Seduce the Train

In December 2017 Niklas and I took part in the 22nd edition of Eniarof in Tunisia with other German, French and Tunisian students and teachers. This Eniarof was part of Efest festival's artist residency program. The idea of Eniarof, which is a pop-up fun fair concept by  Antonin Fourneau, is to gather in a place, in this case Abdellia Palace in La Marsa, and to fill the space with DIY attractions. I built an attraction called Seduce the Train, which was inspired by an old model train. By wearing sensor-equipped gloves, two people can try to seduce the train to their side of the train track with gestures. The video above, which shows the train in action, is from 2018 when Seduce the Train and other Eniarof projects were presented as part of the Second Square #9 – Makers event in Paris.

As it usually happens at an Eniarof, we began developing ideas for attractions by exploring a pile of materials such as electronics, used toys and other recycled materials. The model train, which served as a basis for Seduce the Train, was in fact from our very own basement. I combined it with a pair of abandoned Essential Reality P5 gloves, which were once designed as a high-tech 3D input device. Using the bend sensors in the gloves, I made fabric gloves with which it was possible to move the toy train by bending the index finger.

Two people can play with the train one at the time and move it to their station by bending the finger. The idea is to get the train as fast as possible to the station, although the most fun part is to come up with perfectly fast moves and inventive seduction gestures. We also tried a version of the game where the players can move the train simultaneously, but in this case the train remains mostly in the middle of the tracks, making it less fun. Overall, seducing the train is not quite as easy at is seems and concentration in the movements seemed to yield the best results.

When the Eniarof attractions made in Tunisia were shown in Paris in February 2018 at the Second Square #9 – Makers event, I made an improved version of Seduce the train. I replaced the old train with a more proper model train, as in Tunisia there had been some contact issues with the train track. I also updated the seduction gloves with new sensors in order to have more reliable and equal readings from both gloves. Lastly, I added a display, which showed the elapsed time for each player and provided also a high score list.

In June 2018 Seduce the Train was also presented as a part of MalakoNiarof at l'Atelier de curiosité urbaine in Malakoff, France. After this Seduce the Train sadly suffered a water damage and never recovered from it, but I should still have somewhere the two passenger dolls for further installations.

See also:

• Photo album of Seduce the Train
• Video of Eniarof in Tunisia by Efest
• Bubble Blast made by Niklas in the same event