susana

I LIKE FRANK IN ADELAIDE by Blast Theory

2-13 MARCH 2004

The world's first 3G mixed reality game by award-winning artists' group
Blast Theory in collaboration with the Mixed Reality Lab, University of
Nottingham is starting today and runs for the next two weeks.

PLAY

Online players coordinate their gameplay efforts with real players in the streets of Adelaine (South Australia). I've never played any of Blast Theory's games but I'd like to try and play this one before it ends on the 13th of March. Other games/projects by the group:

Uncle Roy All Around You
Cornerhouse, Manchester, UK
28 April - 8 May 2004
http://www.uncleroyallaroundyou.co.uk

Uncle /Roy All Around You
The pUBLIC and Fierce Festival, West Bromwich, UK
27 May - 5 June 2004
http://www.uncleroyallaroundyou.co.uk

TRUCOLD and Other Works
'Navigator - Digital Art in the Making',
Taiwan Museum of Art, Taichung, Taiwan
3 July - 5 Sept 2004
http://www.tmoa.gov.tw

Posted by at 11:20 AM | Permalink

ICO - by Sony Computer Entertainment America, 2001: Adventure.

ICO’s initial cinematics really put me in its world. Granted, I come to digital games as a beginner and chances are that the flashy animation and dramatics would probably impress me no matter what. That said, I think that the oppressively lonely surroundings and plot itself, seen through the eyes of a little well-intentioned boy, succeeded in creating a deep sense of loneliness inside of me. The controller shaking at the instances it does brought me closer into the world’s reality – a simple and even trite technique I may have thought earlier, but you know what? It’s successful, at least in ICO. I played past a couple of challenges (that is, I moved on to a couple of different spaces which I had to explore thoroughly) before I found the little frail girl, terribly hanging from a large cage in the middle of an open space, like a big but beaten bird. There was a sense of injustice I realized I was feeling, why portray this kind of Sadness? Why show this little girl in such a state? It seemed manipulative and I felt a little bit of anger. But, I also felt happy that, when (not if) I accomplish this next challenge, I would have her company.

Well, I tried and tried but couldn’t figure it out and I simply got tired of the repetition and the frustration. I quit. I didn’t liberate her and I didn’t find companionship for my little boy agent. I might try again.

Posted by at 8:43 AM | Permalink