Game Culture 03: Embodied & Material Play

Todays lecture is centered on ideas of how the player relates to technologies in a physical way, by interacting with the virtual world or by manual operation. The modern player is, according to Dovey & Kennedy, Kirkpatrick and Bart, hooked up to electronic devices and technology in a way that makes them question the relation between the body and the mind in the context of interacting with the physical and the virtual world, e.g. playing video games with a controller while being present in a gameworld in the form of an avatar. This two-parted existence of the player, creates a situation of negotiation between the player and the technology.

Kirkpatrick is interested in how this adaption between the users and the technology is expressed by different kinds of technology users. We could distinguish between the two kinds of users: The technology ignorant are the users that are not interested in the physical hardware inside the machine, but needs an in-built, almost invisible system that attends to most their needs. On the other side are the technology masters, who wants to control every bit of hardware in their systems, who adapts the software meticulously to their needs and who proudly showcases their technology to the rest of the world.

Dovey relates how games provides the player with the means to enter the virtual worlds, but also forces the player to adapt himself to e.g. various physical controllers in order to play. He focuses on the player at the computer and the player in the computer. While his observations of the player at the computer are generally universal, I find the idea of the player in the computer hard to relate to all players, as the individual experiences of a player in a virtual world is subjective and much more complex.

It seems that there is indeed a constant adaption going on between user’s and technology. When we get used to a new piece of technology, our neurological connections and shortcuts are affected by this negotiation. The user's experience, perception, and reaction pattern undergoes a gradual transformation, changing aspects of the user's personality. The computer reforms so to speak man in it's image, while man concentrates on building and rebuilding the computer.
But is this transformation really something purely related to virtual worlds? I honestly do not think so. Games are only an example of how humans adapt, and are adapted by, technology in all kinds of forms. Persistent physical contact with a tool or a system will lead to a change in the user’s bodily self-image, as the user invests part of himself in the function as well as the equipment. E.g. a good driver does not drive relative to the white stripes on the road. Instead, the car is an extension of his body. Society changed when fire was “tamed”, and then changed again and again with every new technological advancement that happened.


Todays readings:

• Dovey & Kennedy (2006) "Bodies and Machines"
• Simon, Bart (2007) "Geek Chic"
• Kirkpatrick, Graeme (2008) "Controller, Hand, Screen"