In the original schoolyard game Horse, the objective is to get your opponent labeled a horse, one letter at a time, by making basketball shots. The insults start with an “h,” then “ho,” “hor,” “hors,” and finally progress when a player is labeled a “horse,” which ends the game. Unlike the classic game, in Campaign Horse, the ensuing insults are not initially known but are revealed throughout the game. All slurs in the game were uttered (if not shouted) by rival candidates in the vitriolic 2010 congressional elections.

The basketball is the means of interaction with the piece. Two clotheslines tether the ball, and visitors can toss it toward the net. Although the clotheslines will prevent the ball from traveling far, two 2-axis accelerometers are attached to the lines. These send signals to the controlling computer, triggering a virtual ball to travel toward the net. A physics simulation will determine whether the ball goes through the hoop. Note that, as an aesthetic touch, the catch is rendered using a complex spring-model simulation for a realistic look.

By interacting with Campaign Horse, visitors may understand what it is like to have unfounded insults and accusations directed against them. The added benefit is hurling some insults right back at your opponent.

Campaign Horse uses OpenFrameworks, an open-source C++ library for creative coding.

Campaign Horse was shown at COLLISION16:fluid, Axiom Gallery, Boston, MA, Feb 26 to Mar 26, 2011