# 1378(km) - Serious Game & Interactive Art Project

An interactive, multi-player serious game and art project about the inner-German border and the moral dilemma of the order to shoot (Schießbefehl) in the former German Democratic Republic (GDR).

## Overview
- **Developer:** Dr. Jens M. Stober (developed in 2010 as a Vordiplom-Arbeit at the State University of Arts and Design Karlsruhe / HfG). Co-founder of Karlsruhe Gamelab. His work is rooted in media art and the joy of creation: "Creativity is intelligence having fun." Specialist for Creative Technology & Interactive Realities.
- **Engine:** Source Engine (Half-Life 2: Deathmatch modification)
- **Base Concept:** "Who shoots, loses" (Wer schießt, verliert)
- **Release Date:** December 10, 2010
- **Awards:** Retroactively named "Best German Computer Game of 2010" by WELT & ComputerBILD Spiele

## Gameplay Mechanics
1378(km) features asymmetric multiplayer rounds with up to 16 players. Players choose between two factions:

### 1. Republikflüchtling (Refugee)
- **Goal:** Safely cross the border fortifications, avoid landmines, tripwires, searchlights, and border guards, and reach West Berlin or West Germany.
- **Weaponry:** Completely unarmed.
- **Scoring:** Points are awarded for successfully bypassing border barriers and escaping.

### 2. DDR-Grenzsoldat (Border Guard)
- **Goal:** Defend the border and prevent crossings.
- **Weaponry:** Armed with machine guns.
- **Moral Choice & Win Conditions:**
  - **Option 1 (Arrest):** Confront and arrest refugees non-violently (earns points).
  - **Option 2 (Flee):** Drop weapons and flee to the West yourself.
  - **Option 3 (Shoot - Mauerschützenprozess):** If a guard shoots a refugee, the guard is immediately disqualified, and the game teleports the player to the year 2000 to witness their own Mauerschützenprozess (court trial of border guards). The active gameplay ends. A shot resets the guard's score to zero.

## Chronicle of the Media Scandal (2010-2013)
The project triggered a massive national and international tabloid storm:
- **Summer / September 2010:** Vordiplom-Arbeit presentation at HfG Karlsruhe. A press conference was held at HfG Karlsruhe. Large TV crews filmed monitors but refused to test the game themselves.
- **September 29, 2010:** Tabloid BILD launched a campaign calling it a "revolting DDR death strip shoot-'em-up" where players were rewarded for killing people.
- **September 30, 2010:** Due to public pressure, death threats against Jens M. Stober, and protests, HfG postponed the planned October 3 (Day of German Unity) release.
- **November 2010:** Stober published an official statement clarifying the rules and explaining that shooting leads to defeat.
- **December 10, 2010:** Released under police protection at HfG Karlsruhe during a panel discussion. Server crashed under massive download traffic.
- **December 14, 2010:** The German Press Council formally cited and admonished the BILD newspaper for violating the journalistic code of care by falsifying the game rules.
- **January 2011:** Public prosecutor in Karlsruhe dismissed all criminal charges of "glorifying violence and incitement" (Volksverhetzung) against Stober, ruling the game is an artwork.
- **2013:** Axel Springer publications WELT and ComputerBILD Spiele named 1378(km) one of the 25 best German games and the best game of 2010.

## Exhibitions & Museum Presentations
The game was presented in multiple world-renowned museums, academic institutions, and galleries:
- **ZKM (Zentrum für Kunst und Medien) Karlsruhe:** "Welt der Spiele"
- **Museum of World Culture (Gothenburg, Sweden):** "World of Games"
- **Museum für Neue Kunst (MNK) Karlsruhe:** "The Global Contemporary"
- **Nam June Paik Art Center (Seoul, South Korea):** "New Gameplay"
- **DOX Centre for Contemporary Art Prague:** "The Lucifer Effect"
- **Computerspielemuseum Berlin:** Permanent Exhibition
- **Bundeskunsthalle Bonn:** "Kunststudenten stellen aus"
- **MIT GameLab:** "Game Art Show"
- **Harvard University:** "German-American Conference"
- **Spielsalon Kassel:** "Festival der Autorenspiele"
- **LEARNTEC:** "Level Up"
- **Centro Cultural de São Paulo** (São Paulo, Brazil)
- **Ateneo de Manila University** (Quezon City, Philippines)
- **Pobeda Novosibirsk** (Novosibirsk, Russia)
- **Boston Cyberarts Gallery** (Boston, USA)
- **Kult Gallery** (Singapore)
- **Lostgens‘ Art Space** (Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
- **Commde-Design Center** (Bangkok, Thailand)
- **Athens Conservatoire** (Athens, Greece)
- **Goethe Villa** (Yangon, Myanmar)
- **FINKI Faculty of Computer Science** (Skopje, North Macedonia)
- **Neumünster Abbey** (Luxembourg)
- **Physics Room Jamie Hanton** (Wellington/Christchurch, New Zealand)
- **Goethe-Institutes Worldwide Traveling Exhibitions:**
  - Goethe-Institut San Francisco (USA)
  - Goethe-Institut Washington D.C. (USA)
  - Goethe-Institut Madrid / Conde Duque (Spain)
  - Goethe-Institut Nancy (France)
  - Goethe-Institut Boston & Cambridge (USA)
  - Goethe-Institut Shanghai (China)
  - Goethe-Institut Beijing (China)
  - Goethe-Institut Lagos (Nigeria)
  - Goethe-Institut Nicosia (Cyprus)
  - Goethe-Institut Istanbul (Turkey)
  - Goethe-Institut Ankara / Cermodern (Turkey)
  - Goethe-Institut Belgrade (Serbia)
  - Goethe-Institut Zagreb & Rijeka (Croatia)
  - Goethe-Institut Brussels / L’Iselp (Belgium)
  - Goethe-Institut Sarajevo / Banja Luka (Bosnia & Herzegovina)
  - Goethe-Institut Toronto (Canada)
  - Goethe-Institut Region SAS / Colombo, Chennai, Mumbai, New Delhi (India)
  - Goethe-Institut Ramallah (West Bank)
  - Goethe-Institut Manila (Philippines)
  - Goethe-Institut Hanoi (Vietnam)
  - Goethe-Institut Jakarta (Indonesia)
  - Goethe-Institut Mexico City (Mexico)

## Technical & Installation Details
- **Base Runtime:** Free Steam tool `Source SDK Base 2006` (Half-Life 2 is no longer required).
- **Target Folder:** `C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\SourceMods\1378`
- **Output Pages Structure:**
  - `index.html` (German homepage)
  - `english/index.html` (English homepage)
  - `blog/index.html` (German blog feed)
  - `english/blog/index.html` (English blog feed)
  - `datenschutz/index.html` & `impressum/index.html` (German legal pages)
  - `english/datenschutz/index.html` & `english/impressum/index.html` (English legal pages)