#Sources and Significance

[cdx1016]

Human history is short compared to the age of the universe. If the age of the universe were compressed into a year, human history would be a few minutes.

(viacard1016)

(viadkct25)

[jian-wei-uh]

Blog Post #7: The Divide Within, Race and the Struggle for Equality in Netflix's Arcane.

Figure 1: Arcane Promotion Poster (Matheus, 2021)

Netflix's Arcane is based on the video game, League of Legend. However, there are parts of the main lore was not utilised in Netflix's Arcane and was altered. Hence, Netflix's Arcane lore will be prioritised and analysed while being supported by information from League of Legend for two location to make sense of their history which was largely not covered in the Netflix's series.

Figure 2: Sheriff Marcus (Fandom, n.d.) [Left] Figure 3: Finn (Fandom, n.d.) [Right]

As both nations has citizens of different real life races such as Marcus and Finn that has strong Asian appearance or features, Mel and Ekko has strong African appearance features. Thus, analysing race based on physical appearance and language would be impossible as both sides speaks the same languages and slight different appearance. Although, race is usually based on physical appearance but race is also categorised as a group of people who shares the same cultural history and the societal, economic, and political requirements faced by a community in a given timeframe (Northeastern University Libary, 2024). Therefore, for this analysis, Zaunites and Piltovans will be categorised as two distinct races based on mentioned context.

Figure 4: Piltover view from Zaun. (Mathieu, 2021)

The series mostly focus on the people of Zaun and Piltover. Zaun allows dangerous and unsupervised technology to be carried out which caused Zaun to be filled with toxic waste while Piltover has restriction on its research but has become a successful position to be declared as the city of progress where technology innovation, trade and its people prosper. Piltover, also known as topside/upper city, located on the surface while Zaun, also known as undercity, is located below and next to Piltover. It is also stated that Piltover's industry waste is thrown downwards during its early state which also contribute to the polluted environment of Zaun.

Figure 5: Piltover's council. (Glazebrook, 2024)

Piltover and Zaun was one nation under Piltover's government but they blandly ignores the struggles and issues of Zaun. Plague with corruption, crimes, uncontrol rise of drugs that harms one selves, lead by drug lord leaders who do not care about the people of Zaun, Zaun turned into a horrible state. Major issues after another, Zaun decided to liberate itself from Piltover and fight back. However, Piltover's military might was clearly more advance and better than Zaun The constant propaganda and strong opinions spread by both Piltover and Zaun leaders and people have fuelled deep hatred between the two races. As Edward Said (1978) argues in Orientalism, when categories such as 'East' and 'West' are used to divide human reality, they reinforce hostile distinctions between groups. This division, as Said explains, leads to a polarisation where each side becomes more entrenched in its identity, reinforcing negative stereotypes and limiting the potential for meaningful interactions between different cultures. In a similar way, the leaders and people of Piltover and Zaun, through their rhetoric and actions, have contributed to deepening the divide between the two races, entrenching mutual hostility and perpetuating a cycle of conflict. This can be seen throughout the series where people from both sides urged their respective leader to go into war with the other. For example when Zaunites in a bar urged Vander (Zaun's leader during the early part of the series) to take up arms against Piltover's sudden brutal intrusion into their territory and Piltover's councils wanting to go into war with Zaun to reclaim a lost priceless technology. This has led to the brutal oppression of Zaunites by Piltover’s military, as seen throughout the series. Piltover justifies this harsh treatment as a way to keep the Zaunites under control and prevent any rebellions against their authority. To further strengthen Piltover's control and silencing Zaun's voice, Piltover's governing council does not have a single member to represent Zaun's people, forcing people of Zaun to be depended on Piltover. Piltover’s leaders use this absolute power to maintain control over Zaun’s resource mines, ensuring that the raw materials from Zaun can be used for Piltover’s development and success. Besides that, Piltover's industry districts are located in Zaun. This modern-day slavery situation mirrors William’s (1944) argument that it was not racism that gave birth to slavery; rather, slavery gave rise to the concept of racism. Piltover doesn’t care about the well-being of the Zaunites as they just wants to extract resources for their own benefit. If Zaun were to collapse or rebel, Piltover would lose its valuable resources and industry district. Over time, Piltover used racist ideas, labelling the Zaunites as terrorists and dangerous, to justify their cruelty and continue the system that benefits them economically. An example for the above claim would be the scene where Jayce , a new Piltover council member who ordered a blockade to prevent any Zaunites to cross over to Piltover, came to the bridge to pick up Viktor, Jayce's lab partner. He claimed angrily that Zaunites are dangerous and failed to remember that his lab partner is from Zaun. This clearly hurt Viktor's feeling and swatted Jayce's hand to help Viktor stand up.

This systemic oppression and military control fostered a sense of superiority among those from Piltover while labeling those from Zaun as the 'Other'—inferior and marginalized. This reflects Gani's (2021) argument that militarism, historically tied to Western colonialism, reinforces not only ideas of superiority through successes but also functions as a performative and cultural tool that validates domination. By stigmatising the 'Other,' militarism helps construct insider (those who are accepted)-outsider (those who are not accepted) binaries that justify exclusion and sustain hierarchical power dynamics, even within supposedly unified societies. The mentioned statement parallels with how Piltover’s mindset excludes Zaun and deems them as inferior.

Arcane excels in portraying racial representation and highlighting how disunity among people, regardless of race, can lead to unnecessary suffering for society as a whole. Inspired by this, I plan to approach my research with greater consideration, aiming to design environments that more accurately reflect the complexity of real-world cultures and histories. By studying cultures beyond my own, I can broaden my perspective and ensure that my work avoids a biased narrative that unintentionally places one race above another simply due to a lack of understanding or exposure.

References

Fandom. (n.d.). Piltover. Available at: https://arcane.fandom.com/wiki/Piltover [Accessed: 3 December 2024]

Fandom. (n.d.). Zaun. Available at: https://arcane.fandom.com/wiki/Zaun [Accessed: 3 December 2024]

Gani, J. K. (2021). Racial militarism and civilizational anxiety at the imperial encounter: From metropole to the postcolonial state. Security Dialogue, 52(6), pp.546–566. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/09670106211054901. [Accessed: 4 December 2024]

Glazebrook, L. (2024). Zaun vs Piltover: History, Champions & Leaders. Available at: https://screenrant.com/arcane-zaun-piltover-history-champions-characters/. [Accessed: 4 December 2024]

Northeastern University Library. (2024). Diversity, Equity & Inclusion. Available at: https://subjectguides.lib.neu.edu/diversity. [Accessed: 3 December 2024]

Said, E. W. (1978). Orientalism. New York: Pantheon Books. Available at: https://torch.web.ox.ac.uk/sites/default/files/torch/documents/media/orientalism_by_edward_w._said.pdf. [Accessed: 4 December 2024]

Williams, E. E. (1944). Capitalism and slavery. 1st ed. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

[alecbicheno]

Blog post 10 - Representation of women in games

The way women have been represented in video games has evolved significantly over the years, often reflecting societal and cultural changes. The portrayal of female characters has gone through a complex transformation; however, challenges and criticisms still persist.

History of representation

In the early years, female characters were often portrayed in a stereotypical manner, with a common portrayal being the damsel in distress trope such as Princess Peach and Zelda, where they would later be the reward or prize for the male protagonist.

In the 80s the 90s, we see iconic characters who broke away from traditional stereotypes like Samus Aran, who was a strong independent character whose gender was hidden to be a surprise reveal to players. Lara Croft is another example, however her design featured very unrealistic proportions which would be adjusted in later games.

In the 2000s, despite progress there were persistent challenges and some instances of regressive representation. Many games continued to objectify and sexualize women, for example Grand Theft Auto III (2001) and every instalment since has featured women as sex workers.

The gaming industry continued to grow and with it so the demands for better representation. In the 2010s we got to see some complex characters such Ellie from The Last of Us (2013), who had depth and were central to the narrative.

As we reached the 2020s great strides had been taken towards better representation. We got games with strong, well executed female protagonists such as Aloy from Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and Horizon Forbidden West (2022). We also saw examples of complex and believable female protagonists in indie games like Madeline from the game Celeste (2018).

Examples

Lara Croft is a character we were first introduced to in Tomb Raider (1996) and while she was a strong female character, there were many criticisms about her appearance, especially in earlier iterations. Her design focused on exaggerated and unrealistic physical proportions which contributed to the objectification of women in games and reinforced harmful beauty standards, furthermore the focus on her sexualised appearance overshadowed her character depth. Eventually she got a complete redesign in the reboot to the series Tomb Raider (2013), where she is a well-proportioned, more suitably dressed protagonist who also becomes more a fully realised character with flaws, who learns and is overall just more human.

The GTA series of games has often been talk of controversy for the way it glorifies sexual harassment and violence against women characters. In many GTA titles female characters are often objectified and reduced to hyper sexualized roles, such as sex workers like mentioned above. The games frequently depict scenes with derogatory language as well as violence against women, this reinforces negative stereotypes and misogynistic behaviour, as well as contributing to a culture of sexism amongst the gaming community. The larger concern, however, is that the exposure to these things can cause it to become so normalised that when instances of violence and sexual harassment occur in real life, people won’t be as shocked or empathetic about it.

A decade before Lara Croft in Metroid (1986) we were introduced to Samus Aran, who stands out as a positive example of female representation. Her surprise reveal at the end of the game broke the gender norms by showcasing a woman as a powerful and capable space bounty hunter. Since then, she has been consistently portrayed as strong character, her narrative not being driven by damsel-in-distress scenarios or romantic situations, but instead by her battle against threats and the pursuit of justice. Then as the series progressed, she became a well-rounded character with depth and resilience, whose legacy has consistently helped challenge stereotypes surrounding female characters.

Aloy, the protagonist of Horizon Zero Dawn (2017) and Horizon Forbidden West (2022) is a more recent example of positive female representation in videogames. She defies the traditional gender expectations as a skilled and determined hunter in her post-apocalyptic world and is defined by her intelligence, resourcefulness and sense of justice. Her narrative doesn’t revolve around romantic plots but rather a quest for knowledge and understanding of the world she inhabits. Her design is also a great part of her character, not being objectified or sexualised so players connect with her through her personality and abilities. She is a testament to the gaming industry’s ability to create diverse and empowering female protagonists, and the popularity of her character only proves this, setting a standard for future portrayals of women.

What can be done?

Challenging stereotypical representations of women requires diverse character creation by developers which will help ensure depth beyond their appearance. This is something I aim to achieve in my field of 3D modelling, making sure that I avoid exaggerated features and prioritize authenticity in the physical appearance.

There will need to be a large collaborative effort from developers, players, and the industry as a whole in order to create positive change on this matter. Celebrating games that break the traditional norms will incentivize developers towards more of these narratives, and there are also certain discussions that need to be had within the gaming community about gender representation and awareness, as well as education on these matters in order to create positive change.

An interesting example of change is the recently revealed next instalment in the GTA series, which features a female protagonist called Lucia. This is a huge step for Rockstar Games, especially considering the above-mentioned history and controversies and even though the game isn’t set to release till 2025, it will be interesting to see the depiction of Lucia and other female characters in the game.

Bibliography

CORE DESIGN. (1996) Tomb Raider. [DISC] PlayStation. London: Eidos Interactive

CRYSTAL DYNAMICS. (2013) Tomb Raider. [DISC] Xbox One. London: Square Enix Europe

DMA DESIGN. (2001) Grand Theft Auto III. [DISC] Xbox. New York City: Rockstar Games

GUERRILLA GAMES. (2022) Horizon Forbidden West. [DISC] PlayStation 4. San Mateo: Sony Interactive Entertainment

GUERRILLA GAMES. (2017) Horizon Zero Dawn. [DISC] PlayStation 4. San Mateo: Sony Interactive Entertainment

Harris, W. & Phillips, R., 2023. 23 Best Video Games With Female Protagonists. [Online] Available at: https://www.thegamer.com/best-video-games-female-protagonists/#night-in-the-woods [Accessed 29 December 2023].

Harveston, K., 2023. A Brief History Of Female Representation In Video Games. [Online] Available at: https://headstuff.org/topical/female-representation-in-video-games-history/#:~:text=History%20indicates%20that%20women%20began,good%20example%20of%20that%20trend. [Accessed 29 December 2023].

MADDY MAKES GAMES. (2018) Celeste. [DISC] Xbox One. Vancouver: Maddy Makes Games

NAUGHTY DOG. (2013) The Last of Us. [DISC] PlayStation3. Santa Monica: Sony Computer Entertainment

NINTENDO R&D1, INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS. (1986) Metroid. [GAME] Nintendo Entertainment System. Kyoto: Nintendo

Williams, H., 2020. How Horizon Zero Dawn Moves Beyond The Strong Female Character. [Online] Available at: https://www.kotaku.com.au/2020/08/how-horizon-zero-dawn-moves-beyond-the-strong-female-character/ [Accessed 29 December 2023].

[huanyukang]

Blog 2 sources and significance

An analysis of colour and scene design in the film "Lady of the Dynasty (2015)"

This movie tells the tragic love story between Yang Guifei and Emperor Li Longji of the Tang Dynasty. Lady of the Dynast is a film produced by China Film Corporation and directed by Shiqing. The film mainly depicts the love between Yang Guifei and Tang Minghuang, recreates the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty, and exposes the cruel court struggles surrounding the struggle for the throne (Wen, 2017) This film embodies Yang Guifei's personal charm and patriotism, for example, the director focused on filming Yang Guifei's dance plots and scenes, conveying the unique female charm in Chinese history.

[MULTI SUB]Full Movie "Yang Guifei of the Tang Dynasty"，Youtube. Available at:https://youtu.be/oQIewYmBucc?si=-4e9sN8dy-aDMODy (Accessed: 7 February 2024)

1. The visual impact of red and white

Yang Guifei is a famous beauty in Chinese history, so the director also invited the famous Chinese actress Fan Bingbing to play this role. In history, Yang Guifei's dance was also very good, so the director designed two large-scale dance scenes around her based on historical background. The first is a dance scene to worship the souls of the Tang Dynasty army, which is to reflect Yang Guifei's patriotism. Yang Guifei, dressed in white clothes and wearing a plain face, floats a fairy like white veil, with ethereal dance movements, depicting the mourning of the living for the dead and the pursuit and cherish of life by the living (Hu, 2017) Especially, Yang Guifei's white robe was designed by the director to resemble a peacock, accompanied by the actors' beautiful dance movements and mournful expressions, making the image of the "white peacock" more vivid. The director chose an outdoor scene as the background, where white lanterns and strips of cloth are hung, which are traditional decorations at Chinese funerals and bring a unique white visual feast to the audience. In addition, the second scene depicts a grand banquet in the Tang Palace. Yang Guifei is dressed in a red robe and wears a golden phoenix crown on her head, which looks very charming. Because this banquet is a celebration of the emperor's holiday, the scene is covered with red cloth strips. In history, Tang Dynasty poets Bai Juyi and Li Bai used peonies to describe Yang Guifei's beauty, so when Yang Guifei danced in this banquet scene, she was like a red blooming peony, bringing a unique red visual feast to the audience.

screen from Lady of the Dynasty (2015)

2. Inclusiveness of Tang Dynasty Culture: Design of Yang Guifei's Dormitory

The two main scenes in this movie are the emperor's palace and Yang Guifei's bedroom. The Tang Dynasty was the dynasty with the richest cultural exchange in Chinese history. Han Chinese and Muslim Central Asians often engaged in trade, which also brought about cultural and artistic exchange and integration. For example, Dunhuang murals in China were a product of this period, so the director of this film likes to draw heavily on the red and blue colors of Dunhuang murals when designing scenes. So in the design of the emperor's main hall, a large number of red and yellow decorations were used to reflect the status of the imperial family. In addition, it is worth noting that Yang Guifei herself has Turkic ancestry, so conceptual artists used the style of Dunhuang murals from the Northern Wei Dynasty when designing Yang Guifei's sleeping palace. They mainly used blue and purple to decorate the scene, including designing character costumes. At the same time, in the design of the interior of the palace, a large number of mythological characters from Dunhuang murals were also used, such as the flying goddess and the nine colored deer. This design not only borrowed from the Tang Dynasty style, but also drew inspiration from the Tang Dynasty, It also symbolizes the inclusiveness of traditional Chinese art

screen from Lady of the Dynasty (2015)

In short, the director of this film showcases Yang Guifei's oriental feminine charm and visually presents the audience with a prosperous Tang Dynasty

Reference:

Wen，Y (2017). On the theme and plot loss of the movie "Women of the Dynasty: Yang Guifei". Film Review (19), 26-28. doi: 10.16583/j.cnki.52-1014/j.2017.19.008 (Accessed: 7 February 2024)

Hu，H (2017) "The Women of the Dynasty: Yang Guifei": The Spiritual Pattern and Patriotic Feelings of Women in the High Tang Dynasty. Film Review (02), 32-34. doi: 10.16583/j.cnki.52-1014/j.2017.02-008 (Accessed: 7 February 2024)

[MULTI SUB]Full Movie "Yang Guifei of the Tang Dynasty"，Youtube. Available at:https://youtu.be/oQIewYmBucc?si=-4e9sN8dy-aDMODy (Accessed: 7 February 2024)

[ellie-bygrave]

Affect Theory and The Outer Wilds

**MILD SPOILERS FOR THE OUTER WILDS AHEAD**

What is Affect Theory?

Affect theory is a complex and detailed topic. It focuses on how emotions can physically affect us without our conscious knowledge, influencing our actions and relationships (Figlerowicz, 2012). It aims, in part, to explore the link between unconscious affect and the resulting emotions and actions. Tomkins (1962) categorised 9 primary affects by whether they cause positive, neutral, or negative physiological expression. For instance, the positive affect of joy/excitement creates a physiological reaction in which the person smiles. Conversely, a negative affect such as anger will cause frowning and a clenched jaw. These physiological reactions to the affect can inadvertently display how we are feeling to others and can then influence the situation we find ourselves in.

Tomkins goes on to discuss that the ideal way to live is to maximise the positive affect in our lives and minimise negative affect where possible. Kelly (1996) echos this sentiment, stating that intimate and successful relationships require working towards maximising positive affect and eliminating negative affect. Additionally, Kelly theorises that such relationships should involve the members to express affect to one another in order to see progress within the relationship.

Anable (2018) applies the concept of affect specifically to video games, demonstrating that, rather than allowing us to escape from reality, they in fact force us to confront our emotions. Anable discusses how video games make us feel differently towards failure and how that can influence our everyday life.

The Outer Wilds

The Outer Wilds (2019) is an Annapurna Interactive action-adventure game set in a fictional world where the Hearthians, inhabitants of a small planet, have mastered space travel. The unnamed player character sets off on their maiden voyage out into space, only to realise they're stuck in a 22 minute repeating time loop, in which they are they only person who remembers the previous loops. Each loops ends in a devastating but beautiful collapse of the solar system's Sun as it goes supernova.

The game is non-linear, with the playing having to travel to multiple different planets in order to piece together the mysteries of the solar system and put an end to the time loop. The gameplay is unique in that, if the player knows the correct sequence of actions required, they can complete the game within just one time loop. However, the game is one which undoubtedly rewards the player for exploration, with the true story unraveling through the exploration of the world. The end goal only really holds meaning once the journey has been completed to its fullest potential.

Affect in The Outer Wilds

As this game is played from the first-person perspective of a silent protagonist, there is no influence on the player from an emotional point of view of the player character. This by no means negatively influences the emotional impact this game has.

Firstly, this game has an incredible way of making the player feel lonely, despite the opportunity to interact with others on every planet. Aside from one other person, no one but you is aware of the time loop. Speaking with each character when you hold the weight of the terrible thing about to happen to the whole solar system is eye opening, and the charming and unique personalities of each character increase the sense of responsibility you have to the people of your planet. Usually a lonely feeling would come under Tomkins' negative classification of affect and cause negative physiological reactions, but instead it subconsciously increases the drive one has to solve the mystery and prevent the destruction of the solar system. There is one other character who is also aware of this time loop, but they seem to be ambivalent about the situation. This is slightly shocking - despite the calm and collected disposition being fairly common across the Hearthians, and, again furthers that internal drive to solve the mystery.

Throughout the whole game, failure is painted in a different light to in normal life, and even compared to the norm in video games, as Anable (2018) discussed. There is no real failure in this game, as everything the player does can further the plot in some way. Even dying simply restarts the cycle with no penalties and any information discovered during a cycle gets logged for you, so there is no real sense of failure. This lack of consequences unconsciously drives the player towards a more reckless style of play, with the voice in our head that would normally promote caution instead saying "why not try it and see?".

Whilst not heavy on horror elements, the game certainly plays on fear. One planet requires you to drift through misty caverns following lights and signals to your goal. This area is also home to giant angler fish, who will swallow your ship whole, causing the cycle to start over. Through exploration, the player eventually learns that they are completely blind and can only locate you if you attempt to speed through the area, creating lots of noise with the ship thrusters. The next time entering the planet is a whole new experience. The distant noises of the angler fish combined with the misty atmosphere and looming shadows of the fish creates tension, the need for silence especially so. This undoubtedly causes a physiological response, with the player mirroring the need for silence as they play.

To Conclude

Although video games can sometime create affect that we would usually associate with the negative, the lack of real-world consequences to this can be used to drive compelling and thrilling stories. Whilst the events in the game are not real, the emotions and responses created by games very much are.

References

Anable, A. (2018). Playing with Feelings: Video Games and Affect. Minneapolis, University of Minnesota Press.

Figlerowicz, M. (2012). Affect Theory Dossier: An Introduction. Qui Parle, 20(2), 3–18. https://doi.org/10.5250/quiparle.20.2.0003

Kelly, VC. (1996). Affect and the redefinition of intimacy, in Nathanson, DL (ed.), Knowing feeling: Affect, script, and psychotherapy, New York: W.W. Norton, pp. 55–104

[angeliqueshelleyartist]

Semiotics

SOURCES AND SIGNIFICANCE BLOG POST #5

Semiotics, meaning the study of signs, shares coterminous boundaries with structuralism through its interests and core philosophies (Hawkes, 2003), as its aim is also to understand the cultural influences and perceptions that create conceptual structures (Fiske, 1990). 

There are many semiotic theorists who have contributed to the analytical frameworks for decoding signs. Theorist Charles Sanders Peirce (1839-1914) valued semiotic realism; that is a more constructive nature of analysis which aimed to uncover objective truths rather than the arbitrary (Hoopes, 1991). His original framework, which consisted of three elements: a sign, an object, and an interpretant (Pierce, 1998; Lomas, 2019), acted as an initial framework for other theorists such as De Saussure (1916), Barthes (1982) and Daniel Chandler (2022). 

Bathe’s (1982) expansion is particularly useful in understanding not only the meaning of symbols in a purely linguistic sense, but also the reality of signs and their uses. He expanded  De Saussure’s (1916) core analytical tool for signs: “Signifier” and “Signified”, into a deeper analytical method he called “Myth” which analyses the surface-level meaning of signs (“Denotation”) by using a signified sign as a secondary signifier to explore the deeper, implied signified (“Connotation”). This expansion is absolutely necessary in a media-rich world where “Myth”, or even connotation, creates knock-on effects of positive or negative representation whether it’s through one's own creation of art or media consumption. As “Myth” has a tendency to make intentions appear “natural” and the plausible seem certain (Barthes, 2009), creators need a certain level of awareness to avoid inadvertently creating something harmful. 

Daniel Chandler’s (2021; 2022), toolkit helps breakdown the many sensitivities required to analyse a media artifact successfully such as the significance, modality, paradigms, syntagmatic structure, rhetorical tropes, intertextuality, semiotic codes and social factors, which in-turn is necessary in deconstructing “myths” and discerning intent. Using Barthe’s “Myth” framework and Chandler’s toolkit, I wanted to decode a character concept artwork by John Patrick Gañas titled Hwael, The Sea King (fig. 1).  I chose this piece as it’s relevant to my practice as a concept artist. Being a feminist, this particular artwork stood out to me for seeming to have a patriarchal myth.

Fig. 1 Hwael, The Sea King by John Patrick Gañas

The concept is a digital painting depicting a mythical and kingly whale-humanoid creature with masculine features. Old harpoons are embedded into his back and shoulders. A crown made of barnacles has grown on his head and glowing battle scars adorn his body. He is being attended to by feminine humanoid-remora. The name of the piece “Hwael” is an Old English word meaning “whale” (WordSense, 2023). 

The technical side of the art is very beautiful and visually striking but on a symbolic side, it has a strong patriarchal narrative. While there are ancient mythologies that have masculine gods governing the ocean, such as Poseidon, the choice of a whale-type character to personify an ocean king is odd as most whales are thought to be more matriarchal in their social structures (Royal Society, 2019).

The decision to have a whale as a kingly species makes sense in the context of size and power, but it ignores reality, thereby making it a choice that seems to rob the nurturing and powerful matriarchs in nature. There are other elements that enrich the patriarchal theme, such as the feminine remora, or sucker fish, described by the artist as “kissing the glow” (Ganas, 2023) from his beacon-like scars. The human elements add intelligence and identifiable strength. The musculature, the scarring, the powerful and condescending pose and the low camera-angle all highlight his imposing figure and are  nods to governance through might. The barnacle crown seems to hint at his natural selection; all nature acknowledges and worships him, the glowing eyes and scars further deify him. Another key element of the concept art is the forest of harpoons, which seem to say that though he is wounded and challenged, he is unkillable. The culmination of all these connotations created the “Myth” in my mind that powerful patriarchy enriched by claims of divinity or the natural order, though challenged, never really dies.

Despite my critical tone, I really like this piece because it not only creates discourse, but is also strikingly beautiful and satisfying in technical execution. But perhaps therein lies the danger of a myth becoming “natural” (Barthes, 2009) through its appeal. I wonder if the artist meant to intentionally create a myth, or whether it is a product of the convergence of sub-conscious media influences; artistic intertextuality reaching into his design choices. Perhaps his pursuit was purely aesthetic and his theme primarily basic, but which evolved into something with deeper connotations. Either way, it is impossible to know for sure.

In summary semiotic analysis is a series of theoretical frameworks which have been developed and added to by notable theorists such as Peirce (1839-1914), De Saussure (1916), Barthes (1982) and Chandler (2021). Semiotic analysis is useful for understanding the reality of media as well as their deeper meanings and connotations (myth). The framework helps bring more awareness to consumers and creators of media of the intention of myth. From a creator's point of view, deconstructing myths can help me break the cycle of “natural myth” (Barthes, 2009) that I may be subconsciously creating by replicating the myths fed to me in the hive of intertextuality that is media.

References:

BARTHES, R. (1982). Empire of signs (Howard R., Trans.). New York, NY: Hill & Wang.

BARTHES, R. (2009) Mythologies. London: Vintage.

CHANDLER, D. (2021). Semiotics for Beginners, D.I.Y. Semiotic Analysis: Advice to My Own Students. [Online]. Visual Memory. Available at: http://www.visual-memory.co.uk/daniel/Documents/S4B/sem12.html [Accessed: 4 December 2023].

CHANDLER, D. (2022). Semiotics: The Basics. 4th ed. New York: Routledge.

DE SAUSSURE, F. (1916). Course in general linguistics. New York, NY: Philosophical Library.

FISKE, J. (1990). Introduction to Communication Studies, London: Routledge.

GANAS, J. P. (2023). Hwael, The Sea King. [Online]. . Available at: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/9Egavo [Accessed: 5 December 2023].

HAWKES, T. (2003). Structuralism and Semiotics, Routledge. 

HOOPES, J. (ed.). (1991). Peirce on Signs: Writings on Semiotic by Charles Sanders Peirce. Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press.

LOMAS, T. (2019). Positive Semiotics. Review of General Psychology. 23(3), pp.359 - 370. [Online]. Available at: https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1177/1089268019832 [Accessed: 4 December 2023].

PEIRCE, C. S. (1998). The Essential Peirce (Vol. 2). Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

ROYAL SOCIETY. (2019). Causes and consequences of female centrality in cetacean societies. [Online]. Royal Society Publishing. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2018.0066 [Accessed: 5 December 2023].

WORDSENSE. (2023). Hwæl. [Online]. WordSense Dictionary. Available at: https://www.wordsense.eu/hw%C3%A6l/#Old_English [Accessed: 5 December 2023].

[irisss9]

Lab Concept art

[drmullaadamali]

विश्व गौरैया दिवस : World Sparrow Day

विश्व गौरैया दिवस हर साल 20 मार्च को मनाया जाता है। इसका उद्देश्य गौरैया (House Sparrow) और अन्य छोटे पक्षियों के संरक्षण के प्रति जागरूकता फैलाना है।

इस दिवस को मनाने के मुख्य कारण:

1. गौरैया की घटती संख्या:

आधुनिक जीवनशैली, शहरीकरण, मोबाइल टावरों से निकलने वाले रेडिएशन और पेड़ों की कटाई के कारण गौरैया की संख्या तेजी से घट रही है।

2. पर्यावरण संतुलन:

गौरैया जैसे छोटे पक्षी पर्यावरण के लिए बहुत महत्वपूर्ण होते हैं। वे कीट-पतंगों को नियंत्रित करने में मदद करते हैं और जैव विविधता बनाए रखते हैं।

3. लोगों को जागरूक करना:

लोगों को अपने घरों और आस-पास के इलाकों में गौरैया के लिए घोंसले बनाने, पानी और दाना रखने के लिए प्रेरित किया जाता है।

कैसे हुई इसकी शुरुआत?

विश्व गौरैया दिवस मनाने की शुरुआत नेचर फॉरएवर सोसाइटी के संस्थापक मो. दिलावर ने 2010 में की थी। इस पहल का मकसद गौरैया संरक्षण के प्रति वैश्विक स्तर पर जागरूकता फैलाना था।

हम क्या कर सकते हैं?

अपने घरों और बालकनी में गौरैया के लिए घोंसले लगाएं।

पानी और अनाज की व्यवस्था करें।

पेड़-पौधे लगाकर उनके प्राकृतिक आवास को बचाएं।

मोबाइल टावरों और प्रदूषण को कम करने की दिशा में काम करें।

गौरैया सिर्फ एक पक्षी नहीं, बल्कि हमारे बचपन और संस्कृति का हिस्सा भी है। आइए, इसे बचाने में अपना योगदान दें!

विश्व गौरैया दिवस पर कविता : Poem on World Sparrow Day in Hindi

गौरैया की चहचहाहट

छोटी सी चिड़िया, नन्ही सी जान,

आंगन में लाए मधुर गान।

फुदक-फुदक कर इधर-उधर,

खुशियों से भर दे ये घर।

कभी मुंडेर, कभी वो छत,

हर कोने में ढूंढे पट।

कभी दाने की खोज में आए,

कभी अपने बच्चों को बुलाए।

पर अब वो दिन कम होते जाते,

गौरैया के घोंसले भी खो जाते।

पेड़ कटे, घर बदल गए,

बिजली के तारों में उलझ गए।

आओ मिलकर संकल्प करें,

फिर से उसका स्वागत करें।

छोटा सा एक घर बना दें,

गौरैया को फिर से बुला लें।

Happy World Sparrow Day

विश्व गौरैया दिवस से जुड़ी महत्वपूर्ण जानकारी;

World Sparrow Day 2025: जानिए विश्व गौरैया दिवस 2025 का उद्देश्य, इतिहास और महत्व

World Sparrow Day 2025 Special: कविता, कहानी, मुहावरा, फोटो टिप्पणी में साझा करें

World Sparrow Day 2025 : गौरैया पक्षी घर आँगन में चहके ऐसा पुनीत कार्य करें

विश्व गौरैया दिवस पर एक बाल कविता: रूठ गई गौरैया

Chidiya Rani: चिड़िया रानी चिड़िया रानी तुम हो पेड़ों की रानी

Best Chidiya Poem In Hindi : चिड़िया के विषय पर बेहतरीन बाल कविता - त्रिलोक सिंह ठकुरेला

चिड़ियों पर कविताएँ : परशुराम शुक्ल की बाल कविताएँ - Best Poems On Birds In Hindi

महादेवी वर्मा की बाल कविता: अब यह चिड़िया कहाँ रहेगी

Hindi Bal Kavita: चिड़ियाँ आती थीं

गौरैया पर एक बाल कविता : बच्चों के लिए सुंदर पक्षी कविताएँ

[shadow-puffer]

Critical analysis

Xiaoxi, S. (2023). Digital Virtuality and Autopoiesis: the transformation from world elements of literature and arts to metaverse. Critical Arts, 38(2-3), pp.26–42. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/02560046.2023.2289579.[Accessed on 06.01.2025]

This article, written by Shan Xiaoxi from Chineese School of Humanities and the Institute of Literary Criticism. In his article Shan Xiaoxi examines virtual reality and the ability to create metaverses. He examines how these metaverses originated, as well as what potential it may have in the future if humanity continues to develop them. I chose pages 32-34 for my analysis.

In this passage, the author says that, unlike all other games, metaverses shows the most promise, but with their current development, they still have a long way to go. Due to the complexity of even the very incarnation of metaverses, they require a huge amount of all kinds of technologies in order for the metaverse to simply even start. Ideally, the metaverse first needs to absorb huge amounts of information from all kinds of resources and corners of the Internet in order to understand what is being built and how it works. Then it needs to use certain programs like simultaneous localization and map building (SLAM), model-based system engineering (MBSE), and many others to begin building the world of inside the metaverse. This phenomenon is usually called a mirror world. It itself also needs to boost engines like VR, AR, MR and others so that the world of this metaverse can continue to improve. After all this, it is also necessary to involve artificial intelligence so that it would forward the development of the world further making it more alive and real like. Finally, the metaverse also needs all kinds of programs that will protect people who will be in it, something like cybersecurity.

Next, the author begins to reflect on the topic of the metaverse, describing it as a fusion of several worlds, which he singled out for an accurate description. The first world is pure virtual reality, which works at the expense of technology, but alas, you can't get into it without the help of that said technology. The second world is the so-called Mirror world, which imitates our world, but at the same time is still far from reality. The mirror world, as mentioned in the paragraph earlier, still has some kind of development within itself and is not a simple program like virtual reality. Mirror world is more complex and might even step a bit into real world, but only a bit.Following the second world is the third one, by the name of augmented reality. In this reality, people who are in the real world can already see the things from augmented reality and even interact with them. Well, the last world is just called "life". Most likely it means that when all that was mentioned earlier would be combned together with life it will form a metaverse.

Further in the section of this article, the author mentions that in the circles of people developing metaverses, there are three stages of development of the metaverse itself, namely: "digital twin", "digital native" and "digital immortal" (Jia and Qiushan, 2022, 283). After this information, the author discusses the four worlds that he touched on earlier. He explains that in order to create a metaverse, it is not necessary that these worlds somehow merge or overlap each other. Shan Xiaoxi says that all these worlds, no matter how different they are, must be arranged in a certain sequence to create a metaverse. They follow the same sequence as he mentioned: Virtual Reality, mirror world, Augmented Reality, and the real world. After discussion about there four worlds and how they would interact with each other, author starts to speculate about the placement of these worlds on top of each other and how it all will evolve with time given. Right at this moment, the largest world is our real one, which is logical because it is the most extensive and explored. The augmented reality is placed right above it, but it is smaller. The mirror world is even smaller, and finally the smallest part of this pyramid standing above all is the virtual world, which is still very minimal in development. However, Shan Xiaoxi is confident that with the development of our technologies, the triangle will firstly align by the same length making all of these worlds equal and then turn in the opposite direction, so that the real world will not be as important and meaningful as the virtual one, becoming the smallest one.

The author also examines in his article the reflections of another person, namely Ray Kurzweil. He believes that after a while, artificial intelligence will surpass our understanding and collect all the energy, pushing it out and forming a metaverse. After which all development for new metaverse will start all over again. It all shows that the motion of creation of metaverse is a circle and maybe we are not the first creatures who decided to made metaverse, or we are already living in metaverse ourselves, bur we just forgot about it.

This whole article discusses a very interesting topic and possible developments for humanity. Since we are progressing very quickly now, it is no wonder that sooner or later we will reach this stage of development, which the author of this article is talking about. Technically speaking, people are already trying to create their own metaverse in order to probably feel like gods, but the development of our technologies does not allow us to do this yet. But one day we probably will become so advanced so all of that really going to happen.

I would also like to note something about this article. Although it is written on a very interesting topic, its lack of clear terminology in some places, as well as a very scientific narrative, makes it difficult to perceive it as needed. This article mentions some things like the same mirror reality. Alas, without explaining what it is, it will be difficult for a person to understand the meaning of these words in the content of the article. Of course, it may be implied that this article will be read by a person who is enlightened in all this, but still it would not hurt to add at least a few simple explanations. The purpose of this work probably was to educate us on all the multiverse development and research that we have till now.

[th-chen]

Reader

Magsamen, S, & Ross, I 2023, Your Brain on Art : How the Arts Transform Us, Canongate Books, Edinburgh. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [31 December 2024].

The arts, by their very nature, reflect and inform the time in which they are created; they take the pulse of their time, but the artists have also been essential for forecasting the future, and serving as an early-warning system for society. The Greek chorus of classic antiquity was a creative theatrical invention that became the moral voice of civilization. The arts have spurred societal shifts: The Renaissance propelled humanity out of the Middle Ages with evocative music and visual storytelling, and the citizen artists of 1980s Germany turned the Berlin Wall into a bold tableau of political protest, to name just a couple of examples. Paola Antonelli, a senior curator at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, once aptly noted that art and design offer “a renaissance attitude that combines technology, cognitive science, human need, and beauty to produce something that the world didn’t know it was missing. Or as Christopher Bailey, the WHO’s lead for arts and health initiatives, told us, “The arts make visible what we are feeling but may not have been able to name just yet, enabling us to see that we are not alone.” At the last chapter of the book, the author quotes “The arts make visible what we are feeling but may not have been able to name just yet, enabling us to see that we are not alone.”-Christopher Bailey, the WHO’s lead for arts and health initiatives. This text means while people are all captured by all those high-tech things which provides revolution to our physical material world, the artist are expanding the world of sense behind the scene.This give me a complete different perspective to see the world, -the artist are no more working behind the scene anymore, they standing at the sideline with scientist being the pioneer of the world together. As an art school student ,this give us a whole new self-awareness that we are no longer fighting for ourselves, feeling kind of excited already.

Malkowski, J, & Russworm, TM (eds) 2017, Gaming Representation : Race, Gender, and Sexuality in Video Games, Indiana University Press, Bloomington. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [31 December 2024].

“But why do games ignore the femme fatale or include her in disempowered forms? One could surmise that because the femme fatale’s power is generally social rather than physical— in other words, she deceives an enemy more often than she shoots him— her character would be difficult to adapt to the medium, as violence-based actions are so central to video games.” In Chapter 1, the author mentioned “Why do games often overlook the femme fatale or portray her in weak roles? One reason might be that her power is more about social manipulation than physical strength—she often uses deception rather than violence.” This text provides a different perspective but very basic point about why in the early days most of the main character in different kind of medium are male. Before reading this part, I used to think because most of the screenwriter is male and they always sync with their main character trying to fulfill their fantasy, it’s obvious that they can’t speculate the thoughts of different gender well so having a female character is kind of hard and unnecessary in early days medium.

Truitt, ER 2015, Medieval Robots : Mechanism, Magic, Nature, and Art, University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [31 December 2024].

Such an interesting book, there’s a paragraph talking about how automata were understood by medievel people in a system of creation involving God, Nature, and humans. And the words “Natura artifex” has been mentioned to explain Nature's role in this system. it’s fun to understand the thoughts from religious culture and the process of adaption between technology and believing adapted to each other. It’s also interesting that while everyone is chasing the most high-tech stuff in the world in modern days, even in the field of games artists are all building future sci-fi robots and spaceships that can’t be built in existing technologies(including me), learning the thought from thousand years ago gives me a different aspect about the art style I’m pursuing and this brings me up the art style like steampunk, the retro-sci-fi style concept art. I sight are wide again, thanks a lot for the reminder!

Kidd, C 2006, The Forging of Races : Race and Scripture in the Protestant Atlantic World, 1600-2000, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Available from: ProQuest Ebook Central. [31 December 2024].

This book discusses how the Bible has influenced Western values about race. After the author delves into history, a paragraph caught my attention: The author lists out many kinds of “Race-as-…” it could be biology, ethnicity, class… I know it might be common sense for Western people to think about how they define “race”, but in Taiwan where I came from, it’s not usual to see different colors of people in my daily life. After I studied in this university I joined the volleyball representative team, I still remember asking a black person in the tryout session “Where do you come from?” He asks me back “You mean nationality or ethnicity?”, this question still stays in my mind and pops out sometimes. Yes, how to define race? Or race isn't even a word that should exist? I’ll keep thinking about this.

Enns, M. (2021). Understanding Game Scoring: The Evolution of Compositional Practice for and through Gaming (1st ed.). Focal Press.

First of all, I’m a person who can be influenced by music easily. Movies, animes, and games, as I discussed above work with anybody, and the element of music always plays a huge part in my overall score.This book talks about a lot of techniques and case studies of game scores, I can only understand a few words in it, the part that inspires me is the first few pages of the introduction.The author makes a clear boundary between game scoring and soundtrack, explains the focus point behind game scoring, and the relation between software programs.It’s happy for me to learn more about the thing that plays a hugely important role in my heart, even though I’m reading it like a textbook.

Latikka, R., Bergdahl, J., Savela, N. and Oksanen, A. (2023). AI as an Artist? A Two-Wave Survey Study on Attitudes Toward Using Artificial Intelligence in Art. Poetics, 101(101839), pp.101839–101839. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.poetic.2023.101839.

This research explores the public’s view of AI as an artist from the aspect of human psychological needs, especially relatedness and autonomy. In conclusion, while humans have more positive thoughts about AI’s application on other fields, fostering positive personal experiences with AI is key to overcoming the resistance to being used in the field of creative arts. I think this research came just in time, we all know that AI-generated art has been a big issue in the field of creative arts, not only for professional users it’s been widely used by amateurs to create high-quality images by typing and some simple clicking, compare to the born of the traditional artwork we can almost call it “effortless”, understanding the diverse factor that influences the thought is important for future art worker like us.

Devine, T. C., Presnell, W. A., & Miller, S. (2014). Games as Art and Kant’s Moral Dilemma: What Can Ethical Theory Reveal About the Role of the Game Designer as Artist? Games and Culture, 9(4), 277-310. https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1177/1555412014538812

This article explores the aspect of ethics in video games by researching the mission “Tranquility Lane” in Fallout 3 made by Bethesda, by using Kant’s Categorical Imperative the author not only explores the ethical dimensions in game design but also talks about the responsibilities of game designers as creators to the public. I am a huge fan of Fallout 4(pretty much the same gaming style as Fallout 3 ), I’ve played hundreds of hours of Fallout 4 and I know that making the decision in the game plays a very huge part in the gaming experience in this game, you can tell what kind of person is the player by knowing the decision he/she make. No doubt, more games start applying this kind of decision-making into games to create multiple endings like Sekiro and Elden ring and it creates more depth to the game.

Plass, J.L., Homer, B.D., MacNamara, A., Ober, T., Rose, M.C., Pawar, S., Hovey, C.M. and Olsen, A. (2019). Emotional design for digital games for learning: The effect of expression, color, shape, and dimensionality on the affective quality of game characters. Learning and Instruction, [online] 70(101194), p.101194. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2019.01.005.

This research highlights the importance of certain elements that shape the emotional response of player in an in-game base environment, like expression and dimensionality. This study suggest the designer should prioritize these elements while designing to get the better response and better learning experience. My background is an industrial designer, back in the days when we were still learning, our professor told us “While you are doing for yourself, you are doing art. If you are doing for others, you are doing design” As a game art student, although we have “art” in our name we are doing work for players, so knowing how to stimulate the player's emotions is the first thing we should take care of. Carefully manipulating visual design features such as color, shape, expression, and dimensionality will get a better player-designer connection.

Atkinson, P., & Parsayi, F. (2021). Video Games and Aesthetic Contemplation. Games and Culture, 16(5), 519-537. https://doi-org.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/10.1177/1555412020914726

In this article, the author highlights while video games are primarily designed for interaction and gameplay, they also have the potential to offer aesthetic experiences similar to those found in the visual arts. I can highly relate to this statement since the video game is a “total work of art”, it’s a complex medium that provides different kinds of stimulation. I’ve played thousands of hours of Destiny 2, after playing hours of mission shooting and bombing things, I’ll stand at the yard(the place where the player can organize their equipment and chill) to see the magnificent scene of “The Traveler” and the city under, enjoying the light and the peaceful moment. I’ll even stop all the rush to see the story written on the achievement list, feeling what the designer wants to express and fulfill besides all the fancy visual things.

Roettl J, Terlutter R. The same video game in 2D, 3D or virtual reality - How does technology impact game evaluation and brand placements? PLoS One. 2018 Jul 20;13(7):e0200724. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0200724. PMID: 30028839; PMCID: PMC6054385.

This research shows how different present methods (2D, 3D, VR) can impact brand placement. In conclusion, for 3D and VR versions, player have lower memories of the brand and this is caused by the increased cognitive demands of these formats, while players need to focus on other stimulation more they won’t be able to focus on the brand information. But in the 2D version, the in-game brand placement is more effective because players have more “CPU” to process brand information. I think this research is quite important for the game design team for the early meeting about which kind of game are they going to make, because the more advanced tech used doesn’t mean the better, we all know that VR games still have problems for making a high percentage of player to be dizzy, just like me, I can do nothing while feeling dizzy. If 3D element is not what the thing designer needs to present, using a simple 2D way to make a game will be a much better choice the designer can focus more on the essence of the game, we can see in these years after the 3D game craze, so many indie games rise and produce some top-sell 2D or even pixel-style game, like Dave the diver and Stardew Valley. It’s good that people started to think about what is gaming about again.

[annaminijayan3dblog]

Critical Analysis

Stang, S. M. (2019) ‘(Re-)balancing the triforce: Gender representation and androgynous masculinity in the Legend of Zelda series’. in Human Technology.[Online] 15(3). pp. 367–389. Available at: https://ht.csr-pub.eu/index.php/ht/article/view/276. [Accessed: 2 December 2023].

Sarah M Stang the author of this article, is a respected feminist media scholar who analyses representation within various forms of media, with a particular focus on video games. Presently, she is an assistant professor of Game studies in the Department of Digital Humanities at Brock University and serves as the Secretary for the Game Studies Division of the International Communication Association. I have chosen to analyze a part of the text from her article, ‘(Re-)balancing the triforce: Gender representation and androgynous masculinity in the Legend of Zelda series’(2021).

The article is mainly concerned with the gender representation of Link in The Legend of Zelda series and how Nintendo responded to fans asking for diverse gender representation. The author also talks about female representation in the game and studies characters that may have been an attempt by Nintendo to be more gender inclusive. My analysis is based on the part of the text that examines Link’s androgynous representation and his design within the cultural context of Japan. I found this part of the article interesting since it highlighted how Link’s androgynous design might be a result of the popularity of the androgynous male aesthetic in Japanese media.

In the first paragraph under the subheading ‘androgynous heroes’, the author states how the fans attempted to analyze the trailer of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017) to figure out the gender of the main protagonist. The way they attempted to analyze his gender through physical attributes reflected the fact that fans still connect certain body features to gender identities while disregarding the fact that gender can be fluid. According to Stang (2021) attempting to analyze the body of a digitally-rendered character in this way suggests that these fans continue to conceptualize gender in association with specific biological markers and to believe that a character’s gender can be uncovered by closely analyzing these physical characteristics. Link being an androgynous character is therefore a step towards a positive gender representation since it blurs the lines between culturally established concepts of masculine and feminine appearances. This aspect of his design was received positively by many fans some of whom even hoped for it to be a female character with an androgynous appearance.

The article also describes androgeny as the “surface politics of the body” (Stang, 2021) that involves the mixing of gender signifiers. Although this type of representation is not often seen in the protagonists of game characters in the West, it has been common in Japan for a long time. Stang refers to the aesthetic of androgynous men as “masculine-skewed androgyny” throughout the second half of the text. She states that the popularity of masculine-skewed androgyny might be due to young man kabuki which was a form of theatre art in Japan from the 17th century. Women were banned from kabuki and therefore men had to take up female roles within the play. The men who were chosen to depict these roles were considered beautiful and acted out their roles with high-pitched voices. They also had to dress in female attire as a part of depicting their roles. A range of Japanese media have also commonly portrayed masculine-skewed androgyny. The article mentions that Masculine-skewed androgyny continues to be extremely popular in Japanese artwork, comics (manga), and animation (anime); as well as among Japanese musicians(a movement called visual kei, with kei meaning style) and models (Stang, 2021).

The widespread use of androgynous character designs in Japanese games reflects the popularity of masculine-skewed androgyny within the culture. Although they adopt a gender-fluid design the characters are still male in their presentation. According to Stang (2021), androgynous JRPG protagonists are rarely gender variant in that they rarely wear feminine clothing or cosmetics and are never effeminate in their speech or gestures. The few instances when gender variance is reflected in Japanese video game characters is when they are villanised. This displays a negative mindset towards gender variance. Video games need to stop portraying certain gender identities as evil since this will only result in creating negative prejudices towards them. Hence, it is important to work towards a gaming culture that positively represents everyone.

To provide a detailed analysis of Link's design, the author studies the character's development process that was discussed by the developers. The developers reveal that Link’s character was made to appear gender-neutral and childlike to increase player relatability by both male and female players. ‘This design choice, combined with Link’s silence and minimal backstory, was intended to allow players of any gender to identify with him’ (Stang. 2021, p.377). Although this can be seen as an inclusive choice by the developers, the author argues that Link is still referred to by male pronouns (Stang, 2021). Even with feminine features, the game still makes it obvious that Link is a male. This brings to light the issue that Link’s identity cannot be considered truly gender-neutral.

In conclusion, this article has brought to light the issues in the representation of Link. I found the text valuable because the author highlighted the need for greater gender inclusivity in the game series. Link does not have to stop at being an androgynous character, they could take it further by presenting him as gender-neutral. This would be an important cultural development in the gaming community since non-binary characters are rarely represented in popular media like games. Representing diverse gender identities in popular media can promote acceptance and inclusivity among individuals belonging to the community. Through the examination of fan responses to the character and the cultural context in which the character was designed, the author has helped me understand the significance of a diverse audience being able to identify with a character and that we should go beyond cultural influences to ensure inclusion across gender identities. As a game’s character artist, I wish to reflect these nuances in my work so that it may be relatable for all the players. Most games continue to feature male protagonists and refuse to include a female or gender-neutral protagonist. Game developers need to start catering to a diverse audience instead of one group of players. Although Link’s androgynous design is not truly inclusive, it can be considered a positive step towards representation in games.

[theodorobrejablog]

Critical Analysis

Harrer, S. (2018) Games and bereavement: How video games represent attachment, loss, and grief. 1st ed. Germany: transcript. doi: 10.14361/9783839444153.

The author of this book is Sabine Harrer, PhD, currently a lead researcher on a Hertha Firnberg project studying racial equity in the European Games industry called White Play. She is also a senior lecturer at the Gotland Game Design Department of Uppsala University, with multiple honours and awards like Austrian Academy of Sciences (ÖAW) DOC fellowship and Bank Austria Innovative Teaching Award. She shows her strong passion for cultural studies and game design through her projects such as the epistemic games Overcoming, used to review 20th century grief literature and Jocoi, a game which explores pregnancy.

Based on her thorough research and considerable experience, Harrer published ‘Games and Bereavement : How Video Games Represent Attachment, Loss and Grief’ in 2018. The book is split into three parts: theory, in which the author explains the terminology and theory on which the research is based, analysis, in which the author discusses how loss is being represented in different games based on examples, and design, which talks about ways and tools that could be used to ethically represent grief. For my critical analysis I decided to analyse two of the pages subchapter ‘VIDEO  GAME DESIGN AS EXPRESSIVE ART?’ which is located in the first part of the book Theory - Understanding Bereavement. I selected this fragment because the author explored video games as means for healing and accepting grief, just like other expressive arts such as music, painting and writing. 

Harrer starts the first paragraph by expressing her opinion that the principles applied to the expressive arts can also be applied to game design as it combines many artistic areas, and uses the expressive modalities like visual arts, music and writing discussed by Neimeyer and Thompson, to sustain her argument. She ends the first paragraph explaining how through game, the expressive modalities can help the griever express and reflect on themselves. Moving forward, the author suggests that through the new layer of interactivity and ergodic continuum that games add to the experience of the receiver, people could develop their “idiosyncratic grief language”, which refers to the irrational fear of losing someone. Additionally, Harrer underlines that by having grief modelled through gameplay, the griever-designer becomes an active component and makes the experience more dynamic. Using a quote by Davies, the author emphasises the active exploration required by the designer in order to illustrate grief. 

Following in the chapter, Harrer comes back to a previous fragment in the book where she explained Rossenblatt and Bowman’s hole metaphor regarding the connection of the bereaved and the deceased, but integrating it in the context of game design. She argues that through play the abstract emotional concepts of the metaphor can take form and become tangible, using tools of the game such as dynamics, mechanics and aesthetics. The first page of my analysis ends with the author stating that through this extension of the expressive arts in gaming, both the game developers and the players can benefit out of the therapeutic experience. Harrer supports her statement arguing that in the game design, both sides, the creator of the game and the one who experiences it, have to engage through multiple modal elements, creating a complex experience that can bring comfort to the griever according to their specific need. 

In the second page I chose to analyse, the author continues using the hole metaphor to exemplify how having multiple expressive modalities in games, accommodates different priorities of the grievers. She also argues that due to their ergodic nature, games can create a wide range of sensory aspects, such as visual or audio, to support the griever and their needs. Harrer ends the paragraph by adding that even the stages of grief presented in the previous chapter, can be used as a guide for the player and integrated in the game system, even if the player does not know the stages or the “rules” of grieving. 

Moving forward, the author talks about the mode through which the reception of emotions happens. Harrer further underlines that the player receives the emotion through play, emphasising the interactivity. She argues that unlike the other modalities, through play, the receiver is invited to explore a symbolic world, with personal contents and themes, and connect with the “emotional landscape” of the griever. Through the connection between the receiver (the player) and the griever (the character), the receiver symbolically takes a piece of the griever’s emotion.

The final paragraph from my selected pages discusses the compassion side of the process. Referencing Thompson, the author sustains the importance of a non-judgemental attitude when interacting with the bereaved. She explains that the game should be experienced and not analysed, for the connection between player and the grieving character to happen. Making a comparison with Stepakoff’s respectful echo, Harrer states that the player may have particular elements of the game with which they would resonate the most. The paragraph ends with a rhetorical question addressed by the author regarding the feelings that are evoked by the elements with which players emphasise. As a conclusion, Harrer underlines that interacting with the emotional triggers of the game not only honours the feelings of the griever, but also effort and tenacity of the game developers, who managed to illustrate a relatable experience.

Throughout the two pages I chose to analyse, Sabine Harrer built her arguments on a strong base of research and with multiple relevant references to high-quality external references. She brings a new and interesting perspective over a subject not being approached by many: the depiction of bereavement in video games. Starting with the idea of how video games can be used as expressive arts, the Harrer builds strong arguments regarding interactivity as a key element to connect with the griever through play, ways of using different modalities to evoke emotions in players, and the importance of an empathetic approach towards the griever when building the games systems.

To conclude, this is a high-quality source with logical arguments that provide relevant information on an important subject that is part of our lives. Harrer manages to approach a sensitive area that could be considered taboo by many in an objective and critical way, raising multiple questions. Her research may help game developers have a better understanding of strong emotions such as grief and how to depict them in a way that would honour the creators of the game, the bereaved and the players who receive the emotions.

[jian-wei-uh]

Blog Post #1 : Not all who experience war are combatants: Analysing Narratives in This War of Mine

Figure 1: This War of Mine (2014) Poster

I enjoy playing games that are designed to evoke strong emotions in their players, particularly those that encourage deeper reflection on important topics. A prime example of this is the anti-war game This War of Mine, which effectively challenges players to reconsider their perspectives on morality and survival in the context of war.

This War of Mine takes a unique approach to combat pro-war stance by placing the player in civilian's point-of-view, rather than an unbeatable combatant which is the usual norm for most war themed games regardless of pro-war or anti-war. This video game was inspired by real-life events such as the Balkan War, the Syrian Civil War , the Siege of Grozny, and, The Second World War's Warsaw Uprising (Marszał, P., 2022) The player must manage a small group of ordinary people, helping them survive until the siege of the city is lifted. Each ordinary civilian has unique traits such as trained in combat, good cook, stealthy etc. During the day, players focus on upgrading their shelter using whatever resources they’ve gathered in their shelter or during night-time scavenging missions. However, the game presents situations that challenge the player’s morals, forcing difficult decisions in the midst of a brutal civil war (11 Bits Studio, 2014).

Both embedded and emergent narratives are important to tell the context or story of a video game to its players, in order to immerse the players and promote player agency. Video games often combine the both to create an memorable experience for its players. Such as environmental storytelling where the game developers would design the environment to indirectly tell the players of the existing game lore and encourage players to explore the world to get more information or discover hidden quest which could alter the final outcome of the game scenario (Jenkins, 2012). In This War of Mine, both narrative methods were utilised. For example, embedded narratives would be the war-torn environments that players scavenge to obtain resources to survive the civil war, reading letters left behind previous tenants, hearing informative broadcasts from the crafted radio, and listening to other survival's idle conversations etc. While for emergent narratives, such as randomisation of loots with each new start, different characters to play, and choices in events that will affect characters mental state and ending of the game etc.

To delve deeper into the choices presented to players, the decisions they make gradually shape specific types of endings. For example, if a player chooses cruelty, such as stealing from an elderly couple during a scavenging mission, the consequences become apparent over time. When revisiting the location, the player will find the couple no longer sitting in their armchairs, but dead in their bed, having run out of food and medicine. While it’s not explicitly stated that their deaths are caused by the player’s immoral actions, the elderly man had pleaded for the player to leave them alone, mentioning that his wife needed the supplies that were stolen. The character who commits theft or murder will experience negative emotional effects, which can, in turn, impact the overall morale of other survivors in the shelter. If their mental health is ignored and they persist in making immoral decisions, characters may spiral into depression or become mentally "broken," eventually refusing to follow player commands and possibly fleeing the shelter, which leads to their death. The autonomy displayed by these depressed characters can evoke feelings of empathy and guilt in the player, as their actions directly contribute to the characters’ emotional decline (Pergerson, 2021).

Figure 2: Information about Katia. (Kaptan, 2022)

At the beginning of the game, each playable character is introduced with only a brief one-line description. However, as the game progresses and the characters build trust with each other, more of their backstory is gradually revealed to the player. This creates a deeper emotional connection, making players feel invested in keeping the characters alive so they can find their families or fulfil personal promises. As a result, when a character dies, it can have a strong emotional impact on the player (Funk, 2022), as the character leaves the world with unfinished business.

However, in the harsh realities of war, it’s often a matter of survival, either you or others make it with the scarce resources available. This forces players to make morally questionable decisions to ensure their characters live another day.

Figure 3: Epilogue cutscene. (믐늠음름, 2014)

The mentioned game features contributes to form Aarseth's concept of 'ergodic' narrative (Aarseth, 1997) where the player's decision will decide the faith of the characters' survivability, the outcome of game events and the final game's ending during the epilogue (Refer to figure 2).

Often, these harsh consequences shown to players after committing immoral acts are intended to encourage them to reflect on their actions, become more compassionate, or realize the true horrors of war. However, some players still approach the game with a materialistic mindset, harming others for extra loot rather than considering the importance of humanity. To address this, several countermeasures could be implemented. For example, the game could provide stronger visual or audio cues that highlight the suffering caused by the player’s actions, such as the reactions of surviving family members or visible changes in the environment, like a desolate belongings of the deceased character. Another measure could be making it more difficult for the other character to carry out tasks after witnessing or participating in immoral acts, such as adding new specific animation or new direct text dialogue scripts. Additionally, implementing a narrative penalty, where key story elements are locked or character arcs are cut short due to inhumane actions, could further push players to think more carefully about their choices.

References

11 Bits Studio (2014) . This War of Mine [Video Game]. 11 Bits Studio.

믐늠음름 (2014). This War of Mine - Ending(Epilogue) 720P. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RIENAF9FpiQ [Accessed 14 Oct. 2024]

Aarseth, E. J. (1997). Cybertext. Baltimore: The Johns Hopkins University Press. [Accessed 13 Oct. 2024]

Funk, T. (2022). Video Game Art Reader. Amherst College Press eBooks. doi:https://doi.org/10.1353/book.101009. [Accessed 14 Oct. 2024]

Jenkins, H. (2003). GAME DESIGN AS NARRATIVE ARCHITECTURE. [online] Available at: https://paas.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/09.-Henry-Jenkins-Game-Design-As-Narrative-Architecture.pdf [Accessed 13 Oct. 2024].

Kaptan, D. (2022). This War Of Mine: Every Character, Ranked. [online] Available at: https://www.thegamer.com/this-war-of-mine-all-characters-best-ranked/ [Accessed 13 Oct. 2024].

Marszał, P. (2022). How Reality Shows That This War of Mine is More Than a Best-selling Game - Xbox Wire. [online] Xbox Wire. Available at: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2022/04/29/reality-shows-this-war-of-mine-more-than-a-best-selling-game/ [Accessed 12 Oct. 2024].

Pergerson, C. (2021). How This War of Mine Creates Empathy for Virtual Characters How This War of Mine Creates Empathy for Virtual Characters. [online] doi:https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-4666-5071-8.ch002 [Accessed 13 Oct. 2024].

[alecbicheno]

Critical analysis

Court, J. (2021). Transnational Politics in Video Games: The Case of German Military Intervention in “Spec Ops: The Line.” German Politics and Society, 39, 112+. https://link-gale-com.ezproxy.herts.ac.uk/apps/doc/A688765422/AONE?u=uniherts&sid=summon&xid=91514d0e

The text I have chosen for my critical analysis is this journal written by Justin Court. He is a lecturer of German at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and has an interest in the crossover between, violence, politics, visual media, and memory. He is credited with publishing some other articles on photography and the world wars, with his current research being focused on the depiction of both historical and modern Germany in videogames.

It is part of the journal article “German Politics and Society,” which is a peer-reviewed academic journal which focuses on providing insights related to contemporary German affairs. There are four issues per volume, with each issue including contributions by renowned scholars. It covers a broad range of social, political, and cultural topics and explores issues about Germany and the relationship it has with the international community. It is a publication which contains works from multiple disciplines and serves as a platform for scholars and researchers to contribute to the understanding of Germany’s political and societal landscape.

In Court’s article, he explores the relationship between videogames and transnational politics using the game Spec Ops: The Line (2012) as a case study. The analysis talks about how the game challenges traditional first-person shooter genre expectations and its implications for the gaming medium.

I chose this text because it is relevant to my field. This is because it covers the particularly important topic of ethics within the gaming industry, providing a broader perspective of the impact video games have in society. So, as an aspiring 3D artist it is important for me to understand the impact my work can have, ensuring I take into consideration the narrative, visual, and ethical aspects of game design, ensuring a more informed creative process. Of this text, I will be analysing pages 119- 120 as they cover some of the more serious aspects of the game and have a large relation to the topics that are relevant to my field.

Court begins by placing a strong emphasis on the way Spec Ops: The Line (2012) deviates from the traditional expectations of the first-person shooter genre, particularly through moments such as the white phosphorus scene. The quote from critic Tom Bissell emphasizes the inherently political nature of shooting games. Bissell’s assertation centres on the idea that videogames often portray violent force as an acceptable catalyst for change. This article argues that Spec Ops: The Line (2012) distinguishes itself by actively challenging and refuting this violent perspective seen across FPS games, getting significant critical attention for its distinctive and innovative narrative.

The analysis outlines the contrasting aspects of violence in Spec Ops: The Line (2012). On one had there are classic FPS elements that are embraced within it, such as the games protagonist, Walker, being portrayed as a typical macho FPS character who believes in violence as a catalyst for change. The game’s mechanics, achievements and multiplayer mode are also in line with the standard presentation of shooting as entertainment. On the other hand, the article argues that many of the FPS elements within the game actively oppose the glorification of violence. There are key moments such as the white phosphorus scene, and Walker’s gradual decline and internal conflict over the morality of the events presented in the game. These play a crucial role in challenging the idea that meaningful outcomes can be attained through violence, and the casualties that occur during the journey, including Walker’s subordinates, highlight the moral repercussions of pushing forward of all costs.

The analysis explores the visual design and procedural rhetoric in Spec Ops: The Line (2012). The game being from a third-person shooter perspective is considered to be a strategic choice to show the horror experienced by Walker and his team through changes in their physical appearance. The gradual physical deterioration of the characters paired with the graphic violence within the game environment, contributes to the way the game confronts players with violence. There are also instances of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) being highlighted, with hallucinations present that affect Walker, but also affect the player. The analysis suggests that these elements create a unique cinematic quality, which intensifies the players engagement in the game’s exploration with themes.

The discussion expands to the concept of procedural rhetoric, emphasizing how traversing in-game environments, whether real or hallucinated, forces players to assume the logic of pressing forward on the designated path. There are a couple of scripted situations in which players must make moral choices for Walker. These decisions go beyond simple gameplay mechanics, they serve as points which challenge players to confront the consequences of their actions, which contributes to the game’s exploration of violence and morality. The example of deciding the fate of the CIA agent that deceived Walker’s team further highlights the harshness, brutality, and ultimate meaninglessness to the fictional conflict.

In summary, Court’s in-depth analysis of Spec Ops: The Line (2012) is interesting as it provides an in-depth examination of how the game’s nuanced approach defies the expectations of the first-person shooter genre, by both embracing and rebuking violence at the same time. The exploration of the visual design, procedural rhetoric, and the ethical and moral dilemmas add layers to the game’s complexity, both narratively and thematically. It stands as a notable example within the videogame landscape as a game that goes beyond the entertainment aspect and prompts players to engage with the themes of morality, the consequences of violence, and to also engage with transnational politics.

Bibliography

Anon., 2021. berghahnjournals. [Online] Available at: https://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/gps/39/4/gps390407.xml?ArticleBodyColorStyles=contributornotes-4277 [Accessed 3 January 2024].

YAGER DEVELOPMENT. (2012) Spec Ops: The Line. [DISC] Xbox 360. Novato: 2K

[huanyukang]

Blog 7 sources and significance

An analysis of props and scene design in "Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)"

This 87 episode TV series tells the tragic love story between Ru Yi and Emperor Qianlong, and the fog of history creates infinite imagination for creators. Although the stories of Emperor Qianlong and Empress Ruyi in the Tv seires are mostly fabricated, art originates from life, and the plot design in the play conforms to the logic of character development and artistic reality (Yang and Chen, 2019). More than a dozen palace scenes were designed at a cost of billions of yuan, providing the audience with a unique experience.

Exquisite design of hairstyle and props (1) The meaning of flowers: In ancient China, flowers were used to describe beautiful women, and they also represented the image of women are gentle and beautiful. The two main types of flowers that appear in this TV drama are plum and skyflower. Red plums represent the elegant character of Ruyi. The green plum potted plant gifted by Emperor Qianlong to Ruyi, which looked like a withered branch after the two split, bloomed again after Emperor Qianlong's longing for Ruyi and his tragic passing. In addition, there are mostly scenes with snow, and there are many blooming sky flowers in these scenes, which symbolize the character of Ruyi's forbearance.

screenshoot of Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)

(2) The change in Ruyi's hairstyle design symbolizes her different levels The character design in this TV drama is also very beautiful, especially the hairstyle design of the protagonist Ru Yi. From the beginning of the first episode, Ru Yi's hairstyle was a long braid with very few decorations on her head. She only had a little peach blossom decoration, because at this time, Ru Yi was only in her twenties, and the makeup artist, through exquisite skills and handling of Ru Yi's hairstyle, made the actor in her 40s change from a visual appearance to a 20-year-old. After living in the palace for a few years, Ruyi's status also improved, so her hairstyle became more complicated. At this time, she no longer had the long braid style she used to have, but instead wore the exclusive "Qi tou" hairstyle of the imperial concubines on her head, and she wore decorative items such as jade butterflies, glass flowers, etc., all of which were made using traditional Chinese craftsmanship. Finally, when Ruyi became the queen, she wore a decoration called "Dianzi", which was like a hat. This unique hat was decorated with many phoenix shaped decorations, which also reflected her noble status. So Ruyi can also witness her growth from her hairstyle design.

screenshoot of Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace (2018)

RUYI ( ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE ) Youtube (2019). Available at:https://youtu.be/UszCzxcZ5Kwsi=_bP4ePDOStgKK4ko(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

2.Unique ideas and renovations in architectural space Ruyi is a pure and kind character in this TV drama, as she only pursues love with Emperor Qianlong and does not consider intrigues, which also leads to her tragedy. Although the plot setting of the drama is plain, the content is not vulgar and contains certain thoughts of Buddhism and Taoism. The philosophical thinking of emptiness and nothingness reflected in the plot setting is different from the simple and rough way of "tooth for tooth, eye for eye" in most palace fighting TV dramas (Xu, 2020). So the most complex and exquisite palace in this plot is the Yikun Palace, where the protagonist is like Yi. However, in history, the Yikun Palace in the Forbidden City of Beijing was not as complex and exquisite as in TV dramas. Firstly, in order to shape the image of the protagonist, the design of the Yikun Palace in TV dramas has doubled its area based on the historical prototype of the Yikun Palace. The entire palace, under the treatment of the TV drama's color scheme, is dark blue, representing the sinister and unfathomable nature of the palace, It also implies the final tragic love of Ruyi. Secondly, in order to demonstrate the identity of Empress Ruyi, the director designed a large white peacock woodblock behind Ruyi's throne, and the white peacock also represents the phoenix, symbolizing the majesty of the empress. Distinctively, there are many potted orchids placed in the Yikun Palace, and the entire palace design revolves around the theme of bamboo. For example, bamboo is carved and decorated on the screens in the main hall and on the curtains in the side halls. Bamboo represents noble character, which also symbolizes the protagonist Ruyi's adherence to pure love and kind and noble character in the dark palace.

In short, in this TV drama, the protagonist's props and scenes related to Ruyi are based on reference to the art history of Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, and many innovative designs are made, which are worth appreciating by the audience

Reference:

Yang , J & Chen,  W. (2019). Analysis of the artistic characteristics of the TV drama Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. Audio-visual (04),93-94.doi:10.19395/j.cnki.1674-246x. 2019.04. 050. (Accessed: 16 February 2024)

Xu,W. (2020). Aesthetic analysis of the TV series Ruyi's Royal Love in the Palace. New film and play (01),216-219.Available at:https://www.cnki.net (Accessed: 16 February 2024)

RUYI ( ROYAL LOVE IN THE PALACE ) Youtube(2019) . Available at:https://youtu.be/UszCzxcZ5Kwsi=_bP4ePDOStgKK4ko(Accessed: 16 February 2024)

[ellie-bygrave]

Gesamtkunstwerk

What is Gesamtkunstwerk?

Gesamtkunstwerk is a term coined by the German philosopher K. F. E. Trahndorff in 1827. The term was also used by the composer Richard Wagner in 1849 and became closely associated with him and his work (Seiferle, 2023). The phrase translates to "total artwork" and refers to art that strives to make use of many or all possible art forms.

The concept of Gesamtkunstwerk became popular when Wagner began to introduce the idea of it into his operas, rejecting the more traditional Italian and French styles. He attempted to create shows that combined music with dance, drama, and theatre, culminating in his own opera series called Der Ring des Nibelungen, which is thought of as being the closest he came to achieving his goals of creating Gesamtkunstwerk (Grey, 2008).

In 1859, William Morris - a prominent artist responsible for a large amount of work in the Arts & Crafts movement - and Phillip Webb - an architect also famous for his work within the Arts & Crafts movement - designed Red House. a building that is said to perfectly encapsulate Morris' belief that one should "Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful" (Morris, 1880).

Although the definition of Gesamtkunstwerk is widely agreed upon, there are many different criteria by which an artwork can be judged to determine if it is "complete" (Oxford English Dictionary, 2023). To further explore this idea we can compare two different artworks that are both widely considered to have achieved Gesamtkunstwerk, such as Wagner's operas and video games.

Gesamtkunstwerk and Video Games

Many video games can be thought of as an example of Gesamtkunstwerk. Robin Sloan (Year Unknown) briefly discusses video games as Gesamtkunstwerk, describing the ways in which games use written story along with visual images and music to create an artwork. All of the individual elements of a game - from the character to the environments, the writing to the music, the visual effects to the gameplay - combine to create a whole experience that would be lesser without even a single element.

But a video game has many differences to one of Wagner's operas, so how can both be considered Gesamtkunstwerk?

I believe that Gesamtkunstwerk is highly subjective and, most importantly, bound by what the author or creator determines to be their complete work. For Wagner, using music to convey emotion and meaning combined with physical performance from dancers created what he thought of as a complete piece of work, with all components working harmoniously to create a meaningful experience for his audiences (Wolfman, 2013). In a video game the parameters for whether it constitutes Gesamtkunstwerk are different, although incorporate some of the same ideas as Wagner. The majority of games combine visuals with storytelling, sound design, music, gameplay, and many other components to create an (ideally) complete experience for the player. These components should all uniquely add to the game, adding to the context intended by the creators and improving the overall experience for the player.

Gesamtkunstwerk in my own work

In my own work I often like to set short videos to music or add in some form of sound design. I am greatly inspired by music and base a lot of my work around that inspiration, so it feels right that I should reflect that when presenting my work, allowing the audience to fully understand the context and circumstances under which I created my artwork.

By no means would I compare my own amateur work to that of Wagner or any video game, but based on the criteria I set myself when starting a piece I would say that I have achieved a level of Gesamtkunstwerk that I feel is appropriate for my current level and goals.

For example, I recently created a short video of a (vaguely) Victorian-looking bedroom with a windy storm occurring outside an open window. This was inspired by the book Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë and the song of the same name by Kate Bush and aims to encapsulate the dark and stormy moors haunted by the ghost of Catherine. I added a short section of the song to my video along with the sound of a storm in the distance to further cement the vibe I was aiming for. To me, this is a complete piece of art. Each of the components uniquely contribute to the work and it would feel incomplete - at least to me- without one of these components. It doesn't include dancers like Wagner's operas or interactivity like most video games feature, but including those components would detract from the work as it is currently and would not make contextual sense unless I were to change the initial vision I had for the artwork.

Conversely, I previously created a render of a diner in a misty forest. Whilst I am happy with the render I created, I do not consider it to be a complete work of art. To an outside viewer this is just an average artwork depicting a diner. My intention was to add a level of interactivity to the work where the player would click areas of the screen to take them closer to sections of the area or reveal something hidden. It was a simple concept, but as I neared the end of designing and creating the "final" image I lost motivation and realised I lacked the skills needed to full realise my vision. To someone with no knowledge of the plan they might view it as a complete artwork, as often an artwork is simply just a painting or digital render with no further context or media added to it. But, as this was not the intention, the product is incomplete in my eyes.

Having said that, there is always more one can add to an artwork. However, that does not mean that the artwork would be improved by this. As I said previously, even just a single painting could be considered a complete piece of art if that is all the artist intended for it to comprise; no one argues that Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa would be improved if it had strobe lights and dancers performing to Nat King Cole's Mona Lisa around it at the Louvre (although I may now have to make that pitch to the person in charge of their exhibits).

To summarise

Gesamtkunstwerk is a subjective and dependent concept which relies on the artist themselves to determine if they consider their own work to be complete. Adding more forms of art to a piece for the sake of it does not automatically make a piece "complete", just as an artwork consisting of only one form or media does not automatically disqualify it from being considered Gesamtkunstwerk. In reality, anyone can manipulate the definition of the word to declare their work complete or incomplete; it is the opinion of the artist that matters in the determination of whether an artwork is Gesamtkunstwerk or not.

References

Grey, T. S. (ed)(2008). The Cambridge Companion to Wagner. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. doi: 10.1017/CCOL9780521642996

Morris, W. (1880). The Beauty of Life. Hopes and Fears for Art: Five Lectures Delivered in Birmingham, London, and Nottingham, 1878-1881 (1882).

Oxford English Dictionary. (2023). Gesamtkunstwerk. Oxford: Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/8000713856. Accessed 13/11/2023

Seiferle, R. (2023). Gesamtkunstwerk Definition Overview and Analysis. The Art Story. https://www.theartstory.org/definition/gesamtkunstwerk/. Accessed 13/11/2023

Sloan, R. (Year Unknown). The Total Work. POTO Diary: Overworld. https://www.robinsloan.com/overworld/week/1/. Accessed 13/11/2023

Wolfman, U. R. (2013). Richard Wagner's Concept of the "Gesamtkunstwerk". Interlude. https://interlude.hk/richard-wagners-concept-of-the-gesamtkunstwerk/. Accessed 13/11/2023