TTBOOK GEMS

PAINSTATION

Tillman Reiff is the German inventor of a rather unusual video game called, "The Pain Station." Basically, "The Painstation" is Pong with an added twist - if you miss the ball you get a serious dose of physical pain. This is an excerpt from an interview Reiff did with Steve Paulson on the Public Radio International program, "To The Best of Our Knowledge."

Reiff: There are three kinds of pains that are going to be inflicted upon your left hand. And there is a symbol for each type of pain on the screen. One is for electricity, one is for heat, and the third one is a little whip that actually will slash on the back of your hand.

Paulson: A whip?

Reiff: If you miss the ball, depending on what kind of symbol the ball hits on the screen you will get the according dose of pain.

Paulson: (Laughs) So do people really get hurt playing this game, "The Painstation"?

Reiff: People who play it for a long time really have marks or even burns. Sometimes they ever draw blood. But most people stop before it comes to this point because they are smart enough to stop before they start to bleed. But some want to feel their limits and they don't stop playing until they really start bleeding.

Paulson: So, is that the attraction - to see how much pain you can endure? Because you have to wonder, "Why would anyone want to play this game?"

Reiff: Yeah, it sounds strange but it's actually fun to play it. It is a real intense gaming experience. The game is very fast and you have to concentrate on it very much but at the same time you get pain on your left hand, which will distract you from the actual game play. And also there's a lot of sound involved. So as the heat goes on, there is a sound going like a huge fire. And it will really put you under a big stress. And at the same time you have to concentrate, so it's really an intense experience. At the same time you're playing against your friend or someone you know and he will laugh the moment you get a dose of pain and you will be laughing the moment he gets the pain. So, it is a really intense multi-player experience that is a lot of fun. Sounds unbelievable, but it actually is fun.
Tillman Reiff (GEMS - from program # 02-04-14-B: VIDEOGAMES: FROM PONG TO PAINSTATION)

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