RE: [-empyre-] play versus gameplay

["Troy Innocent" <troy@iconica.org>]

Hi Helen,
Yes, Semiomorph is very deliberately an investigation of digital games.
It uses familiar conventions of gameplay and game space as a structure for
investigating something less familiar - the shifting of modes of representation
in a realtime simulation. The gameplay dynamics are mapped to these shifts
in representation - collect enough of one game object and the space starts
to shift, entity interactions change etc.

This may point to interesting aspects of machinima / game mods that can
be explored from a formal point of view. The separation of the system (game
logic, code, events, objects) from its representation (sounds, textures,
geometry). Many different mappings of the same interactive system may be
produced ranging from those that subvert the meaning of the orignal game
through to abstract experiments with artifacts in game graphics and visual
effects,

lifesigns is much more of a hybrid form. It is a game without structured
goals or scoring mechanisms that involves the audience through a play with
process. So, it is a digital game, but also draws upon artificial life and
generative systems, electronic language and musical performance. The alife
component evolves the game world so that is is always changing and so that
every lifeSign is unique. However, it can be hard to reconcile the dynamics
and variations produced by alife algorithms with the consistent results
required by most types of gameplay as the rules / game balance may be changed.

In terms of game interface and graphics the goal was to create a mode of
free play and exploration in a multi-layered abstract world that is open
to interpretation by the player. We were able to code everything specifically
for the project and the Renderware engine was very versatile - able to be
reconfigured for the effects we required. The installation has multiple
consoles so multiple players can improvise and perform their lifeSigns with
one another.

Troy.

>
>It is a very real criticism against interactive art as being often too
strongly
>driven by a "gee wow" technology factor and when that technology is not
so
>special it is apparent that there is no content to the work. As you have
>suggested games culture offers its own underpinning to much work made using
>games technology. In the case of Troy Innocents work this is very apparent
>in "Semiomorph" but less so with "LifeSigns" where the work does not resemble
>closely game interface or graphics but game technologies enable Troy through
>the Middleware engine Renderware to create the complex interactive world
>the work requires.
>
>It is interesting how driven the commercial industry is in trying to achieve
>mimetic 3D worlds - there is talk amongst those working in the games development
>industry that when the happy day comes when graphics are as 3d as they
can
>be that can start to focus on content.
>
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>>> Troy Innocent : troy@iconica.org : iconica.org