What stories can games tell about the player? The games people play, the actions they take in those games, and even the space they play those games in can tell a lot about a person. This is a multimedia piece that explores this question in both physical and digital space.
The physical aspect involves a desk and a gaming setup. It will be set in a retro environment with a CRT TV and a console set up to make it seem like you are playing on that console. Around the desk will be props like other games, personal trinkets, paperwork, books, evidence of other hobbies, snacks, etc. I also plan to decorate using stickers. This space will be interactable by picking up and observing the items and descriptions of game boxes, books, films, etc (I could design fake games that purposefully reflect this person).
The digital aspect will be the player’s in-game home. The space will be telling its own story of a fantasy MMO RPG world, but also the story of the player’s existence in that world as their chosen place of escape. That could be seen through decorations, equipment, clothes/armour, maps showing where they’ve been and how they’ve explored, evidence of quests they’ve taken part in and interactions with other players and NPCs. This space will be interactable by moving around this limited space and picking up or observing items (either through text pop ups, or having the object displayed on the screen and be rotatable).
The user is simply an observer into a small window of this person’s life.
The user will slowly build up the persona and story of a person. This will be something up to interpretation and imagination. They may imagine this person’s livelihood, job, and lifestyle. They may imagine this person’s personality, mindset, mental health, and personal morality. They may imagine what challenges and fortune this person has or is experiencing in their life. They may imagine a past, family, and friends that have made them the way they are. They may imagine their current social life and daily activities. They may imagine their political and social beliefs.
1 – A story told through small clues in the form of physical and digital evidence.
2 – The physical space must feel like somewhere someone would choose to spend their time of relaxation in the early 2000s.
3 – The digital space must feel like a small part of a wider high fantasy MMO world where this player is able to enjoy and express themselves.
4 – An open but limited experience that gives the user the freedom to examine the space in whatever they desire but limited to a very deliberate window.
5 – The experience must have a layer of interactivity with both the physical and digital space.
The target audience could be at either end of people who engage with video games. On one hand it could be for people who are highly engaged in games and could relate to this experience. On the other, it could be someone who has a loose connection to gaming (such as a parent to someone who games) to better understand the world of gaming and the person they share that connection with.