[-empyre-] semiomorphic functionality

["DMR" <dmr@grammalab.org>]

Troy,

You posted the following comment at the beginning of this interview:

> Game mods highlight an important part of the structure of digital games.
They demonstrate the seperation of the underlying code or logic of a game
and its representation. The same gameplay can be represented in a wide
variety of different ways (ranging from copies of the original game through
to experimental game art) through the replacement of sounds, textures,
models and the creation of new levels. The code or logic of the game may
also be modifed by software hacks, which take this further. <

And in your DAC article, you write, "What is perhaps occuring here is the
emergence of a cultural understanding of the basic principle of semiotic
morphism -- a set of meanings may be encapsulated in a system . . . that may
be expressed in an infinite number of possible ways" (76).

I've been thinking about this "cultural logic," and how rampant it really
is. From the "interface culture" (S. Johnson) of the 24-hour television news
shows that all share a similar interface to games, like one of my old
favorites (Myth, Fallen Lords), which had fantasy and WWII mods available,
the separation of function and content/representation is rampant.

I'm wondering if you can talk a little more about Semiomorph, and/or about
the cultural logic in which this game participates. For example, towards the
end of your article, you write, "Semiomorph draws attention to the shift
between the real and the virtual by accentuating 'artefacts' or errors, the
sound glitches and aberrant visual patterns which are unintended
side-effects of the algorithms used to construct virtual worlds." What is it
about these aberrations that draw attention to the shift? Why is it
important to draw attention to this?

I enjoyed reading your article. From my own interest in contemporary writing
studies, I read your contribution across the work of procedural/algorithmic
writers in the mid-century and more recent contributions to grammatological
models of writing.

cheers,

Dave Rieder