivations for play. The current global crises show that humanity’s exploitation-based strategies have come to an end: conquering new worlds, accumulating possessions and winning. These strategies, which are now failing, are reflected in games and their mechanisms.
Situated within the physical manifestation of a game engine—a world-machine-conglomerate—this exhibition environment becomes a space where the playful mind engages with pressing universal issues, exploring them through experimental games. Multiperspectivity is the key concept driving this exhibition. It emerges as the first result of the experimental game series: a revolutionary game mechanic that enables rapid, unpredictable shifts in perspective. What happens when we change the lens through which we view the world? How can shifting our perspective alter the way we relate to our surroundings and to each other? Rather than seeking radical, sweeping change through traditional “revolutionary” means, we propose that change can occur situationally and continuously—by adjusting the way we see and understand things. This mechanism, applied here in a series of playful experiments, serves as both an artistic practice and a social principle. In our increasingly fragmented world, it offers a powerful tool for rethinking everything from democratic processes to environmental consciousness.
Through a self-reflexive exhibition game, the project offers an opportunity to actively participate in the unfolding experiments. Here, individuals are not passive observers but dynamic players within a fluid system of roles: whether as “involuntary” players, NPCs (non-playing characters), agents, researchers, or as curious lovers of ludic art. The exhibition blurs the lines between audience and performer, inviting participants to step into multiple roles, shifting from one perspective to another as they engage with the work. The exhibition also introduces non-human players into the role-play, expanding the concept of agency and offering a more inclusive view of interaction. These alternative modes of play, underpinned by computational neuroscience devices and techniques, transform scientific tools into artistic expressions focusing on empathy, creativity, and participation—can become vehicles for addressing ecological and social challenges.
For the critical analysis of LLMs in cooperation with the Austrian Research Institute for Artificial Intelligence a Citizen Science artwork ROBOPSY LLLM SWITCHER GAME is launched (tnX here to Fabian Navarro and the group)— to learn how OUR collective memory is affected by the use of the Large Language Models.
We critically address the often unwilling consent to surveillance and data harvesting in games: YOUR emotional face/ thought expressions will be the willingly given source to of constantly newly generated games, with new emerging game mechanics by LUDIC PSY AI game engine, developed under the lead of b in the PLRG artists. Parallel YOU, the player generate a physical RPG Role Playing board during the show. (YOU WILL FIND THE RESULTS of the daily game activity printed in 3D as a hexagonal Board game piece. YOUR daily art piece will be exhibited in a physical floating bounding box!
In a hybrid ludic assemblage, corresponding to avatars of OUR smoking players’ heads, represented in a TRIADE EEG head installation by Thomas Wagensommerer and Louise Linsenbolz, based on simultaneous brain scan data, you will find heads by sculptor Talos Kedl in symbiosis with electroencephalogram electrodes, that awake in the opening performance to life, as well as a activist NEST by the role-playing game enfleshing/bleeding Hollow group around
Xenobio activist Támas Pall, who critically investigated and researched lithium mining and its politically and ecologically devastating consequences.For You, the player, we now open our experimental game cultures lab: In this
artpiece/ show research processes and experiments are part of a playable environment. It builds on a conversation under a cherry blossom tree — with the research question: what is it like to play a tree?The concept video for Tree-game and a Tree voodoo performance by Margarete Jahrmann and Stefan Glasauer, as well as their concept Cre[AI]tor trained on artists’ drawings at the entrance gate – generate a NEW INDIVIDUAL CONCEPT of the Show for EACH PLAYER a.k.a. visitor!So it is as ambigous as play to tell You about what this show is.
When You enter this collective game art piece, You are welcomed, or my be physically lovingly caressed by a data ghost, made of delicate fabric, based on brain-scans of three exemplary players — because three players can already choose: to cooperate and to switch with whom they cooperate in each playround — that is a model for democracy – without hardened lines. And the TRANSMISSIONS from within the LUDIC MIND change….
TREE GAME, a game constantly redrawn by visitors, is at the center of the exhibition, created with the help of the boardgames specialist Thomas Brandstetter, flanked by the swarm game by Stefan Maier and the drone paintings by Max Moswitzer created in a collective drawing game with drones (students participated in the prototypes- tnX to our students in EGC), which reverse war technology just as those drones opening the exhibition wrap their propellers in delicate green brain data fabrics.
SPECIAL and HEARTFUL THANKS to
Artists in alphabetical order: Thomas Brandstetter, Stefan Glasauer, Clara Hirschmanner, Margarete Jahrmann, Talos Kedl, Louise Linsenbolz, Georg Luif, Stefan Maier, Barbi Markovic, Max Moswitzer, Fabian Navarro, Thomas Wagensommerer.
The Psycholudic Approach. Exploring Play for a viable Future, Austrian Science Fund FWF/Program zur Entwicklung und Erschließung der Künste.
Project Lead: Margarete Jahrmann, Experimental Game Cultures, University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Partners:
Brigitte Felderer, Social Design, University of Applied Arts Vienna,
Matthew Pelowski, Department of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna,
ROBOPSY. An Artistic Exploration of Collective Memory through Role-Playing with AI Language Models, WWTF Vienna Science and Technology Fund
Project lead: Margarete Jahrmann with Barbi Markovic and Thomas Brandstetter, Experimental Game Cultures, University of Applied Arts Vienna.
Partners:
Stefan Glasauer, Computational Neuroscience, Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus-Senftenberg, Germany,
Mark Coeckelbergh, Chair Philosophy of Media and Technology, University of Vienna
Robert Trappl, OFAI Vienna. Austrian Research Institute Artificial Intelligence
INTRA research project NEST, by Támas Páll together with Margarete Jahrmann and Thomas Wagensommerer, Experimental Game Cultures.
Transmissions from Within the Ludic Mind – PERFORMANCE
May 2025
In a situational lab setting the Psycho-Ludic Research Group (PLRG) combines physical and virtual artefacts, methods and practices, malfunctions and noise of our psycho-ludic research in a performative arrangement. PLRG wants to allow itself to reflect on its various strands of playful research and development and deep dives into an array of overlapping objects, actions, sounds and mechanics. PLRG encourages the audience to become participants to help us out doing so.
6. Mai 2025, 18:00 – Otto-Wagner PSK KASSENHALLE, Georg Coch-Platz 2, 1010 Wien
Against the backdrop of the research network The PSYCHOLUDIC APPROACH (FWF/Programm zur Erschließung der Künste), artists, experimental psychologists and neuroscientists meet to play with the innermost. It is about the outermost – the continued existence of the world and democracy in the interplay of non-human forms of being, nature and AI.
With political role-playing game consoles, we are launching the ROBOPSY (WWTF) project on role-playing with AI and the effects on collective memory. Multi-perspectivity proves to be a key concept. A game mechanic of spontaneous and unexpected changes of perspective can be applied to democratic processes and can thus be understood as a relevant principle of living together.
OPENING PROGRAM
Welcome: Maria Zettler (Managing Rector)Introduction exhibition
Performance by Psycho-Ludic Research Group (PLRG) – 250506_PLRG_LabMeeting
Multiperspectivity (Zoophytosymbiosis)
December 2024
On the occasion of #CATALIGHT #KT show: “AUS LICHT UND WASSER. VOM STREBEN NACH »OBERFLÄCHLICHKEIT«.
7th December 2024 till 26th January 2025 at Kunstverein Ulm.
Eine Topfpflanze vertritt in dieser Installation die Welt der Pflanzen. Es ist bekannt, dass Pflanzen auf Berührung reagieren – häufig mit Stress oder Abwehrreaktionen, weil sie Fressfeinde erwarten müssen. Andererseits bewegt auch der sanfte Wind, der für Bestäubung und Vermehrung sorgt, die Blätter. Diese Pflanze darf von Besucher*innen berührt werden, denn sie ist die Berührungsstelle zum Spiel. In der Folge illuminiert UV-Licht ein Muster auf dem Stoff – ein in der Neurowissenschaft routinemäßig verwendeter Farbstoff leuchtet auf.
“Alexa Fluor 488” wird dafür verwendet, Nervenzellen anzufärben und bildet hier Kaulquappen-Nervenzellen ab. In einem wissenschaftlichen Experiment konnten einzellige Algen Gehirnareale von Kaulquappe des Krallenfrosches (Xenopus laevis) durch Photosynthese von innen mit Sauerstoff versorgen, wenn dem Kaulquappengehirn der Sauerstoff von außen entzogen wurde. Die Algen (Chlamydomonas renhardtii) waren durch Injizieren in das Gefäßsystem zu inneren Mitbewohnerinnen der Kaulquappen gemacht worden. Das Berühren der Pflanze und Auslösen des UV-Lichts in dieser Installation leuchtet die Möglichkeitsräume von “Photosymbiose” aus, die auch menschliches Gewebe mit Sauerstoff versorgen könnte. Die forschende Künstlerin Jahrmann gestaltet und druckt, durch sanftes Streicheln auf dem Stoff, die Nervenzellen als Stoffmuster.
Der Spieltrailer ist eingebettet in ein Setting, das an medizinische Untersuchungen erinnert. Zum einen verbindet Margarete Jahrmann damit ein Ausgeliefertsein. Zum anderen nutzen die Künstlerin und der Neurowissenschaftler Glasauer neurologische Untersuchungen für ihre Forschung zu alternativen Zielen und Belohnungskonzepten im Medium Spiel. Die meist unhinterfragten Mechanismen des Sammelns und Eroberns (collect and conquer) spiegeln unsere westliche Lebensweise auf dem Planeten und reproduzieren sie. Um andere Formen des Zusammenlebens erfahrbar zu machen, sind alternative Spielkonzepte wie “Multiperspectivity” wichtige Räume des Experimentierens und Lernens.
2024-12-09-11-06Margarete Jahrmann & Stefan Glasauer, Jahr: 2024/25
Materialien: Installation/ Filmessay zum TADPOLE – Addendum “TREEgame”, handgedruckter Stoff mit Alexa Fluor Green, Pflanzenobjekt, Elektroden, Controller Blau-Licht, Untersuchungsliege.
Concept Zeichnung, Stoffdruck und Design/ Konzept Pflanzen Connector Game: Margarete Jahrmann
Controller: Georg Luif
Blue Light Lamp „Tadpole“: Stefan Maier
Tadpole Scary Clip Elements: Louise Linsenbolz.
Film Essay: Stefan Glasauer.
www.kunstverein-ulm.de/ausstellungen/aus-licht-und-wasser-vom-streben-nach-oberflaechlichkeit
Autumn Workshop and Hyperscanning with EEG
September 2024
We recently hosted a two-day workshop where we explored the experimental game, 501 – Psycholudic Shuffle, in a unique setup that combined gameplay with neuroscientific measurement. The workshop brought together participants from diverse fields, including cognitive psychology, neuroaesthetics, and game design, to test the physical version of our game and conduct a cutting-edge EEG hyperscanning experiment.
About the Game
501 – Psycholudic Shuffle is a physical game designed for three players, where participants switch roles during gameplay, creating an ever-evolving and dynamic interaction. The game challenges traditional roles in play, aiming to explore cognitive and social dynamics in a creative environment.
The Experiment: Integrating Gameplay with EEG Hyperscanning
Following the initial gameplay, we transitioned into the core experiment using three EEGs to create a hyperscan of all participants. This setup allowed us to capture real-time brain activity from each player, overlaying in-game events with EEG data for deeper insights into the cognitive and emotional processes during play.
Key aspects of the experiment:
- Participants played the game for about half an hour with interfaces designed to minimize interference from traditional input methods like mouse or keyboard, enhancing the natural flow of the game.
- Data integration: In-game actions and events were synchronized with EEG data, creating a comprehensive view of how participants’ brains respond and interact during gameplay.
Participants and Collaborators
The workshop featured distinguished experts and artists from various fields who contributed to the discussion and analysis of the experiment:
- Margarete Jahrmann
Head of Experimental Game Cultures, University of Applied Arts Vienna - Matthew Pelowski
Assistant Professor, Psychology of Cognitive and Neuroaesthetics, University of Vienna, Faculty of Psychology - Stefan Glasauer
Computational Neuroscience, Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus - Zahra Shirzhiyan
Brandenburg Technical University - Theresa Demmer
University Vienna Artist Lab - Brigitte Felderer
Social Design, University of Applied Arts Vienna - Ryan Slaby
Università degli Studi di Milano Bicocca - Thomas Wagensommerer, Stefan Maier, Louise Linsenbolz, Max Moswitzer, Georg Luif
Members of research and artistic staff at the University of Applied Arts Vienna
Conclusions and Next Steps
This workshop marks a significant step in our ongoing research into the intersections of art, game design, and neuroscience. The data collected from this session will provide valuable insights into how we experience and interact during play, with future analyses planned to further explore the cognitive and emotional impacts of our experimental games.
CRE[AI]D – A brain aided artistic image liberation game
June 2024
At A MAZE. Festival 2024 the installation titled Cre[AI]D was showcased, highlighting the intersection of traditional art and artificial intelligence. This installation continuously generates images using AI, trained on the drawings of artist Margarete Jahrmann.
Methodology
Cre[AI]D employs an AI system to produce its images. The first AI is dedicated to the visual output, ensuring that each image reflects the style and characteristics of the original drawings.
The process begins with the second AI, which generates prompts for the image creation. These prompts are derived from five randomly selected words taken from a book, introducing an element of randomness and speculative fiction into the generated art. Even the prompts that generate the images are now generated themselves.
Interactive Element
A significant feature of the Cre[AI]D installation is the large red buzzer present within the exhibit space. When pressed by a visitor, this buzzer initiates the image generation process. This interactive component allows visitors to engage directly with the installation, triggering the creation of new images with each press.
Continuous Image Generation
Cre[AI]D is designed to produce an infinite number of images, ensuring that the exhibit remains dynamic and ever-changing. The continuous generation of new art pieces means that each visitor experiences a unique set of visuals.
Playable 3D version
Explore our live online version directly in your browser, where you can generate images within a virtual representation of the “Postsparkasse”. Use the WSAD keys to navigate and your mouse to look around. Click on the one-armed bandit to generate a unique image.
Enter Postsparkasse now!
What is it like to play a tree @ Taipei National University of the Arts
June 2024
A game film by Stefan Glasauer & Margarete Jahrmann Players and co-developers: Thomas Brandstetter, Max Moswitzer, Clara Hirschmanner, Louise Linsenbolz, Thomas Wagensommerer, Georg Luif
An emanation of the artistic research project The Psycho Ludic Approach: Exploring play for a viable future (AR 787), Austrian Science Fund FWF/PEEK PI Margarete Jahrmann, Experimental Game Cultures, University of Applied Arts Vienna Research partners: Brigitte Felderer, Social Design, University of Applied Arts Vienna Matthew Pelowski, Dept. of Cognition, Emotion, and Methods in Psychology, University of Vienna Stefan Glasauer, Computational Neuroscience, Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus, Germany Premiered June 2024 @Kuandu Museum of Fine Arts in Kooperation mit der Taipei National University of the Arts.
Psycholudic Engine
June 2024
In the digital atelier of the Psycholudic Game Engine, the boundary between creator and participant dissolves. Here, the alchemy of ChatGPT transforms words into the living code of LUA, crafting levels brimming with potential. This environment invites every player to become an artist, re-imagining the essence of gameplay through the versatile scripting language LUA.
The Concept
The Psycholudic Game Engine is designed to push the boundaries of traditional game development, allowing players to enter prompts that generate levels and behaviors dynamically. This innovative approach hints at the future of gaming, where players can prompt an environment much like a holodeck, crafting unique experiences with their input.
Generating Levels and Behaviors
In this game, players can input prompts that the engine translates into game levels and character behaviors. This process is powered by LUA, a lightweight and efficient scripting language known for its real-time capabilities. LUA allows for immediate modifications to the game’s rules and environment, creating a fluid and responsive gaming experience.
What is it like to play a tree @ re:publica24
May 2024
We care how we play — to test and change this we use methods of artistic research, experimental psychology, and neuroscience in a combination that we term the PSYCHO-LUDIC APPROACH. In play experiments we investigate alternative motivations for game-playing, how we can learn from these about possible future forms of society, and whether, by using new game mechanisms in experimental, playful contexts we may unlock better means of mediating reflection, thoughts, and action, creating a powerful, transdisciplinary basis for ecologically respectful ways of living.
Fotos: Ivan Jakaric/ Cath Spaeth
Psycholudic Shuffleboard
May 2024
The Psycholudic Shuffleboard is a project designed to merge traditional card games with modern technology. Specifically, it focuses on the game “Schnapsen,” providing both physical and virtual versions of a game board to facilitate various types of research and analysis.
The Physical Psycholudic Shuffleboard
The physical version of the Psycholudic Shuffleboard is constructed from oak wood and incorporates Near Field Communication (NFC) technology. This board allows each card play to be recorded in real-time, ensuring accurate documentation of the game. The integration of NFC technology means that each card’s movement is logged, providing comprehensive data for analysis.
The board features buttons that players can press to indicate when a game has been won. This feature simplifies the process of recording game outcomes and ensures that all critical events are captured.
An additional aspect of the Psycholudic Shuffleboard project involves using the collected metrics to experiment with role switching within the game. By analyzing detailed logs of gameplay and player interactions, we can identify patterns and triggers when switching roles between players.
The Virtual Psycholudic Shuffleboard
The virtual version of the Psycholudic Shuffleboard is designed for scenarios where digital data integration and low latency are essential. This version enables data transmission over the network with minimal delay, which is particularly useful for experiments that involve simultaneous recording of gameplay and brain activity. The virtual board allows for precise timing, capturing game data within milliseconds.
Disruptive launch of PSYCHOLUDIC APPROACH project @ Chubu University/Nagoya/Tokyo
November 2023
We are happy to place the 1st emanation of our new FWF /PEEK project “The Psycho Ludic Approach: Cre[AI]d. A brain aided artistic image generation game”.
Players: reknown scientists, as the QUANTUM LIKE AI/ quantum physics brain pioneer Andrej Khrennikov and the nobel price candidate Masanao Ozawa or Takuya Isomura, BIOMIMETIC AI/ tissue brain expert for neural networks corresponding to free energy brain principal (Friston) from RIKEN Center for Brain science Wake, Japan or the emotional science fabric developer from social robotics lab, Dr. Jaeryoung Lee.
Arigato gozaimasu, Special Thanks for the invitation to Prof. Yutaka Hirata, The Neural Cybernetics Laboratory, Director, Center for Mathematical Science and AI, Chubu University, Matsumoto Kasugai Aichi, JAPAN, https://hirata-nclab.org
1st AI CR[AI]D Brain Image drawing session, Live at Center for Mathematical Science and AI, Chubu University, JP
@Nagoya University 2023, October/November 2023