Floating Points 6: Games of Culture/Art of Games, 2009
Floating Points 6 is a film screening, symposium and workshops with Asi Burak, Anita Fontaine, Jesper Juul, Friedrich Kirschner, Marcin Ramocki, Jason Rohrer, Adriana de Souza Silva, Mushon Zer-Aviv that will take place March 20-21. The symposium is designed to address how the popularity of video games has affected almost every aspect of our lives in the digital age, including art. Issues that will be addressed are how games provide inspiration but also often function as advertisements or for consumer engagement and employee productivity. How deeply ingrained in our society have video games become?
Video games have a narrative quality that has altered how we percieve and engage with stories in a way that is far beyond any other medium on the market. Films served in a similar revolutionary way when they allowed viewers to see actors in a more intimate way than ever before through a feat of technology that was unprecedented. Video games have also introduced a new element to storytelling that was never pursued to such a degree before: interactivity. The influence of video games on culture, youth, and particularly in how they alter the moral functions of users is a constant issue of debate. What is also of interest is how they have altered how art that uses digital elements is constructed and imagined on the part of the artist and the viewer.
This symposium seems particularly relevant in light of the digital artists we have been investigating. Almost every New Media artist has incorportated some interactive aspect into their work that is either conciously or unconciously influenced by the advent of video games and would likely not have been concieved of if this new medium had not taken hold of popular culture in the way that it has. How far can we go in labeling a video game as a work of art in the same way that a movie or a novel is considered in this category? It is interesting to see how video games have altered how films and written works are now considered. Also, will these older forms of technology become obsolete in the future as everything is converted into digital format? This seems particularly prevelant with the new versions of blackberries and Ipods that advertise reading books and watching movies on your phone. It is almost terrifying to think of the day that the book is no longer in use, although it may be fast approaching due to the convience of new technology.
Video games have a narrative quality that has altered how we percieve and engage with stories in a way that is far beyond any other medium on the market. Films served in a similar revolutionary way when they allowed viewers to see actors in a more intimate way than ever before through a feat of technology that was unprecedented. Video games have also introduced a new element to storytelling that was never pursued to such a degree before: interactivity. The influence of video games on culture, youth, and particularly in how they alter the moral functions of users is a constant issue of debate. What is also of interest is how they have altered how art that uses digital elements is constructed and imagined on the part of the artist and the viewer.
This symposium seems particularly relevant in light of the digital artists we have been investigating. Almost every New Media artist has incorportated some interactive aspect into their work that is either conciously or unconciously influenced by the advent of video games and would likely not have been concieved of if this new medium had not taken hold of popular culture in the way that it has. How far can we go in labeling a video game as a work of art in the same way that a movie or a novel is considered in this category? It is interesting to see how video games have altered how films and written works are now considered. Also, will these older forms of technology become obsolete in the future as everything is converted into digital format? This seems particularly prevelant with the new versions of blackberries and Ipods that advertise reading books and watching movies on your phone. It is almost terrifying to think of the day that the book is no longer in use, although it may be fast approaching due to the convience of new technology.
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