Last year in a seminar class on contemporary theatre I wrote a paper comparing Sarah Kane’s postdramatic play 4:48 Psychosis to the theoretical ideas of an avatar/internet theatre. What I was particularly interested in was the idea of how we as living, breathing human beings can become consumed by the virtual world of video games. Personally I’ve always had a love for The Sims franchise, while other people are committed to games such as World of Warcraft, or any RPG games. In my paper I asked myself whether it would be possible for there to be an ‘avatar theatre’ where as audience members we can become so invested in a virtual theatre performance that we physically react to the happenings of the virtual world in the same way that we do in the living theatre.
In Gabriella Giannachi’s book Virtual Theatres she calls the new virtual stage a
‘hypersurface’:
The hypersurface is where the real and the virtual meet each other. It is materiality and textuality, real and representation. It is also the site of virtual performance. Through hypersurface, the viewer can enter the work of art, be part of it, as well as interact with it. (Giannachi, 95)
As I was reviewing this paper the above quote stood out to my for this course in particular. Multiliteracies seem to allow us to ‘enter the works of art’, if we consider graphic novels, e-literature, and now video games… these multimodal ‘hypersurfaces’ allow us to enter an alternate dimension of learning. Video games allow us an application of strategy, inquiry, and interactive modes of multidimensional learning. If I think back to some of the video games I’ve played in my many years I could have clocked enough hours to master ad new skill, like playing the piano. But I also think back to games like Sim City where you have to think like an urban developer as you create a sustainable city with all the proper amenities such as schools, police departments, and shopping centers. I also think back with joyous memories to games like “Math Circus”, or the wide range of Magic School Bus games. Since these video games offered an integration of facts, applied skills, and entertainment I think back to those video games happy with what I learned.
Since I personally am no technical wiz and could not put together a video game specific to my own lessons I wonder if anyone knows of any games that already exist which would help assist popular texts. I remember seeing a trailer for a game about Dante as he travels though hell… but it was very convoluted and based around other topics we discussed earlier in the course; the character of Beatrice for example was over sexualized and the goal of the game, to save her… I believe that all literary merit went straight out the window and was traded for how gory can the monsters in hell be. I think that video games would make an interesting example for students to relate plots of stories too, however. Huck Finn? Brotherly companionship? Mario and Luigi?
Also, if you haven’t seen this YouTube video it was one of my points of inspiration about ways in which we have become consumed by the online world and how visceral our feelings may be. The kid in the video had his World of Warcraft account deleted by his mother… this is his reaction:
Works Cited:
Giannachi, Gabriella: Virtual Theatres: an introduction. Routledge, New York. 2004.
wafflepwn, GREATEST FREAK OUT EVER (ORIGINAL VIDEO), YouTube. uploaded: May 3,
Brendan
1 response so far ↓
sarahmoir // Nov 26th 2012 at 5:03 pm
WOW…no pun intended.
Previously to games like World of Warcraft, what did this kid do with his time? If I was the Mother of this child I do not know how I would react. Obviously she felt that him having this account would be bad for his health, or there is some other physiological reason that this kid goes completely crazy for losing this account. Does he not realize that he can just create another one?
Have video games become this kids only avenue for an escape? The other son seems fairly stable, other then wanting to see his brother freak out. Obviously this has happened before as he knew where to put the camera, and knew that if he left that camera in there, that he would get a “show”. I am still trying to process what just happened in the video and don’t really want to watch it again to see something that I may have missed. How does a teenager freak out to this extend over a computer game? What in his life makes him react in this way? How did his Mother deal with him after the freak out? I have so many questions that the limits of the video cant tell me.
I am surprised that the mother didn’t come into the room and break up, what this kid was doing. However, maybe she was wise enough to know to stay away when he is like that. I found myself concerned for his wellbeing. He didn’t seem to actually physically harm himself, he punches the bed and fails around on the bed, and standing, but never seems to hit the wall, or even slam the door all that hard.
Again only questions are coming to mind. Brendan this video is such an extreme example, did you ever see anymore like this. I know I am not a Youtube browser unless I have been lead there for some reason. I am actually surprised that this hasn’t appeared on Facebook, which is where I find most of my videos.
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