Frontiers mod for Half-Life 2

BorderXing is a modifed multiplayer game that offers the immersive experience of a migrant's journey into Europe from Afrika and the Middle East. In carefully remodeled conflict zones and migration hotspots, the players compete in the dangerous struggle of refugees and borderguards.

This is a multiplayer games of up to 16 players, where one party, that is mainly unarmed, is trying to either cross a specific area (border) or escape a raid situation. The other party, mostly security and military forces, can use all necessary force to prevent this. Weapons vary on levels, the guard site always changes identity. After a specific amount of succesfull crossing, the refugees are advancing a step towards Europe. Guards get promoted for the succesfull arrest of refugees, kills are never being rewarded. In some levels, they might lead to a loss of points.

Fortress Europe
September 29, 2005, the day of the rush for the boarder in Ceuta, was a significant day, which resulted in many deaths and injuries – a topic preferably not discussed in Europe. Still today, many questions remain disputed: what was it that led the refugees to succumb to a state of panic? Who triggered the hysterical fear that the (already closely guarded) boarder would now become utterly uncrossable? What we know is this: 700 people dashed towards the razor-sharp wired fencing. Some were able to cross through to the other side, others got caught up in the fence and were beaten with clubs and shot at with air rifles until they returned to the Moroccan side. The height of the fence was increased. In 1995, it stood one meter tall. In 2005, it was raised to six meters.

For a brief moment, “Fortress Europe” was caught in the focus of the public eye. But the refugees' fates were quick to become sediment in our daily news, unable to spark further public interest. This is where our game and internet project “Border Crossing” comes in.

BorderXing allows the player to experience life on the borderline: each player is out for himself/ herself, competing with as well as against other players to cross over borders from Africa to eastern Europe – between the Sahara and Ben Younech forest, the Caucasus mountains and the forests of Belarus. In portraying the borders themselves and the numerous, small obstacles that exist on the borders' thresholds prior to the outward boundary of the EU, we aim to illuminate the cultural diversity of today's Europe as well as the daily drama occurring at these borders. It is a drama that Europeans frequently lose sight of due to the debate regarding solutions and developmental aid that it spurns.

BorderXing immerses us in a realistic situation: we have created various maps based on research of the existing borderline areas, which players must cross in order to achieve the game's goal and arrive in Europe.

We view the form of the social mod not only as a work of art, but as a political, participatory instrument, for it represents a new form of artistic communication, which enables the audience to take on a new, social role. At the same time, it allows for new interpretations of popular gaming structures and their aesthetics.

BorderXing is a platform for play and information. The confrontation evolves in interactive form: players compete with as well as against each other, and communication – everything from basic chat to discussion – is made possible through use of the website. The player becomes an “engaged participant”.

The game does not offer concrete solutions or moral judgments, it simply raises awareness and sensibility through the experiences made during the process of play. Players may choose their own perspectives as well as which side they would like to play for: immigrant refugee or borderline soldier. The immersive nature of the game environment is intended to encourage players to play again and again. This will help impose names into our minds, which we hear used day after day in the media without realizing it.

p.s.: Since BorderXing is a quite known media arts project, we decided to release the game under the name "Frontiers". On this page, we'll stick to the name BorderXing, but don't be confused, if you read Frontiers.