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The BIX Entertainment System was created as a bachelor's thesis by Matthias Esterl, Information Design student at FH Joanneum Graz, and is an adaptation of the famous computer game Pong. The BIX Media Facade of the Kunsthaus Graz functions as a screen and allows two players to compete against each other in the urban space.
Pong is a game that is played by two players using buttons or - as in our case - joysticks, allowing passers-by and visitors of the "Lendwirbel" to interact with the Kunsthaus Graz.
Released by Atari in 1972, Pong became the world's first popular video game and initially gained popularity on arcade machines in the 1970s. It is generally considered as the forefather of video games, is known everywhere, therefore needs no explanation at all, and is age-approved.
The concept of Pong is simple and similar to table tennis: a dot ("ball") moves back and forth on the screen. Each of the two players controls a vertical line ("bat"), which they can move up and down using a rotary knob ("paddle"). If the "ball" passes the "paddle", the opponent scores a point.