The Mexican Standoff – Creating a Hyperreality

The Mexican Standoff removes the link between the persons thoughts and actions; people are directly thinking about what they are doing – creating a hyperreality.

Two people use their minds via EEG headsets to fire their guns in a Mexican Standoff realised in an first person shooter (FPS). The characters take a long time to die so the game can last for quite some time. To trigger the EEG interface the person needs to think about pulling a trigger on their right hand. When this is detected the avatar will begin to shoot the other. In popular culture, a Mexican Standoff is usually portrayed as two or more opponents with guns at the ready, creating a very tense situation. A Mexican standoff is a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse, a confrontation that neither side can win.

The Mexican Standoff removes the physical link between the persons thoughts and actions; people are directly thinking about what they are doing – creating a hyperreality.

Two players stand facing each other in a long room wearing EEG headsets connected wirelessly to a computer. The first-person view of each player from Counter Strike is projected onto the opponents body; so each player is ‘clothed’ in their Counter Strike character. When the headsets detect via EEG analysis that the player is relaxed they will fire their weapon.

In popular culture, a Mexican Standoff is usually portrayed as two or more opponents with guns at the ready, creating a very tense situation. A Mexican standoff is a slang term defined as a stalemate or impasse, a confrontation that neither side can win.

This was developed with Onur Sönmez at MediaLab Prado, Madrid in January 2010