Tonight I worked at Burlington's Art Hop helping to showcase some of the work coming out from the EMC. I was signed up to represent my group's America's Army map to visitors that stopped by, and it didn't take me long to feel sort of awkward about it. I was stationed right next to my CIMIT group and also down the line from the Information Literacy games and as people came to me they would ask me questions like "And so what do you do in your game?" This was sort of awkward... how else would I reply other than "You shoot people." I tried to change the wording around, threw in words like "Tactics" and "Urban warfare" but in all reality even if it didn't pale in the eyes of whomever I was talking to, it did in my own. Has my constructed reality changed so much?? Then I started to feel somewhat of a hypocrite for feeling negatively about this game and my map. It's not like I don't play these sort of games and enjoy then but it left me with one resounding question... Even though I play these games, are these the sorts of project I want to work on? Dealing heavily with projects from both CIMIT and the UN it's hard to answer that question, especially when I can see the medium put to better uses. I hope anyone reading this isn't thinking that I'm turning into a anti-violence/anti-entertainment industry type person, but I have turned into one that has enough conscious to think a little deeper about it.
1 comment:
Many of us in the games industry have these inner conflicts, but most never have to face up to them like you have recently. You're doing great - thinking deeper about it is so crucial. We always have a choice. Who do we create for, and why? These recent experiences can give you the strength to find the less obvious answers.
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