::this.nanorunners.documentation
nanorunners (defect 6)
inter_art
defect in system. capitalistic behavior.
how about playing a capitalistic game mechanic? the game nanorunners makes capitalism and its defects playable in a very simple but effective way.

nanorunners is a multiplayer race to the top for movie theatres or events with big screens. everybody in the room can take part in the game by using a smartphone (tablet or computer). you simply access it with your browser. get your phone out, connect to the hotspot, open your browser and assume a name: simple controls allow you to move left or right.

now, just be weary about all these obstacles and all your opponents. they are as fierce competitors as you and want to reach the top and win as many points as possible.

nanorunners is a multiplayer race for up to 200 participants. all players steer avatar runners with their own smartphones. a simple and short game, but lots of fun. and the audience turns into an interacting entity.


nanorunners: endless run to the top.

play with your own smartphone ...

video - an intro
How to Play!
The ratrace is on! What would you do to become the sovereign boss? Would you be without any scruples? Would you walk all over your contenders and be the one up there, kicking and pushing your colleagues down the ladder? The game mechanic is simple but effective: Just run and climb on top of the building and shove the other players down.

You win when you reach 100 points. You get points for reaching the top (5 pts.) and kicking and pushing another player down (4 pts.). If you are on your way down, you can get 1 pt. for taking a contender with you (up to a maximum of 20 points).

There are always around 5% of bosses or King Kongs up there on the height of their careers. The rest are the manouverable masses with all their hopes and desires to become powerful and rich. Don't give in! Overthrow those posers! Become the boss yourself. Become king of the universe!
How to set up!
The game needs a WIFI LAN connection. There is no internet needed. It is enough if you run a router with a local hotspot. Connections work via that local hotspot best. Simple HTTP allows everybody to join the game with almost any browser. And there are no costs for gamers.

As controllers you use any mobile device, be it smartphone, tablet or laptop. You navigate on the big screen with the browser of your device.

CONNECT YOUR DEVICE TO THE SAME WIFI AS THE GAME. SEE URL ON BOTTOM OF GAMESCREEN. ON YOUR SMARTPHONE BROWSER:
1. (EDIT YOUR NICKNAME)
2. CONTROL THE AVATAR WITH < LEFT OR RIGHT >
3. PLAYTIME!

You find downloadable versions of Nanorunners for Mac and for PC on:
www.nanorunners.com >

Experimental game

NanoRunners was developed by the Swiss artgame group AND-OR (René Bauer, Beat Suter) as an experimental game (concept) for festival, event and cinema audiences. It was successfully played by audiences in several festivals. And it was nominated for the Swiss Game Award 2013 by the SGDA, Swiss Game Developers Association.

In commercial development

The concept behind Nanorunners was adopted and commercially developed by Airconsole into a game system for smartphones as gamepads and a standard browser as display. AirConsole is a cloud-based video gaming console by Zurich-based startup N-Dream. No additional hardware is required. In 2019 Airconsole offers over 130 multiplayer games on its platform and has had over 5 million players.

Events

# Zurich: Kunstraum Walcheturm, gameZfestival 2013: play the mechanics!, october 4 - 6, 2013.

# Baden: Stanzerei, Fantoche 2013, september 2 - 7, 2013.

# Berlin: Computerspielemuseum, Playpublik! 2012, august 9 - 12, 2012.
 

Awards