‘LIFE AND DEATH OF HANS MAXIMILIAN’ is a modern interpretation of the famous Tamagotchi game (a handheld digital pet simulation toy, 1996). The project is based on Chomsky’s grammar hierarchy theory and Panini’s Sanskrit grammar documentation “Aṣṭādhyāyī”. The game is based on a language model within the Tamagotchi context, based on opposing normative concepts: void/fullness, up/down, material/soul, noun/verb/adjective, in order to construct a normative form of communication. The generated word meanings are classified in a node tree, forming “meaning classes” which then build 3-word sentences. The user is required to read and understand the needs of Generative Tamagotchi, which are communicated in normative phrases and body language, and then respond to them by typing a suitable response with a controller within a specific time frame.
