Re: [-empyre-] conceptual art vs the craft of games

[Christian McCrea <saccharinmetric@gmail.com>]

> We wanted to prove something to our peers
> (ie professional game developers and hardcore gamers) Sure, we've made
> a prototype but all it's meant is that our colleagues look up for five
> minutes and say "interesting idea, i wonder if it could be done". Just
> like the way a 30 second film trailer doesn't prove anything. 

Kipper, 

I naturally agree that it would have been sensational to see where the
project could go. But I think it has had some very interesting impacts
as a concept alone.

I spend the last 4 months teaching at Melbourne Uni, a course called
"Game Studies" and EfW was pretty much the hot topic for its 67
students all semester, and many of their ideas on political strategies
via gaming centre around the possibilities that EfW generated for
them. It inspired a couple of them to attempt resolution-based
political games for themselves.

So maybe, as you say, the great game developers would have made a
great game, but maybe what's occured here is a great political
intervention. A couple of Age articles spoke to a sprinkling of
game-savvy political types and suggested that something could finally
be done.

So its not all bad. :)

-Christian McCrea