> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://hyperallergic.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# The Latest Video Game Experience on a Skyscraper Near You
- URL: https://hyperallergic.com/latest-video-game-experience-on-a-skyscraper-near-you/
- Published: 2012-02-06T21:47:17.000Z
- Updated: 2025-11-24T16:36:55.000Z
- Description: LOS ANGELES — For one night, the American Museum of Natural History hosted a new video game. It was a big deal. Literally. Sited in the massive dome at the Hayden Planetarium, Space Cruiser was a multiplayer immersive experience.
- Author: AX Mina
- Tags: Opinion, American Museum of Natural History, Babycastles, #wp, #wp-post, #image-position-hidden, #Import 2025-11-24 06:51 (2012, 2013, part 1)

LOS ANGELES — For one night only, Manhattan’s American Museum of Natural History hosted a new video game. It was a big deal. Literally. Sited in the massive dome at the Hayden Planetarium, [*Space Cruiser*](http://www.amnh.org/calendar/event/Cosmic-Cocktails-and-Space-Arcade/?ref=hyperallergic.com) was a multiplayer immersive experience.

The game, designed by Ivan Safrin, Stephin Merritt, Greg Fox and Babycastles, put participants into a space ship as they worked to navigate through an asteroid field. What’s more, it was entirely social, as each player controlled different parts of the ship. Here’s what Carolina Miranda [had to say](http://culture.wnyc.org/blogs/gallerina/2012/jan/25/planetarium-sized-video-game/?ref=hyperallergic.com) at WNYC:

> One person handles thrust, another controls lateral left-to-right movement and yet another handles the roll (placing the ship on its side so that it can squeeze between tight clusters of galactic detritus a la Han Solo). Three other players control “repairs” (namely, pressing a button) after the many inevitable collisions.

It got me thinking about [City Fireflies](http://vimeo.com/25071870?ref=hyperallergic.com), a massive, Minefield-like game projected onto a building facade. Using the light from their iPhones to trigger sensors, players had to physically dance around the open square to knock out invading creatures. Designed by Medialab-Prado facade, it’s an ongoing project that runs evenings in Madrid.

Let’s hope this trend in architectural-scale video games continues. With wall projections from the 1980s by [Krzysztof Wodiczko](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Krzysztof%5FWodiczko?ref=hyperallergic.com), and more recently more whimsical pieces by [Graffiti Lab](http://www.graffitiresearchlab.com/blog/projects/laser-tag/?ref=hyperallergic.com), leading the way, there’s so much great potential for highly social immersive gaming experiences like these.