Blogging Assignment 8

Kevan Mann

ISTA 301 Blog 8

Passage by Jason Rohrer - A Discussion

In the beginning, you are alone

      "Passage" is a very interesting piece of interactive digital media with a subjective and highly interpretive message hidden within it's narrow 600x96 pixel letterbox. One might be quick to call it a video game, since it does have interactive controls and a playable character like all video games do, however, it is best that we do not view this creation as such. Even Jason Rohrer, the creator himself, advocates that Passage should be viewed first as an interactive piece of art (complete with all the open-interpretation, themes, and messages as such) rather than a riveting video game. 

       This fact is made abundantly clear to us pretty much right off the bat when starting the game, because literally all you do in it is walk up, down, or to the right. That last one is key, because when (and only when) you walk to the right, your score in the top right increases. This is the only way to increase this score. Hence, it is to be believed that walking right is the means of progressing through the game. As you do, though, the scenery changes, obstacles present themselves that you must maneuver around, and, perhaps most interestingly, your characters age. 

       One of the first things you do in the game is acquire a lover. When you do this, you find that you now walk together, one in front of the other. This presents its own challenges, as you two now cannot fit into spaces that you could previously. Thus, it creates a greater challenge for the player as he has to maneuver upwards and downwards to find a space wide enough to fit two people. You continue this pattern rightward until, eventually, both of you age enough to die. The game then ends at this point and presents the title, "Passage".

      With the game now being summarized and completed, my interpretation of this creation is simple: it is a message about life and death, and the journey you take through life when you're with another person. It's quite plain, really: the obstacles you have to maneuver around in the game are representative of the same obstacles you meet in life. When you want to move forward in life (aka, to the right in the game), you first have to move around the obstacles in your path. When you do this with another person, sometimes you find that they are harder to move around, or that you simply cannot move around a certain obstacle as a pair when you easily could have if you travelled through life alone. Then, alas, as you age with this person and get further on in your life, one of you will eventually die. Once this happens in game, the remaining character immediately slows down. Perhaps representative of him/her feeling less headstrong and forward-driven now that he suddenly has to take the path of life alone after traveling with another person the whole time prior.

The world rolling out ahead of the characters in the beginning 

      My thoughts and feelings while playing the game were basically immediately what I outlined above. It didn't take me a significant amount of time and thought to realize what Rohrer was getting at here. It affects me, too, because I think this is a decision everyone will face at some point in their lives. Do they want to find a girl/guy, marry, and grow old and die together as one? Or do they want to travel the path of life alone, perhaps achieving more along the way? Most people will choose the former, as society shows, because it generally leads to a happier, more fulfilling life. It really comes down to a personal choice on a person-by-person basis, but as for me I think that the former choice is definitely the life for me. 

     On a slightly different, concluding note, I'd like to point out that Rohrer did this all in a very aesthetically pleasing way. Pixel art may not be the most detailed form of artistic expression, but Rohrer pulled off expressing his themes in an effective way to the clever use of progressive visual shifts and some unique visual effects. In the beginning of the game, the world seems to roll out ahead of you on the right, as if to say "You've got the whole world at your feet", but later on, that "unrolling" visual effect shifts from the far right side entirely over to the left. With this visual shift, one can interpret that this is expressing the idea that your path in life is ending: you can't see very far ahead anymore, your vision is narrowed, and what you've conquered already is rolling back up behind you. Your character too, for example, has hair that begins to get grayer and grayer (and bald!) as you progress rightwards. Towards the very end of the game, your view of the character will occasionally go fuzzy for a second or two, as if to further indicate that the lifespan is nearing an end. Really, in conclusion, this game can be described as a strangely beautiful and interpretively impactful look at the "passage" through life. It's brilliance, in the end, will be measured by each individual viewer's takeaway...

The two characters growing old, with the man balding on the left

  

Blogging Assignment 7

Kevan Mann

ISTA 301 Blog 7

Opto-Isolator - A Discussion

Opto-Isolator by Golan Levin

        Opto-Isolator by Golan Levin is an interactive art piece that explored the idea of reverse-spectatorship; what if the art piece observed you? The creation is a mechanized human eye replica which, using a variety of sensors and cameras, stares its viewer directly in the eye and reacts in unnervingly human ways. As you look at it, it appears to be studying the viewers face with subtle but intent eye movements. It can also react by breaking eye contact if it is stared at for too long, and perhaps most surprising, blinks precisely one second after the viewer does. Yes, it even BLINKS.

I think one style of art that describes this piece would be the concept of Cybernetics, which is an art form focused on the study of systems (both their functions and structures) from all areas, including mechanical, physical, biological, cognitive, and social. 

In a few ways, this one simple piece contains Cybernetic elements from each of these categories. First, it is exemplary of mechanical Cybernetics in the way it mimics the mechanical function of the eye with its' movements (up/down/left/right) and blinking. In addition, it contains the physical and biological aspect of the eye with the Sclera (white part), the pupil (black part) and the iris (colored part). Finally, it covers the cognitive and social aspects of Cybernetic art and theory in the way that the eye reacts realistically to the viewer. Looking away coyly when the viewer stares too long, rapidly moving eye around different parts of the face, and blinking after the viewer are all cognitive and psychosocial reactions to eye-to-eye human interaction. You probably don't realize it, but we all do this every time we make eye contact with another person.

I would even compare this art work to Avant-Garde issues in the art world, for I would definitely say this creation fits under the Avant-Garde definition umbrella of "experimental and innovative". It fulfills these requirements simply because of the fact that I don't think anyone has tackled these themes of spectatorship before from the other side. Since when has an art piece ever observed you as you observed it? 

      My personal opinion and take on the Opto-Isolator is very positive. I think this is an extremely interesting and unique take on spectating that most people don't even think about. It allows us to get a glimpse of what we're doing when we're observing. We obviously can't see what our eyes are doing when we look at people, and this piece provides a kind of window into this unseen facet of human psychosocial actions. I also find the way that it is made from a mechanical standpoint to be interesting. Standard Robot Company was responsible for the mechanics and robotics that make the eye blink and move, for example. All in all, the Opto-Isolator is an art installation that I want to experience myself, because I feel that each viewer will takeaway a different feeling from having this small mechanical eye stare directly into their own.