4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness
I’m not sure if I’m ready to start doing monthly games again so this is not a promise that there will be a new game on March 1.
This is a game that I created at Nordic Game Jam (during the last day in couple of hours). It’s an experimental art game, that is so going to win the 2010’s IGF award for innovation (Edmund! You better watch out).
The theme of the Nordic Game Jam was
As long as we have each other, we’ll never run out of problems
Additional restrictions included:
- Game session has to last 5 minutes
- Choose one: Developing, Trapped, Falsified
- The game has to language independent
The game won the Innovation award at the Nordic Game Jam!
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness
Download
4mins33secs.zip (0.4 Mb) (release 1)
Instructions
This section contains SPOILERS (explains what the game is about).
You’ll win the game if you’re the only one playing the game at the moment in the world. The game checks over the internet if there are other people playing it at the moment and it’ll kill the game if someone else is playing it. You have to play the game for 4 minutes and 33 seconds.
It’s an exploration to what actually defines a game. You can win or fail in the game, but there is no user input or interactivity of any kind. I was tempted to leave the graphics out completely, but I figured that the white progress bar is abstract enough.
Credits
Game Design, Code & Gfx: Petri Purho
Inspiration and Music: John Cage
Design: Heather Kelley
Design: Jonatan Söderström
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:07 pm
I love it. Great concept.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:10 pm
What an original idea, strangely addictive.
February 2nd, 2009 at 6:57 pm
Cool concept, but to call this is a game is like shitting on a paper plate, signing it, and calling it art.
February 2nd, 2009 at 8:40 pm
Half a year ago, I had a long discussion with a friend about John Cale, white canvasses and what makes a game a game. My reasoning was that if games really are an artform, then we should do exactly that: Explore the limits of the artform, and find out what makes a game a game. So it’s really fantastic to see that you’ve been thinking along similar lines.
To me, Cale’s 4′33 and white canvases ask the question, “how much can you take a way before it’s not art anymore? How many notes before it’s music, how many brushstroke are the minimum that make a painting?” But I’m curious what your thought process was like, and whether what you are trying is the same thing, or differnt (I think it was - the “multiplayer” aspect would never have occured to me).
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:09 pm
This is awesome. You make a very compelling argument. Most people can’t even define art, and defining what a game is just as hard. This should be stirring up the video game community.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:25 pm
I’d argue that what distinguishes games from other art forms (films, paintings) is the ability to interact. It’s great to push the boundaries of a definition, but you can’t throw it out completely. Otherwise we’ll go the way of the art world: they’ve come to the point where they consider anything to be art, and so the word “art” has lost all meaning.
Still, an awesome idea, and a really clever take on the Jam’s theme.
February 2nd, 2009 at 10:49 pm
Wow. That is amazing. But if you are the only one playing it in the world, and someone else starts it up, does it kill your game too, or only theirs? I assume that it would.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:07 pm
Well, I’m just having fun ruining your little game by running a batch that just starts it for me, over and over. I’m definitely not playing the game, and it should be fairly obvious that at this rate, nobody can win it. Awesome? I think not. The only interesting part about this game is destroying it for others. And frankly, I think that’s a rather stupid form of game.
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:08 pm
[...] dem Spiel “4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness” von Petri Purho braucht man nichts weiter zu tun, als für 4 Minuten und 33 Sekunden der [...]
February 2nd, 2009 at 11:45 pm
ahh man so its your fault i wont win..
darn you :@
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:11 am
I don’t know about defining a game, but the purpose of a game is that it should be fun. This isn’t.
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:18 am
Great Innovation as always… please let me win! I want to see the already seen end screen!
February 3rd, 2009 at 2:46 am
This is a cute idea and nothing more. Move on.
February 3rd, 2009 at 3:16 am
And I would argue that this isn’t innovative at all. Radio stations have been making their listeners play this game for decades. Remember those contests where the first (or n-th) listener wins concert tickets? Basically, the same idea - your chances of winning are directly tied to the actions of others, and when you decide to play/call.
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:02 am
It is original, but I wouldnt call it a game.
Actually, I dont think a game can be a work of art,
I’ve never thought of “Settlers of Catan” as a work of art even though its a great game.
Maybe posmodern art? But thats not art either…
February 3rd, 2009 at 4:23 am
[...] Petri explains: “It’s an exploration to what actually defines a game. You can win or fail in the game, but there is no user input or interactivity of any kind. I was tempted to leave the graphics out completely, but I figured that the white progress bar is abstract enough.” [...]
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:36 am
A game can’t be ART? What are you on?
Go play ICO, Mario Galaxy, Geometry Wars, or GTA4. Those are just as much ART as any film (and more than most).
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:41 am
Mr. Purho, perhaps instead of creating 12 new games for this year, you might spend the days refining some old games? Or maybe half and half? The circus game, pluto game, and the robots game all say that you intend to continue development… perhaps this ’season’ you could spend some time on each of those and some others and make 6 from scratch.
Those games in specific and all of your quick games in general seem to have great potential for improvement. Some refining time and a V2 may be more productive than trying to be the internet’s John Cale. Would love to see more strange ideas but as you try to outwierd yourself and your peers, don’t forget that people actually want to participate in the games they play.
-Olaf
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:43 am
One last thing…This reminds me of Pen and Teller’s game from many years ago. There was a part of the game where you drove a bus from LA to Las Vegas. In real time. Which is a straight line for 8 hours. The bus pulled a little to the right, so you couldn’t just leave the game alone or you’d crash. After 8 hours, you succeed and get 1 point.
-Olaf
February 3rd, 2009 at 6:24 am
Wow, there are a whole lot of people who don’t have the capacity to appreciate original thought. This is a very cool game!
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:56 am
Actually there is a kind of interaction: You have to start it over and over again to compete… Which is why i’d definetely define it as a game. Great idea though!
February 3rd, 2009 at 12:51 pm
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness…
In den letzten Tagen sieht man wieder mehr und mehr richtige Kunst. Leute basteln Sachen, die nicht wirklich alltagstauglich sind, dafür aber recht kreativ und interessant. Waren es vor kurzem die audiovisuell umgesetzten Aktienkurse, ist es jetzt das…
February 3rd, 2009 at 5:51 pm
AVGN:”the most important aspect of a game is… , well to be FUCKING ABLE TO PLAY IT !!!11″
or something like that
February 3rd, 2009 at 7:27 pm
I think I will start playing this game in a year or two. I would probably do much better than I am doing right now.
February 3rd, 2009 at 8:09 pm
Hi Petri Purho,
Firstly hats-off to you. U truly deserve to be honored with the best awards
This game has driven me crazy.
Many Thanks…. you are a genius !!
Cheers
JK
February 3rd, 2009 at 11:55 pm
@ Brian
Original thought? Sure, it may be original but that doesn’t make it any more fun. This “game” is just not fun, and I don’t see how anyone could enjoy playing it. I even doubt it’s originality.
I love art games but I really fail to see how this is an art game. I probably have a limited view on this but I would much rather prefer to lump Braid, Passage and Gravitation, Crayon Physics Deluxe, Knytt, flOw and flower, etc (I could go on forever). As more of a proper demonstration of an art game. But I also think art is subjective…to contradict myself I suppose.
It seems like a half-realized concept. Of course I have no clue to what he was thinking when creating it, but personally I could see a thousand ideas for interactivity and graphics for this game without tarnishing the original concept.
What motivation do I have to keep clicking on the bloody icon waiting to see a white progress bar finish it’s destination? I did it about 5 times and deleted it because it’s redundant, not interesting or fun, and no satisfaction in winning. It just means I played the game at the right time..it’s boring and doesn’t keep my interest.
February 4th, 2009 at 1:41 am
I haven’t won once until now (a dozen trials).
Can’t keep me from retrying, though.
Curiously enough, we saw japanese watch illustrating a course on bad design. The way they displayed the time being reminded me of the “It’s not a bug, it’s a feature” motto. I think your game sticks to it too!
February 4th, 2009 at 2:07 am
@Allen: It may not be fun as in user interaction, but it sure is exhilarating! You could lose at any moment!
February 4th, 2009 at 2:08 am
Even though it feels like starting the game is the only interaction, this game interacts with every other person playing it. The author is also exploring the boundaries of interactions.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:09 am
… and I just lost The Game.
February 4th, 2009 at 3:44 am
You are so gonna win. I was so into this game. The longest I’ve probably gone is about 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Edmund’s is a game for adults i just noticed that when playing. I have to agree I didn’t like his. It was inappropriate and not for young gamers. All I did was click the switch. And most of the time nothing happened. Didn’t understand what to do then just move objects.
February 4th, 2009 at 4:47 am
Oh man, this is strangely fun! I’ll have to try it at 4am some time to see if I can win.
February 4th, 2009 at 5:16 am
Lol thats what i will do one day!
February 4th, 2009 at 11:39 am
@Ivy: It won’t work. 4am your time is about 8pm (the next day) in mine.
February 4th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
its too hard D:
February 4th, 2009 at 3:50 pm
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness…
It&s an exploration to what actually defines a game. You can win or fail in the game, but there is no user input or interactivity of any kind. I was tempted to leave the graphics out completely, but I figured that the white progress bar is abstract…
February 4th, 2009 at 5:18 pm
[...] just made this game [...]
February 4th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
I like it. There was this ‘happening’ where people in various parts of the globe were instructed to drink a glass of water at a particular time. This reminds me of that (or rather it’s opposite), with an element of interactivity added.
February 4th, 2009 at 7:45 pm
[...] 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness. “You’ll win the game if you’re the only one playing it at the moment in the world. The game checks over the internet if there are other people playing it at the moment and it’ll kill the game if someone else is playing it. You have to play the game for 4 minutes and 33 seconds.” [...]
February 4th, 2009 at 11:58 pm
[...] around quite a bit. Early on we decided to change the setting of it, a festival didn’t feel artsy enough. We also realized that a long line would be pretty hard to control regardless of input [...]
February 5th, 2009 at 1:09 am
WARNING! SPOILER!
spoiler.crontab
*/3 * * * * 4mins33secs.exe
February 5th, 2009 at 2:05 am
Why do you have to download it?
February 5th, 2009 at 2:11 am
@The Smart Guy: So you can play it
It isn’t some kind of crappy flash game (not saying it’s better than a flash game, just saying flash games are crap). You can’t jsut play it online Mr. “Smart Guy” 
February 5th, 2009 at 5:25 am
GTA4 a work of art? Give me a break…
A game’s graphics, story and music can be art by themselves,
but not the game itself.
The game is just a collection of rules that have no meaning outside the game and no connection to the real world.
One of the few exceptions I can think of is the game of GO, where the very mechanics of the game can be seen as reflecting the balance and harmony of the Zen philosophy, and one’s quest to achieve them.
February 5th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Will there be a deluxe Version of the game?
Possible Features:
Multiple Difficulties: 1 minute, 2 minutes,… of uniqueness
A Countdown
Multiple Gamemodes:white progressbar on black background and a inverted one
February 5th, 2009 at 5:22 pm
@Alejandro
Yeah, it’s just like people saying that making movies is an art form. Of course the single frames and the music can be art, but when you put it all together, it’s just the illusion of reality, but with no connection to the real world. At. All.
I am, of course, being ironic.
February 5th, 2009 at 5:28 pm
“It’s an exploration to what actually defines a game. You can win or fail in the game, but there is no user input or interactivity of any kind. I was tempted to leave the graphics out completely, but I figured that the white progress bar is abstract enough. ”
For a good discussion about what defines a game, I suggest Jesper Juul’s “The Game, The Player, The World”: http://www.jesperjuul.net/text/gameplayerworld/
It’s not true that there aren’t any input or interativity: I interact with the game when I start it, I interact with every other players game when I start it and any other player interact with my game when they start their game (:effectively shutting it down).
The “game” isn’t the individual application (WoW isn’t the individual client on each player’s computer), - the game is all of the applications AND the network between them. Congratulations, you may have accidently created the world simplest MMO.
Anders Højsted - Nordic Game Jam Organizer
February 5th, 2009 at 11:11 pm
@Alejandro & Dezik
That’s like saying the colors, the paint, the idea, and the techniques used in the Mona Lisa are art, but the painting isn’t. It doesn’t make any sense. If every part of a game is art, then the game is art.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:53 am
The interaction in this game, if you really want to call it that, is not fun though. Games are supposed to be fun, at least that’s what I thought. I don’t think many play games for a “deep” artistic meaning. That’s not to say a game can’t be deeply artistic. Passage and Gravitation are my favorite examples. Those games are actually fun to play, even though they are even shorter than this game.
Even if I succeeded in “winning” this game I wouldn’t feel any joy, at all. I would just feel lucky. But games don’t have to be all about winning, as in this game you may want to play so that no one else wins. But that isn’t fun, and certainly not artistic.
and when he says it’s an exploration to what actually defines a game, I find it ironic that this would be the one to demonstrate what a game shouldn’t be.
February 6th, 2009 at 2:28 am
[...] person netop har startet det. Og det vil man gerne forpurre! Snestormen, værsgo. Hent spillet her og prøv selv om du kan komme forbi ~1½ [...]
February 6th, 2009 at 3:07 am
all the end screen is is a check mark….(not that i won)
February 6th, 2009 at 3:08 am
maybe ill make a copy of this…., with more graphics…with a easy language (mmf2)(not really a programming LANGUAGE THo)
February 6th, 2009 at 4:04 am
@Chance & Dezik
You’re looking at it from the wrong perspective, think about this and you’ll see what I mean:
Imagine a chessboard, it is made of marble, the pieces beatifully detailed, carved by a very talented sculptor. A work of art indeed.
But I can play chess on a cheap plastic board, and it’s still the same game.
See, the game is abstract, a set of rules that define interactions in its own little universe.
For a game to be a work of art those rules would need to be able to communicate a deep and meaningful message, and I find that extremely hard to accomplish.
Its not impossible however, and -as I said before- the game of GO may be one of the few games that can be considered art.
February 6th, 2009 at 9:19 am
Games *can* be “art” (with a small ‘a’ ). I actually prefer the term “artform”. However, as soon as you start striving to create art one tends to lose site of what is fun. And games, are primarily about fun.
Bill
February 6th, 2009 at 9:42 am
Unfortunately, it doesn’t work if I connect to the internet through a proxy
February 6th, 2009 at 10:38 am
the2bears has a point. But I showed one of my friends Passage and Gravitation today and that game is fun for me, but if it didn’t have that art game feel, as it were, then I wouldn’t enjoy it. Say Passage (won’t ruin it for anyone) if the game was say Mario collecting coins from the beginning to the end it wouldn’t be fun, it would be a horrible game. But since he put art and meaning behind it, makes it really fun.
http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/
http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/gravitation/
Also, I think a better way to play 4mins33secs is to make a shortcut to my startup folder, so every time I log in to windows it plays it. Haven’t one yet but I imagine when (if) I do when I’ll just say “finally” and delete it.
February 6th, 2009 at 1:55 pm
Yay! I won!
February 6th, 2009 at 2:00 pm
And the screenshots are proof.
Though I can’t prove them not false.
February 6th, 2009 at 3:04 pm
hey petri,if u r free now and if u r going to start the monthly games again,pls start with Choke on my Groundhog, YOU BASTARD ROBOTS 2….please…also,if u can,do include grenades in it…that would be cool…[:)]
February 7th, 2009 at 4:45 am
I think it stinks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
February 7th, 2009 at 5:51 am
@Alejandro: why does art have to have a deeper meaning? Why can’t it be art becuase it is abstract? not saying this game is art, but a game like Crayon Physics or Aquaria definetaly is. Art is in the eye of the beholder.
-John
February 7th, 2009 at 10:52 am
You do very unique stuff. I wish that mainstream games would have some creativity these days as well..
February 7th, 2009 at 7:21 pm
That’s like totaly idiotic.
February 8th, 2009 at 12:56 am
everyone please stop confusing John Cale for a genius.
February 8th, 2009 at 4:39 am
My only complaint (aside from the not being able to win because of people and their batch scripts) is that there’s no record keeping. I don’t think it would have been to hard to have it write how long it was open to a text file right before closing.
February 8th, 2009 at 6:31 pm
[...] art game” entry (which apparently Heather and Cactus contributed to) called 4′33″ of Uniqueness. It makes me feel a little bit [...]
February 8th, 2009 at 9:16 pm
@Anonymous:
http://twitter.com/PetriPurho/status/1173850151
February 8th, 2009 at 10:32 pm
John Cage wrote 4″33′, the song which consists of four minutes and thirty-three seconds of rests. John Cale is a member of the Velvet Underground.
Neat idea. I was expecting a rehash of Cage’s idea of the uniqueness of an otherwise empty performance in terms of venue, ambient noise, and internal reactions, but you surprised me.
February 8th, 2009 at 11:41 pm
This is pretty clever! It’s fascinating to know you’d be the only one playing it at a given time, whether or not it lasts the whole time. The actual ‘game’ part of it seems to exist outside the program itself, essentially being the decision to start the program, or not. It’s a game of chance, in other words.
My only question is: How did you convince the judges that this game lasts at least 5 minutes?
February 9th, 2009 at 1:08 am
Well, I suppose it’s a game, you can win or lose, you have to start it up…
I still haven’t won yet!
STOP PLAYING THE GAME YOU SELFISH JERKS!
Joking.
February 9th, 2009 at 4:37 am
[...] Four Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness (via [...]
February 9th, 2009 at 6:07 am
Thank you (Noyb) for answering my question, “Who the fuck is John CALE?” Although I am seriously ashamed that I forgot there actually was a John Cale, and that he was a member of the VU no less.
We are all equally shamed. Well, not Noyb.
But seriously– if you don’t even know the name of the artist the game is inspired by, AND it’s John fucking Cage no less…it begs the question…if you know so much about games, and nothing about art, why are you authorized to comment on what games are art? Shouldn’t you be out harassing the art that purport to be games?
And can someone be working on the eternal question of whether songs are art? Since we’re dealing with forms and not mediums and all. Thank-you.
February 9th, 2009 at 2:58 pm
I like to restart the game about 4 mins after I get shut out of it. That way I know I’m shutting out the jerk who shut me out. Well, if he even lasted that long.
Also, I’m considering writing a small program that runs this game every 30 seconds to 3 minutes. That’ll be rad.
February 9th, 2009 at 7:33 pm
I can tell you that it is unique.
February 10th, 2009 at 2:08 am
I LOVE this! It really does open your mind to how far games as art can go.
I see it as a game of commitment -how determined are you to start again, as soon as it closes, until you win? And it’s pretty exciting when you’ve had three minutes of uniqueness -just hoping it will last…
Anyone who writes a batch is just rude and spoiling something special. Just think - we could ALL win if only we could learn to take it in turns
February 10th, 2009 at 7:58 am
What amuses me is how angry this game seems to make some people. It’s like because they don’t like it no one else should either and anyone who claims to like it must either be mistaken or lying.
February 11th, 2009 at 4:49 am
pointless
February 11th, 2009 at 8:47 am
What amuses me is how much people appreciate a progress bar that measures nothing, or a “game” with no interactivity. If you want 5 minutes of uniqueness, go sit in a room by yourself. Then you can tell yourself you won a game of art! Arguing the definition of art is always pointless. Is it enjoyable? If not, who cares? If you do, then I suppose this comment is art, and an art-game too!
February 11th, 2009 at 12:57 pm
If there were a second version the only thing I’d like to see is maybe a second .exe that loops every time it finished and once you’re interrupted you see the ending screen showing how many times it looped before someone interrupted you.
The only reason I’m suggesting this is because right when I downloaded and started it I reached the end without anyone interrupting me so for me to get any interaction at this point I could manually continue to run it until I finally get interrupted or let it run in the background and see how many times I’m able to complete the cycle.
My idea might take a little bit away from the overall message but it seems amusing to me.
February 11th, 2009 at 1:49 pm
I can’t run it. When I try, an error message pops up:
C:\program files\4mins33secs\4min33secs.exe
This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.
—————————
OK
—————————
(I’m using Windows XP.)
February 11th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
Mory, you need Visual C++ 2008 SP1 Redistributable Package, search for it on google.
I like this game, but I think it might be better if there was a ‘you lose’ screen instead of it simply quitting. What do you think?
February 12th, 2009 at 2:23 am
It seems to me that people are kind of missing the point. A game is a goal to be earned in a contest with others. The goal comes with instructions. So you only have one choice, play or don’t. Accept the goal or don’t. If you played the game knowing the goal, and the instuctions, AND chose to willingly participate — the fault does not belong to the programmer, but to the participant. There is no difference between playing this game and losing 4′33” of your time than playing any game of chance. Well, one difference. This game’s free.
February 12th, 2009 at 4:40 am
This game reminds me of a hardcore PVP Progress Quest.
February 12th, 2009 at 4:50 am
Have you ever been doing something, and wondered to yourself, “I wonder if anyone in the world is doing exactly the same thing as me right now?”
Well, this not only answers that question, it turns it into a game! It’s amusing
(And some people need to take their games less seriously I think!)
February 12th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Eh… this isn’t a game. This is a status bar that hates everyone.
February 12th, 2009 at 11:11 am
[...] Crayon Physics Deluxe, ha deciso di dare il suo contributo creando, assieme ad altri tre ragazzi, 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness, un esperimento geniale e perfido allo stesso tempo. Spiegarvi in cosa consiste equivale a [...]
February 13th, 2009 at 1:22 am
I HAVE WON IT XDDDDD at 00:17 13.2.09 in Germany xDDDD
February 13th, 2009 at 4:06 pm
“I can’t run it. When I try, an error message pops up:
C:\program files\4mins33secs\4min33secs.exe
This application has failed to start because the application configuration is incorrect. Reinstalling the application may fix this problem.
—————————
OK
—————————
(I’m using Windows XP.)”
I downloaded the visual package and I still cannot start the game
February 13th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
Very cool game. I think this site makes it more fun (and harder) to play http://acmserver.cs.ucr.edu/~jbasseri/4_33.htm. This way, you can watch someone get to 4:30, and then start your game :P.
Although I think it’s a blast to play, I have a few suggestions:
1. I don’t think there’s any reason a game of this complexity needs to constantly take 100% CPU. I’m using Vista x64 with a Core 2 Duo (50% CPU in my case obviously).
2. It would be nice if the game didn’t show the command line screen in the background.
3. Sometimes my game closes but I still show up as the current leader on jbasseri’s website. I think there might be a bug with when the game decides it’s time to quit.
It’s definitely a game. It’s king of the hill at a world level.
Keep up the good work!
February 14th, 2009 at 9:03 pm
I just wanted to point out a security aspect of the game - or at least of the visulation on http://acmserver.cs.ucr.edu/~jbasseri/4_33.htm
It shows your IP Adress, so a skript kiddy may write down the IPs and let the skript do the rest.
A more professional hacker would get the IPs automatically by … (I won’t offer a HowTo here)
February 14th, 2009 at 9:37 pm
I won with a cheat. When you move the window of the game with a mouse it pauses visually and don’t scan the internet but the timer don’t stop. So I just had to hold the left mouse button for 5 minutes
February 15th, 2009 at 7:52 am
Anyone want to know what the you win screen is? its a check mark! do you want to see it? look at the file in the folder!!!! w0ot!
February 15th, 2009 at 7:52 am
cool cheat alex!
February 15th, 2009 at 5:35 pm
1h 30 min watching the IPs:
42 IP changes
32 different IPs
some random letters and digits would have done the same job to identify a specific PC
February 16th, 2009 at 10:33 pm
I was around the 4.25 minute mark on this. So to the person who started this game up around 20:28 GMT on Feb 16:
I hate you.
February 17th, 2009 at 11:28 am
I win!
February 17th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
[...] Kloonigames Monthly Experimental Games « 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness [...]
February 17th, 2009 at 6:08 pm
[...] Petri von Kloonigames (Erfinder und Macher von “Crayon Physics Deluxe”) bringt regelmäßig kleine Spiele (u.a. Prototypen) heraus. Kürzlich veröffentlichte er das Spiel “4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness”. [...]
February 18th, 2009 at 1:21 am
I was just at about 6 or 7 minutes… and got kicked by someone from USA… so what now?
February 18th, 2009 at 1:31 am
http://img238.imageshack.us/img238/4421/blubfj4.jpg
again… at nights its booring
February 18th, 2009 at 7:44 am
I do believe that games have to be interactive. The interaction exists here. Also, in a certain way, this is art just for being so unique.
February 18th, 2009 at 7:45 am
also, a google tracker of the game so you can see where does the mother**** lives.
http://acmserver.cs.ucr.edu/~jbasseri/4_33.htm
February 19th, 2009 at 8:54 am
Beautiful. I commend you and your willingness to break barriers, Petri.
February 19th, 2009 at 8:02 pm
What game? Where? I see none… this is just some sort of pinger.
February 21st, 2009 at 7:21 am
it’s like playing Quake 1 with 64 players in a map designed for 16. Spawning = re-loading the program, fragged = program shutdown. Instagib!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:31 am
Can we please have multiplayer coop?
Maybe, I’ll do it myself and call it “Take’s Two To Tango!”
Right, that’s next week’s proper work ruined!
Look out for TTTT. or T^4 soon!
February 22nd, 2009 at 6:35 am
Or an iPhone version?
February 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 am
I would love to be able to know who the other in the world who played the game at the same time- perhaps an instant messenger handle.
February 22nd, 2009 at 11:19 am
I almost finished this game the other day ;_;
February 22nd, 2009 at 1:51 pm
This game is cruel - the only way to “play” it is to ruin someone else’s game. It’s like children selfishly taking toys from each other - the whole point of it is to actively promote discord and egoism.
That said, it would be a really great sociology experiment if the game had an integrated active global chatroom window in which people would comment (and curse) other people’s playing
February 23rd, 2009 at 5:29 am
Hi. Could every one please not play it for the next ten minutes. Cheers
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:59 am
[...] in this video interview, and of course you can just download them from his blog. His newest game, 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness was released this February and happens to be loosely connected to Asheville! Possibly related [...]
February 23rd, 2009 at 7:46 pm
WOW! FAIL no linux version! Write a java app, then everyone’s happy!
February 24th, 2009 at 2:13 am
“I downloaded the visual package and I still cannot start the game :(”
Yeah, same here. I’ve given up on trying to play this game. It sounds fun, but it’s not worth the hassle just to get the program to start. Read whatever symbolism you like into that sentence.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:00 am
[...] griefers, of course, are all the other players. If you haven’t tried Petri Purho’s 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness, you won’t quite grasp the frustration. The game, which he designed for the Nordic Game Jam, [...]
February 24th, 2009 at 2:46 pm
Dont play this game, please, i´ve found my menaning of life in that. And, i´ve concidered, it´s cruel as any of others.
So, this game is definetly art; whole concept is overgrowthing from virtual reality to sociology… i think it´s, that can be call as minimalistic socio-critism.
February 24th, 2009 at 6:53 pm
i’d really like to see a chat added to the game which pops up if your uniqueness has been interrupted, and allows you to chat with the person who was interrupting you (that person should get the message after it was interrupted or completed the 4:33
awesome game!
February 24th, 2009 at 7:12 pm
Petri-
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness is shining example of the continuing evolution of interactive media. Those that immediately dismiss it should consider parallels in music, art, and film. Naturally, the first work invoked is John Cage’s 4’33”, the silent composition after which you named the game. Just as some of the previous commenters say that this game does not deserve any attention due to its minimal interactivity, those in the audience at the first performance of 4’33” were irritated and angry once they realized that no notes were going to be played. Cage’s inspiration, Robert Rauschenberg’s White Paintings also come to mind, and while the art community is more receptive to controversial pieces, many people still dispute that those plain white panels are art. In 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness, you challenge the thoughtful player to define what makes a game. Some have posted here on your blog that because it is not fun, it is not a game. Firstly, I would argue that, especially coupled with Jonathan Basseri’s visualizer, you have created an astonishingly simple, yet still exciting and engaging mechanic. Secondly, I ask, does a film have to be entertaining for it to be a film? Does music have to sound good for it to be music? Can a painting be ugly and still be art? I think the bigger question is how interactive must an experience be before it qualifies as a game. Whatever the answer, with 4’33” of Uniqueness, you have borrowed this idea of self-definition that has been discussed in so many other mediums, and opened up a dialog in the gaming community, while at the same time bringing a little more credence to games as an art form.
While people are beginning to accept games as a form of artistic expression, most still have a narrow view of the possibilities of “art games.” They see the beauty of Jason Rohrer’s Passage, the game that follows the entire life of a man in five minutes, and they enjoy the sandbox play and child-like sensibility of your own Crayon Physics Deluxe, yet they cannot appreciate the reflective nature of 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness. Art is not just about beauty; it also makes a statement and is a catalyst for contemplation and discussion.
February 26th, 2009 at 1:47 am
I ran this application twice:
The first time it closed inmediately, and I thought “This cannot be it”,
so I ran it again just to be sure.
However it has made me think, and comment, and get pissed.
So, it may not be a game but if it sparkled such a discussion then it must be art.
February 26th, 2009 at 5:49 am
it reminds me of half life 2: you don’t actually DO anything, you’re just there filling in the time between cutscenes.
February 26th, 2009 at 7:59 am
[...] Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness by Kloonigames is an experimental art game that explores the definition of what constitutes a [...]
February 26th, 2009 at 9:10 am
I have written a command line client for 4′33″ so you don’t need windows to participate. Since we already have batch jobs in the wild, this shouldn’t make it much worse.
http://wetzel.livejournal.com/898236.html
February 27th, 2009 at 4:49 am
[...] 4 Minutes & 33 Seconds February 27, 2009 — Shawn McHenry I was browsing the internets today for free Indie games when I came across this. [...]
February 28th, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I win it
March 1st, 2009 at 4:42 am
hey, if you’re playing it post here, I want to see who is… the thing about these games is, I always want to know who just cut off my game
March 1st, 2009 at 4:55 am
wow someone just cut me off D:
March 1st, 2009 at 4:27 pm
To be fair the mechanics of the game are very similar in effect to bingo or the lottery. You have no real control over how you win the game, but it makes you feel like you do. I find it interesting that interaction is reduced right down to simply starting the game but it still makes some people feel like there is something to winning the game.
March 2nd, 2009 at 5:49 pm
[...] stiu daca asta se poate numi un joc, insa cu siguranta este o idee interesanta. Castigi “jocul” daca [...]
March 4th, 2009 at 10:53 am
[...] little game Heather Kelley & Jonatan Söderström developed during the Nordic Game Jam 2009: 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness (inspired by John [...]
March 5th, 2009 at 7:04 am
Damn you invisible people
March 5th, 2009 at 9:22 am
nice experiment >]
March 6th, 2009 at 12:54 pm
http://www.nopaste.pl/9yl-bash
This bash script fuck your game
Pelase make better php script ;]
March 6th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
this is gorgeous. one of the most original examples of new media art i’ve seen. i love that the concept impedes the games ability to become popular. theoretically one can only win when no one else is interested- a metaphor for so many strange things in life. i also love how upset people seem over this creation- feeling the need to protect what defines a game and what defines art. their peeved inquiries affirm it as successful on both counts.
to rob who posted on february 2nd, let’s not forget one of the most influential artists of the 20th century shat in a can, signed it and called it art. things haven’t been the same since. have we really not progressed from the days of asking if an upside down urinal is allowed to be art?
the notion of absence remains an incredibly relevant concept to explore:
http://www.cnac-gp.fr/Pompidou/Manifs.nsf/AllExpositions/F2B9220703A899FFC125754500368280?OpenDocument&sessionM=2.2.1&L=2
March 6th, 2009 at 10:59 pm
wow, the more angry comments i read, the more i think this piece is a brilliant success.
so many sore losers. sure looks like a game to me.
March 8th, 2009 at 3:03 am
yup, the game is playing with your head.
March 9th, 2009 at 7:39 am
… totally awesome game, hilarious because it’s pretty much impossible unless everyone waits until the last person finishes >.<
March 9th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
[...] pomysłu, ale żadna ze znanych mi nie odrzuca bardziej ostentacyjnie formy na rzecz czystej idei. 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness, bo o tej grze mowa, poświęciłam tekst opublikowany w sieciowym magazynie Motyw Drogi. Jest on [...]
March 12th, 2009 at 2:54 pm
and i want you to loose.
Game.
March 12th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
and now that i have …
i want someone to beat me at about 4′32
so i can get all angry and emotional and say some sports cliches
all this and we still cannot solve world poverty?
March 14th, 2009 at 4:31 am
I lost my time for nothing!! This thing is USELESS!
It was 3 in the morning (france hour) when i completed this “challenge” (which is not really one, because i trie just like 5-6 times before suceed, i think i started at about 2:50 in the mornging… )
The result when you win? NOTHING just the same black screen with like a white “V” (or the “v” that means “checked” or “ok”) and that’s all! you don’t win anything, you can’t register the fact that you won (i have only the screenshot i made). Absolutely USELESS. Thank God i was doing other things at the ame time.
Where is the challenge if it can be completed that fast? What do we win do complete this challenge (where i downloaded it, they said it was quite impossible to complete the challenge)??
So disapointed about this game that is not really, that challenge that is not one (very easy to win), and that absence of any little kind of reward when we win (not even the satisfaction to have won )
March 14th, 2009 at 6:12 am
j’ai gagner youpie
March 14th, 2009 at 1:39 pm
It’s interesting to see people saying that the game, the set of rules, can not be art, just the graphics. Have a look at some of the work that conceptual artists have been doing since the late sixties. A lot of conceptual artists work is workign against the notion of the Object as art, and more that ideas, performance, rules and games can be art.
Take the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres. One of his works was a pile of hard black candies in the corner of the gallery. The public were invited to take them (my kids LOVE Felix Gonzalea-Torres) and the gallery attendants would keep replenishing them. Now the lollies themselves aren’t the art, they’re lollies, you eat them and throw away the wrapper. When the work is delivered to the gallery it doesn’t come in the form of a crate of lollies, it’s a sheet of printed instructions as to how to set up the work, and these instructions are displayed as part of the work. They are rules to the game if you like.
Personally I think the best bit is the shocked look people have if they don’t know the work, and see you reach out and grab a handful of the “art” and start eating it. It plays against that whole look but don’t touch reverence that big galleries have.
Now he was a Real Artist, he’s in the Guggenheim, so he must be a Real Artist. And what he’s doing is creating games, where the rules are the art, not the fancy graphics, just like 4m33sOU.
Keep it up. Keep pushing the boundaries like this, it’s great to see.
March 18th, 2009 at 3:18 am
[...] for yourselves and decide: http://www.kloonigames.com/blog/games/4mins33secs Geschrieben von Philipp. Veröffentlicht am Mittwoch, 18. März 2009 um 3:17. Abgelegt [...]
March 18th, 2009 at 3:20 am
Hey Rob, shitting somewhere and calling it art has actually been done - and it IS art btw. So this might be as well!
March 18th, 2009 at 11:01 am
[...] “4 Minutes and 33 seconds of Uniqueness” l’utente vince se è l’unico al mondo, in tale lasso di tempo, a giocare. Non [...]
March 19th, 2009 at 2:49 am
Looks like everyone got bored with it. Finally got through all 4.5 minutes.
March 20th, 2009 at 10:24 am
Ok, who the hell is 201.160.165.xx, from California? I must beat you up so badly… I’m willing that that guy in Texas kicks you, too, you selfish b…!
And I agree with someone who said that, at least we should post somewhere (officialy) that we won. A little reward for a strangely addicting game.
(HaHaHa, 201.160.165.xx was beaten by 77.236.0.xxx at Poland at about 2′!!)
March 20th, 2009 at 10:26 am
BTW, I’m 189.103.23.xx, and this G-Map is not very precise, as I was already quitted and still appears there
March 22nd, 2009 at 2:03 am
This is thrilling - as someone stated before - you can’t bear the last seconds
Nice and simple idea! I couldn’t resist scripting the client, so it automatically restarts right after it was closed. Must be kind of frustrating for “manual” competitors… 
This way I easily win the game couple of times a day. Actually, I’m now considering restarting it 4:30 minutes after it closed… probably even more frustrating for everybody.
But there seems to be a bug, at least for me. The visualizer shows me as winner after 4:33. But the client program does not! After 4:38 (!) it simply closes. It does not show the winning screen.
For testing I reduced the winning time in the client to a few seconds and then it works as expected (read: it shows the winning screen). What gives?
March 23rd, 2009 at 5:26 pm
Its a funny game for if you are bored… i have set a record of 9:22! the timer in the visualisizer goes of the balloon! XD
March 27th, 2009 at 5:14 am
I won the game… what a big deal people make out of nothing. This game reminds me of the emperor’s new clothes…
March 28th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
I find the game fascinating … it’s easy to argue ‘it’s not a game, all you do is open a file then watch it close on you’, but what is a game at heart? How do you link Pong to Mario to Grand Theft Auto?
I think one of the first points hit the crux - at heart a game must have a clearly defined goal the player can influence. And a goal can be anything, whether it’s to hit a ball off a screen, or to jump on turtles then kick them, or to carjack, steal, loot, kill, and blow things up. This has a goal, to make it to 4′33, so it is a game (and you can influence it, if you think about it).
The question is how you make a goal engaging, and who you engage. This is a much broader concept; you can do it through graphics or gameplay or story or etc. Nothing will connect with everything - for instance, my ma would hardly love GTA, but she’ll happily sit and play Solitaire for days on end, even though I’d balk at the thought. Horses for courses, I guess.
I guess 4″33 of Uniqueness demonstrates this to the fullest. I could sit there playing with it for ages - it really brought home the idea of how many people the internet connects, and how far spread they are, when I kept getting bumped off at almost 2am local time. That it got this response out of me in seconds is impressive, when you think how long it takes to ruminate over books and movies and CDs.
Maybe now we’ve gotten over the novelty of spending 700 dollars on a console and dumping thousands of hours into games that feature truly realistic characters, we can start seriously thinking of ‘games’ like any other medium - as a blank canvas with wide-reaching possibilities, and not just as a diversion?
March 28th, 2009 at 8:28 pm
I actually had a lot of fun with that thing, meaning it’s a game, and a good one.
I loved to see some “HaHaHa, 201.160.165.xx from Califormia was beaten by 77.236.0.xxx in Poland at about 2′!!” in the comments above, cause that’s exactly what I was thinking while playing. Would it be so fun without the visualizer though?
March 28th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
Finally I beaten this bloody game! Try this game while listening music that takes about 4 minute. (my pick choice: Daft Punk - Prime Time of Your Life)
April 1st, 2009 at 10:34 pm
cheats?
April 2nd, 2009 at 12:54 am
This is a really cool little program. I know anonymity plays somewhat of a role in this game but I cant help but think that it would be a little better with, idk, a chatroom? I mean whether theres a chatroom or not there will always be someone else playing, so I dont know how much it would affect the overall outcome. Maybe its a stupid idea, but think about it
April 3rd, 2009 at 9:44 pm
[...] has a new game in the works called 4minutes and 33 seconds of uniqueness which is the polar opposite of Crayon Physics - no interaction at all. That is exploration into new [...]
April 4th, 2009 at 5:43 am
Games are not art. Games cannot be art. They can be artistic and creative, but “art” in and of themselves.
April 7th, 2009 at 8:53 pm
[...] >>Kloonigames post<< [...]
April 7th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
I will play this game after 4 minute 30 second intervals, in hopes that I’ll cut somebody off eventually who was 3 seconds away from winning.
April 8th, 2009 at 2:59 pm
I won!
April 10th, 2009 at 7:09 am
I don’t think Petri designed the visualizer program. And no, it’s not completely accurate. I have shown up on it, but didn’t show up at all the two times I won the game! But it’s actually pretty cool when you get knocked off because you know someone, somewhere is running the exact same program…
April 12th, 2009 at 8:46 pm
nice! had fun!
April 14th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
[...] http://www.kloonigames.com/blog/games/4mins33secs [...]
April 15th, 2009 at 5:38 pm
Wow! … And what great discussion this game accomplished…
I want to point out, that a game not has to be fun to be a game.
And it has not have to have a point to be a game.
And a game must not offer the possibility to be able to lose or to be able to win.
A game has to be playable. It doesn’t matter in which way.
Thats the ONLY condition it has to have.
Cleaning the house could be a game…
Running around in circles could be a game…
Counting clouds in the sky could be a game…
Imagining dwarfs building a castle in a fantasy world could be a game…
Life could be a game…
… if you play it.
I think this game truly is art, definitely!
… but everything can be art.
Great work Petri!
April 19th, 2009 at 5:26 pm
OMG!I think I could never win this game!!
April 20th, 2009 at 3:04 am
Well, ive just downloaded it, and won…wasnt that hard, just went to make a cup of coffee, checked back and there was a giant tick on the screen…..too easy
April 21st, 2009 at 8:23 pm
[...] Mlčte. Položte ruce na klávesnice a myši. Pohleďte. Prázdno? Odraz Vašeho obličeje v monitoru, stropní světlo, reflektory aut projíždějících pod oknem? A přesně z toho nevyšel Petri Purho když tvořil svůj příspěvek do soutěže ve tvorbě her Nordic Game Jam, poctu Johnnymu Cageovi 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness. [...]
April 22nd, 2009 at 12:27 pm
i win
yessir // sense of satisfaction
respect from peers
self worth
babes & riches
all coming my way hey
April 24th, 2009 at 12:04 am
I think that 4 min. 33 sec. of uniqueness could be a lot more fun if random comments would pop up; saying, for example: “Wow! You’ve been the only one in the entire universe to play this game at any given moment for…”, or “Don’t look now, but I think someone is about to play the game”, or maybe even “1 Mississippi…”,”2 Mississippi…”,… — you might even add some sound effects (I think a beating heart would fit perfectly.) Don’t get me wrong Petri, I truly respect your originality of this game; but I think that it could definitely use a few more features. — Ooh, I just saw your tiny smiley face at the very bottom of the screen
April 27th, 2009 at 11:50 pm
Well I won. I don’t think the idea will catch on, as few people bother to play this longer than during the few minutes after they’ve downloaded it; by now, any new Kloonigames visitor is going to win.
It’s interesting - well, actually it’s not. It just… happens. Its not really a game - the user isn’t trying to achieve anything, and it’s not entertaining or amusing - and according to Dictionary.com, a game must be that to be a game. I like the idea of something happening depending on everyone else’s input - or lack thereof. I can see a game coming out of this, but this is just… well, neither game, nor art.
May 2nd, 2009 at 1:41 am
I’ve finally made it!
May 2nd, 01:40 am!
May 4th, 2009 at 12:24 am
well.. it’s like I said!
May 4th, 2009 at 8:44 am
I’ve just won!
Great feeling, thanks a lot!
May 7th, 2009 at 3:45 pm
gah!!! i hate that i love you so Petri? or whoever you are! you stole my idea of an anti game!!!! im doing one for my art project and now you stole my idea!!! now its not original!!!!! i hate you! i hate you!!!!! =[ =[ =[
anyways keep up the good work =] love crayon physics btw
May 8th, 2009 at 6:43 am
I got to 16mins, Its was great. I win at life.
May 9th, 2009 at 11:22 am
It’s going to be hard for anyone to win anymore.
June 9th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
This is as much of a game as a kid playing ‘how long can you hold your breath underwater’ or how long can you go without saying a word…
As for an actual video game, I would pass this up as simply an animation. Without input; and execution or launching does not hold in my book as a valid input, you are just watching a video and not actually playing anything…
June 12th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
Well, I’m just having fun ruining your little game by running a batch that just starts it for me, over and over. I’m definitely not playing the game, and it should be fairly obvious that at this rate, nobody can win it. Awesome? I think not. The only interesting part about this game is destroying it for others. And frankly, I think that’s a rather stupid form of game.
June 16th, 2009 at 5:01 pm
I WON.That is wonderful!I WON at 16:56 16.6.2009
Greetings from Czech Republic
Printscreen- http://img526.imageshack.us/img526/1663/vhra.jpg
June 18th, 2009 at 5:15 am
i won!!!!(also i saw ondra win(i think)) i won!!!!! its ben going for like 15 mins now!!!!W00T7!
June 25th, 2009 at 9:45 am
[...] Game [...]
June 27th, 2009 at 8:12 am
[...] 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness [...]
June 27th, 2009 at 9:12 pm
psykolog…
För kontakt med psykolog i malmö som dessutom arbetar med KBT - kognitiv terapi kan rekommenderas…
June 28th, 2009 at 4:28 am
I just won. I’ve known about the game for months but I wanted to give it a while before I chanced it (competitive type that I am), and I won.
Honestly, it’s a landmark piece of work. True, many gamers don’t have the mental capacity to really understand what it is, and true, it owes so much to John Cage that you’re in danger of a lawsuit from his estate (it’s happened before!), but I must salute you for bringing it into a new medium. I’d like to think Cage would be proud:
“4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness: An arrangement of 4′33″, performed automatically by a single computer connected to the Internet, during which time no other computer may be performing the piece.”
I think the only thing that would make it more perfect would be some mechanic whereby if you won the game, you could never win it again. Somewhat difficult from a technical standpoint, though.
Also: To the guy(s) who run batch processes to continually restart the game?
a) You’re a dick
b) You either absolutely missed the point, or you completely understood the point (I assume the former)
c) You were playing the game. I imagine you didn’t “win” by the win conditions set out by the author, but on some twisted level, you’re still a winner.
June 29th, 2009 at 12:05 pm
i just won right now
seriously, noone is playing it at 5 am GTS -5
July 4th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
Well, I’m just having fun ruining your little game by running a batch that just starts it for me, over and over. I’m definitely not playing the game, and it should be fairly obvious that at this rate, nobody can win it. Awesome? I think not. The only interesting part about this game is destroying it for others. And frankly, I think that’s a rather stupid form of game.
December 12th, 2012 at 5:30 pm
[...] Quer conhecer mais sobre este curioso experimento? Clique aqui. [...]
March 2nd, 2013 at 6:50 pm
Home Improvement…
[...]Here are several of the web-sites we suggest for our visitors[...]…
March 28th, 2013 at 6:43 pm
[...] Spiel, das auf dem Werk 4’33” von John Cage basierte. Wer neugierig ist, kann es hier kostenlos herunterladen. Es lohnt sich. Nach der Mittagspause sind wir ein bisschen Zeit spazieren [...]
May 8th, 2013 at 10:21 pm
[...] 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness The conceit of this game is that if anyone else in the world plays it at the same time as you are your game ends. You cannot complete the game if anyone else is having the same experience you are at that exact moment. So of course as soon as I started it up I was consumed by anxiety–what if someone else plays? What if my time is wasted and I have to start over? What if I get caught in a vicious loop of starting and ending with some random person? Thankfully I made it the whole way through, and I got what I started the game to get: I had a unique experience that no one else in the world was having for four minutes and thirty three seconds. That uniqueness came with an equal amount of anxiety and fear, and I didn’t enjoy the time so much as suffer through it. Was it worth it? [...]
May 11th, 2013 at 4:17 pm
[...] the ten games in this mixtape demonstrate, this move can be deployed in a whole variety of ways. 4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness, Petri Purho [...]