Update: Games Culture Circle mit dem Thema »Reality«
Der nächste Games Culture Circle ist in Planung. Der kommende GCC findet am 16. Juni im .HBC in Berlin statt. Nachdem man sich den Themen »Cheating«(Video) und »Playmoney«(Video) gewidmet hat, geht es nun um das verheißungsvolle Thema »Reality«.
Folgende schillernde Gäste kommen zum GCC:
Julian Oliver - artist and media researcher
Greg Trefry - game designer and founder of the Come Out & Play Festival
Claudia Becker - media researcher and part of the Vilém Flusser Archive
Kristoffer Gansing - new artistic director of Transmediale
Hier die offizielle Ankündigung:
»Reality surrounds us like the air we breathe. The concept of „reality“ derives from the Latin word res (thing) and denotes anything we can see, touch, hear or smell. At least this is the common way to understand it. Reality is conceived of as the counterpart to fantasy – it is something we can trust. But what about our thoughts and emotions? Aren‘t they real too? Our brain has an immense capacity to envision things. Hey, did that guy over there just give me a funny look?
Reality is thought of as the sum total of objectively verifiable facts. But this conceptualization of the world is limited, as demonstrated by the case of radioactivity. It‘s impossible to perceive it without technology – but it is still definitely there.
Even the Greek philosophers contested the notion of human perception as a measuring instrument for reality. Philosophy and the avant-garde of the past century finally buried this concept of reality: Radical constructivism considers reality as an individual construction that is influenced by thoughts and imaginings as well as by psychological and social factors.
In the arts, the objectivity of depiction and perception was being questioned by the surrealists as early as the 1920s. The principal figures of surrealism didn‘t intend to present an additional version of reality, as is often assumed. Instead, they claimed to depict a more complete model of reality by including dreams and the unreal.
Computer games do not simply reproduce reality. They enable us to design it according to our skills and our taste. They provide different perspectives, create loopholes and establish dreamlike landscapes. At the same time, games form part of our everyday reality, even if there are many people who view games as merely virtual and gamers as doing nothing but denying reality.
There are games that don‘t just interpret reality, they even intervene in it. The US Army employs first-person shooters in order to test their recruits‘ responsiveness. Games, ranging from basic ones such as Tetris to complex virtual surroundings, are increasingly being used to effectively prevent and treat trauma and anxiety disorders. And what about alternate reality games? Doesn‘t the name say it all?
Can gaming serve as a rehearsal for reality? Is it possible to transfer to other fields experiences created by computer applications and flight simulations? „Urban Hacking“ is becoming ever more visible in city environments, demonstrating that games can alter reality.
„Reality is broken.“ Is Jane McGonigal right when she argues that gaming can save the world or at least make it a better place? After all, it‘s real people who play and get excited, who wish and feel. And nobody can deny that wishful thinking and dreaming can release energies which can change reality.
