OLE Coordinate System

The OLE Coordinate System has an incredibly minimalist graphical style - paths are represented as 3d white blocks denoted from their blank white surroundings by simple black lines, and the only characters are faceless mannequin figures who walk like lemmings straight down the paths. OLECS is incredibly minimalist in terms of gameplay goals as well - by rotating the blocks to create optical illusions much like those in the work of M.C. Escher, the player can create impossible paths for the people to walk across to prevent them from falling. Interestingly, however, there are no predesigned levels to complete or puzzles to solve - much as in a game like SimCity, the level must first be built by the player, as simple, complex, easy, or challenging as they would like. In fact, all the game gives you to start out with is a blank canvas and your imagination. This serves an important purpose, however - by stripping away everything inessential and giving the player ultimate freedom with very simple building blocks, OLECS takes what could be a confusing, mind-twisting conceit with potentially frustrating controls - rotate the puzzle levels just the right way with the right timing to keep the people from falling - and lets the player figure out the illusions and lateral thinking at just their own pace, shifting the challenge from a mechanical one to one of devising and discovering new possible illusions. Here, the minimalism defines the entire nature of the gameplay itself.


Artist: Jun Fujiki
Medium: Internet downloadable game (http://tserve01.aid.design.kyushu-u.ac.jp/~fujiki/ole_coordinate_system/index.html)
Year: 2000-2001

Artist Statement:
"Is it a two dimensional level surface, a three dimensional space, or an image perceived in the mind and displayed on the computer screen? This award-winning work shows us that the mysteries of the inscrutable structural world, such as those made famous by Escher’s works, can be solved simply by placing blocks. The great thing about this work is that it is simple and available to everyone."

Bibliography:
http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/english/festival/2006/art/000496/index.php
http://www.indiegames.com/blog/2007/07/ole_coordinate_system.html