#termone

[junow-honours]

Meeting with Matt

05.04.23

Transcendence beyond the physical world

Constructing a better reality for oneself- taking agency for oneself

A place in which allows you to act out, release internal tensions/ anxieties (whether it is done positively or negatively)

Society influenced by social media- cancel culture and cultural sensitivity of our time

The gaze in relation to cuteness. Who is looking? How does attractiveness change the intentions behind a gaze? Difference between a conventionally attractive voyeur vs a conventionally unattractive voyeur. Creepiness vs desire

Cuteness exaggerated to an extent that is no longer innocent. Cuteness as an attraction/ bait of danger and violence

Cuteness aggression

Contradictory lifestyle- critiquing consumerism but continuing to consume

Naturalistic world view- the survival of the fittest

Eternity is written into our conscience

Society built off of instant gratification, and customization. Gaming practices allow the player to customize the game, however, I will reverse this. I am the architect and the dictator of my game. ‘Dungeon Master’ (in DND). Rather than allowing the player to customize their experience, they will have no options, and are prescribed to what archetype is assigned to them. Coercion, force. Players must submit to the rules, and are forced to engage in a heavily controlled, structured game. Idea of consent, non-consensual participation- like life? Pessimistic view of the world being unfair, and exclusive.

Fighting Fantasy books- Death Trap Dungeon and The Forest of Doom- aestheticized language. Roleplay books

Emotional connection to merchandise- idol and fan relationships

The anti-hero. The villain. The ‘bad guy.’

Pans Labyrinth- child eater

Folklore monsters

Morbid- Podcast about serial killers- Thanks Alice (:

With board games, there are a lot of primary visual elements- the mat, the character pieces, tokens/ currency, paraphernalia/ props/ tools pieces, character cards, dice, the box, etc. But there are also secondary visual elements, such as the board game instructions, the bestiary (character booklets and guides)- these are important within a game and are appreciated by those who are fans of the game. This is an opportunity for further showcasing of my research, and in more detail.

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Workbook page

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Workbook page

Typology: Archetypes and Stereotypes.

I’m interested in utilizing the stereotypical roles of men and women to use in my games, emphasizing ‘stereotype’. A question that has been raised multiple times is if I would like to use my characters in a way that stereotypes certain personalities, or pushes against these stereotypes- am I critiquing or embracing this?

After some thought, I’m more interested in embracing these stereotypes and exaggerating them to a comical, almost absurd level. A stereotype on steroids, embracing the toxicity that comes with this. 

Of course, boardgames and gaming culture in general already has a history of stereotyping both genders. Women are portrayed as both the damsels in distress, as well as the femme fatales. Men are portrayed as the leaders and heroes, or the psychotic villains. These stereotypes are something that I want to use as a tool to create a tense gaming environment, rather than creating a boardgame that defies stereotypes and is inclusive, I would rather create an environment that forces the players to engage in excessively exaggerated character roles. This might be something that I end up changing later, but for now this is the path to go down.

Men:

I’m interested in exploring the stereotypical roles of men within my games. Of course, my three current characters are men. I’m interested in how men have been sexualised and objectified on the internet, specifically within our popular entertainment culture. Social media is dominated by the rise of anime and the kpop industry. Both cultures have attracted a collective obsessive mass of ‘fangirls’ (and boys). These fandoms/ communities are almost cult-like in the sense that they worship these idols and dedicate a large amount time into celebrating them, and spending their money on idol merchandise. 

Male kpop idols are glorified and objectified, and male anime characters are sexualised and idolized (entirely fictional characters). On the other end of the spectrum, male serial killers and offenders (specifically the ones that are conventionally attractive) are worshipped- why. Surprisingly, it is natural for women to be attracted to men that possess personality traits present in the Dark Triad (Machiavellianism, psychopathy, and narcissism). Relationship between seduction and danger. Relationship between idol and fan.

Stereotypes of men in media:

Violence, danger, impulsive tendencies, perversions, negative personality traits are more associated as ‘masculine’ traits

Providers and protectors- fathers

Dominance, strong, powerful, competitive- less emotional and affectionate

Toxic masculinity

Common stereotypes of men in media

Stereotypes of women in media:

Sexualised, objectified, eroticization

Associations with cuteness, in a negative way (infantilization) and; cuteness as a means of deception, manipulation, fakery, and underlying danger. Depiction of girls in anime- massive topic.

Femme fatales: seductive, deceptive, devious, conniving (negative traits)

Maternal role: mothers 

Submissive, helpless, weak, emotional

Media portrayal of Women and Girls

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Workbook page from the past week:

Thinking about my character archetypes; The Victim, The Watcher, and The Aggressor, and expanding on what these archetypes are, and what they represent.

Having the heads as visual representations for these archetypes are throwing me off a little, they are meant to only be ‘vessels’ to represent human drives and human activity. I want to make it clear that they aren’t just ‘boxed in’ character designs, they actually represent more general personality types. However, in saying that, the actual design of the characters themselves are important in relation to the archetype they represent. They have important roles within the habitat of the game, but outside of the game what they represent is more abstract than specific. 

What the character archetypes represent:

The Victim (as a vessel to discuss/ think about the following topics):

Relating to human’s primal fears of being eaten, mutilated, molested, or abused

Psychological affects of fear and pain, and the physical body- fear around inflictions of violence on the body, and how much the body can tolerate

Submission, feelings of anxiety or helplessness

Concepts of karma, revenge’

The Watcher (as a vessel to discuss/ think about the following topics):

Morbid curiosity, where curiosity can become dangerous

Momento mori: reminders of death and awareness of danger

Collective anxieties and fear

Illusion of safety and protection- finding shelter behind a screen (desensitization to violence through media depictions of violence)

Complicity in crimes- the bystander effect

The internet: accessibility to illegal content

Fetishization. Seeking entertainment and pleasure (pleasure-principle)

The Aggressor (as a vessel to discuss/ think about the following topics):

Death-drives: primal desire to commit acts of violence

Drive towards destruction

The Dark Triad- Machiavellianism, psychopathy, narcissism

Negative influence of external stimulus: drugs and alcohol

Dictatorship, dominance. Desire for control, power, authority

Toxic masculinity

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29.03.23

My artist statement for the March critique sessions

Thanks Matt for addressing those problematic statements, these will be reconsidered in my next statement

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Death-Drive and the Pleasure-Principle

Sigmund Freud coined the term ‘death drive’ in counterpart to ‘the pleasure principle’: these opposing forces that dominate our lives.

Death-Drive: The death drive is the drive toward death and destruction, often expressed through behaviours such as aggression, repetition compulsion, and self-destructiveness.

Pleasure-Principle: The pleasure principle is the driving force of the id that seeks immediate gratification of all needs, wants, and urges.

Got a book out at the library called Death Drive, it refers to Sigmund Freud’s concept but this book is focused specifically on vehicles, and how they relate to the death-drive. So not 100% what I was looking for but it still has some really interesting ideas, it talks about morbid curiosity and fear in relation to car crashes and deaths. When I read it I realized it was more useful than I expected

“Cars have a talismanic quality. No other manufactured object has the same disturbing allure. More emotions are involved in cars than in anything else we make or use: vanity, cupidity, greed, aggression, social competitiveness, cultural modelling, desire and fear. But when all this mixed bag of perverse promise and certain threat ends in the catastrophe of a fatal collision, these same talismanic qualities acquire an extra dimension and stimulate a fascinated, while appalled, voyeurism. Who can take their eyes off a traffic accident?”

“For almost everyone, the possibility of death in a car crash is a daily confrontation with both the immediate possibility and eternal enigma of sudden extinction.” I wrote about this before, this realization that death can come suddenly

“The car crash is a defining phenomenon of popular culture. Every crash is unique, but universal. Each episode has its own narrative arc, which travels from ambition- via notions of status, escape and self-destruction- to a catastrophic demise, often with a dynamic of genuine tragedy. After all, how could anything be more wilfully self-destructive than dangerously driving yourself to metal-bending, type-squealing, glass- shattering and possibly fiery oblivion?”

Confronted with choices, considered or ignored threats, made decisions and then faced with mortal consequences. Tragedy, black comedy, finger- wagging destiny. Death being inextricably connected to sex: Thanatos and Eros- erotic compulsion and sinister fascination.

Carl Jung believed that there is no thing such as an innocent occurrence; our lives are driven by meaningful coincidences- concept ‘synchronicity’. Influenced by Jung and Freud, Ballard wrote that: ‘Deep assignments run through all our lives, there are no coincidences.” Freud spoke of the complicated detours we all make. Most of us, busy detouring , avoid tragic destinations, even if we find comic ones instead.

Freud- saw in most human activity a more-or-less faithful response to sexual repression

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My board-game.

I knew that I wanted to make a board-game that was triangle-shaped. The triangle is the perfect shape to represent my three characters; it has three equal sides (equilateral triangle), which suggests that there is an equal playing field on all sides. However, obviously the triangle also represents a clear hierarchy, a food pyramid. The Aggressor archetype is destined to be at the top of this triangle, however this changes when you rotate the board or view it at another angle, the other characters center themselves at the top, its as if you’re swapping through a character menu. I want to represent these characters as if they’re involved in a symbiotic relationship, through a food pyramid. They each feed off one another in different ways, whether it be through devouring, or being devoured.

I also like the triangle because it is also cyclical in nature, especially when used as a board-game. It’s symmetrical and even, and I’d like to say that the triangle is like an aggressive, predatory ouroboros (which is a symbol that represents infinite cycles, shown through a serpent devouring it’s own tail). I’m also interested in these shapes in relation to an Xbox controller, which has a universally understood system of symbols to operate games, although there are only letters on the Xbox controller keys, we associate shapes such as the triangle, square, and ‘x’ as related to gaming controls.

How-to-play:

You will need three players. Each player will control a corresponding archetype; The Victim, The Watcher, or The Aggressor. Taking turns, each player will roll the dice, and proceed that number of blocks forward, starting the cycle. They will then follow the instruction listed on the game block they land on.

Each archetype holds its own primary goal:

The role of The Victim is to remain in game as long as possible, to stay safe as long as possible. They have a primal need for safety.

The role of The Watcher is also to avoid danger, they need to remain on The Aggressor’s heels, and to never surpass him. They are following an illusion of safety, where safety is ambiguous and often false.

The role of The Aggressor is to catch up to the character in front of him. Once he ‘catches’ that character, they will die and be removed from the game. The Aggressor wins once he kills both The Victim and The Watcher. The Aggressor operates with a primal drive towards destruction.

The only chance of The Victim or The Watcher characters winning this game is if they complete a full cycle 5 times, without being killed. When they land on their home block after the 5th cycle, they remain permanently safe.

This game follows an aleatory game paradigm, which means that each player must submit and accept that fate controls the outcome of this game. Each characters livelihood depends on the randomized roll of the dice. Each character’s goals are important to understand, yet the player has no control or way of completing this goal. Instead they can only watch over the game, and hope (or not hope) that their character’s goals are fulfilled. The player is participating in the game, but they have no impact on the result of the game.

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The Faustian Bargain

AKA The Deal of the Devil

“The Faustian bargain is a pact whereby a person trades something of supreme moral or spiritual importance, such as personal values or the soul, for some worldly or material benefit, such as knowledge, power, or riches. 

 A Faustian bargain is made with a power that the bargainer recognizes as evil or amoral. Faustian bargains are by their nature tragic or self-defeating for the person who makes them, because what is surrendered is ultimately far more valuable than what is obtained, whether or not the bargainer appreciates that fact.”

This terms origin is in German folklore and literature. It refers to the legend of Faust, whom agrees to surrender his soul to an evil spirit after a certain period of time in exchange for unattainable knowledge and magical powers.

In Greek mythology this concept is explored a lot. In The Iliad, Achilles makes a crucial decision, he is to become a hero, backed by the Gods, granted with eternal fame and glory, however he will die prematurely. 

I’m interested in this idea of being presented with choices and decisions that are seductive and enticing, yet come with fatal consequences- this is a stategy present in the creation of game practices. People who are tempted by these choices are being controlled by their sins, greed and pride. Seductive choices/ options are what surround us today, accentuated by social media, they are present in shop windows and are designed to entice and control you. Think of Eve and her giving in to the temptation of the glistening, perfect apple.