Module 6 Lecture Content: Time, Interaction + Playable media

INTRODUCTION

So far this quarter, we have explored 4D artworks that primarily operate via a way one way direction. The artwork is presented to viewers / listeners / the audience in a straightforward manner. While engaging with these different types of artworks can be a very active experience for the viewer, the form - and how it is communicated - is shaped mostly by the artist.

Interactive artworks allow for more input from the viewer. The very nature of an interactive piece changes the viewer into a user, and this interactivity allows users to at least partially shape their experience of the artwork. How much freedom a user has to author their own experience lies with the original artist, as they decide which choices and controls to “afford” - or grant / give - to the user. These choices, in turn, can greatly change the ultimate form of the artwork, usually giving the user some degree of authorship as they interact with the piece or artwork.

Interactive and playable media is a HUGE area of study. Multiple majors at UCSC work with interactive media, including Computer Science, Art, Film + Digital Media, and Art + Design: Games + Playable Media (AGPM), along with multiple graduate and Ph.d programs. There is no way to address all aspects of this field in a week or a quarter or a year or multiple years, so, this will be a brief and focused exploration. In this course, we will look at how the process of using interactive systems can allow users to expand their understanding of complex ideas and concepts. And, to continue with the theme of the class, we will look at how this phenomenon can be used to shape the way a user - or, in this course’s case, a player - understands or processes time.

MAKING CONNECTIONS

Before getting into the examples and topics for this week, I want to quickly connect this week’s content with what we have been discussing the last few weeks. No artworks, artists, or movements exist within a vacuum, and because of this, I think it is important to draw these connecting lines. Interestingly , many of the first “interactive” modern artworks were sound-based, or performance based, and/or featured kinetic (moving) elements (either objects or people). Many of these modern interactive works were produced by Fluxus artists in the US, and the Gutai group, primarily based in Japan, in the 1950s and 1960s. Performance and interactivity go hand-in-hand, and allowed things like painting, drawing and sound works to be interactive without necessarily needing to be mechanically or digitally “programmed”.

We will look at these artists and artworks more extensively in the next few weeks, when we explore audio remix, and performance artworks and interactive installations. And, also, it is important to note that even with the development of digital technologies, interactive sound artworks - both analog and digital - still make up a large percentage of interactive artworks being produced today.

Additionally, and more related to what we will be discussing this week, the idea of learning or understanding complex concepts through interaction is very similar to the idea of re-imagining and the affect of remix on the viewer / listener. Many believe that even if it is not explicitly stated, the experience of hearing or watching known media formats re-assembled can convey and/or impart some kind of meaning of change and new possibilities. This experience is also directly related to the creative process of deconstruction and re-assembling, which also can help the artist reach new understanding through that creative act. This is something that can be further transferred to users when navigating interactive media. All of this is very similar to the concept of “re-imagining”, where, through the act of playing or interacting, the user or player can actually begin to form the conceptual structures or procedures needed for navigating a certain idea.

INTERACTION AND 4D

Interaction, by many, is considered another dimension of artwork. Some correlate this with time - as interactive processes happen over time, and since interactive artworks usually somehow engage another 4D format such as: animation, video, sound and/or live performance + action. This has become especially relevant with digital formats, as digital interfaces can be easily programed to not only display, but to navigate and even alter or author, these digital works.

Because digital technology has greatly impacted the accessibility, capabilities and possibilities of interactive artworks, they are still being understood as a medium. Similar to how photographs and paintings describe a passage of time, any physical artwork has an element of interactivity embedded. The viewer chooses to “view”, and in many cases navigates a vantage point. They can decide to read an artists statement, or not, they can blur their vision, they can walk closer, or farther away, and they can, to a major degree, decide what parts of an artwork to focus on.

While these might not be decisions the artist would necessarily be able to program as intentionally as a digital interface, some do still factor into the creative process. When working with digital interaction, the possibility space that these choices create represents a large creative potential for artists to work with. As they decide what types of choices to allow, they are able to shape not a single experience or pathway for users, but a field or world of possibilities for understanding.

PROCEDURAL RHETORIC BASICS

This week you will be reading an essay by Game Theorist Ian Bogost, describing a concept he labels “Procedural Rhetoric”. To very briefly summarize this reading, Bogost argues that through the process and experience of playing a game, players are able to navigate the information and ideas presented via an array of different pathways. This phenomenon can forge new methods for understanding the ideas put forth by the game designer - in short, the process of playing a game can allow players an opportunity to more comprehensively or more fully understand complex ideas.

Potential outcomes are dependent on several factors - including the game mechanics or the rules of play - which are determined by the game designer or game artist. Content and narrative are crucial to this theory as well, and work hand-in-hand with the mechanics to drive player understanding. So, if you want a player to achieve a better understand of complex environmental processes related to climate change through playing your game, this needs to be achieved via both the gameplay and the story of that game. Be sure to view the whole video below - it very clearly and simply explains the concept of Procedural Rhetoric with great examples.

I believe this is a very important theory to consider when working with any type of interactive media and playable artworks. Along with re-imagining, there is a huge potential in this type of media to potentially address some of the complex issues we face in our lives. The more we are able to understanding these issues, the better equipped we are to devise and envision possible solutions. I also hope that as more and more folks grow accustomed to these types of imaginative frameworks, the more open folks will be to new solutions.

INTERACTIVE MEDIA + NON-LINEAR NARRATIVES

When discussing the idea of procedural rhetoric, I like to use an example that shows a possible correlation between trends in mainstream US media culture and the development of the internet, websites and social media. In the mid 1990’s personal computers, as well as network connections, became much more accessible to a larger number of people. There were certainly - and still are - economic barriers to owning a desktop computer with a network connection, however, using a computer and accessing certain information via the internet no longer required the same technological skill set and understanding.

As visual operating systems (like Windows and MAC OS) became more widespread, and web pages utilizing HTML allowed more folks to navigate and author information on the internet, people began to build a literacy around working with interactive and branching content. For hundreds of years, the majority of ideas and information were presented linearly, where the author / artist determined the order and organization - suddenly, in a relative fraction of time, information and ideas were being presented using a technology that allowed the user to navigate it relatively independently, and in a dynamic, non-linear way. The same website content could have very different meanings depending on how a particular user decided to navigate it - and in general, people who were using these systems were establishing a new type of non-linear literacy.

At the same time that networked information became more and more accessible from the late 1990s into the early 2000’s, non-linear narratives started becoming much more prevalent in mainstream US media, especially in film and television. These narratives covered many themes and ideas, and were not tied to only science-fiction or technology-focused content. While there could be many reasons for this trend among artists, writers, directors and producers, I think the fact that these narratives found an audience - and continue to attract audiences - has to do with the fact the there is a growing number of people who navigate at least one form of media via websites or other dynamic digital platforms, such as Instagram, Facebook or Tik Tok.

Non-Linear Narratives in Film and TV - 1990s - Early 2000s

This relates directly to Bogost’s theory of procedural rhetoric. The process of navigating websites and social media have changed the ways that people can understand and comprehend other forms of information. This is something that artists and designers are currently exploring with playable media - the more that people understand this potential, the more that it can be utilized to create compelling games that also might help players understand complex issues and concepts in ways that were not previously possible with other media formats.

More Recent Non-Linear Narratives

Below: Jeremy Bearimy
A Non-Linear Narrative Explaining Non-Linear Time - Very Entertaining / Slight Spoiler Warning

Games + Time: Extra Credit

Below are a list of low cost mobile / tablet games that explore the concept of time through their gameplay and narratives. There is an extra credit option this module, to spend at least 2 hours playing one of the games listed below, and then will write a few short observations of the gameplay experience based on questions posted to the Extra Credit Assigment page in Canvas. If you’d prefer to play a different game that is not listed here (and also explores the concept of time) please email me, before starting, to confirm it will work. Remember, these games explore time beyond simply using it as a mechanic or parameter, but there are many games that will also work. Most of the games below have console versions available - such as Xbox, PS4 + Switch - in addition to the mobile versions, but these version typically range from ~ $5 to $15 more expensive.

My Rankings / Low-cost Recommendations

For Everyone
Gardens Between: iOS $4.99
Superbrothers Sword + Sorcery EP: $3.99 iOS / $2.99 Android
Oxen Free: iOS + Android $4.99
Old Man’s Journey: iOS + Android $4.99
If Found: iOS + PC $4.99

For More Experienced Gamers
Minit: iOS + Android $4.99
Dead Cells: iOS $8.99
Baba is You: Console $14.99

If You Want to Use Animal Crossing - New Horizons (For Nintendo Switch Only / $60 - $70)
If you have already purchased Animal Crossing, you may use it for this assignment as long as you focus on the real-time aspect of the game play. If you use Time Travel, you must discuss how this impacts game play and the overall gaming experience. Not recommended to purchase ONLY to complete this assignment, as there are many more affordable options above.

Higher Cost Options + Classic Games (better options if already owned)
Life is Strange, Gone Home, Return of the Obra Dinn, Assassin’s Creed Series, BioShock Infinite, Zelda: Ocarina of Time.