www.cmu.edu/news: Carnegie Mellon University School of Art Professor Angela Washko's latest project puts you in a scenario familiar to many women waiting for a friend at a bar. In Washko's "The Game: The Game," a video game in the format of a dating simulator, six men approach aiming to seduce you.
3 comments:
This is so interesting. First, I think it is great that the professor who created this was a woman and not some man who thinks he can relate to our experiences. It is so important that people become aware that women put up with these horrible situations all of the time. We are scared to venture out alone in fear that someone would "cat call" at us unsolicited. This is an innate fear and anxiety that we feel all the time and there is no way a man can truly know what it feels like. I think that these situations happen so regularly that women have started to ignore it as a way to cope and move on. I am glad that this professor has decided to make a point by explicitly detailing the experience of "pick ups" in a way that can relatable to everyone. I especially like the music choice that heightens a feeling of anxiety.
Wow. This is a super cool method of showing the side of the woman in these types of situations and I’m surprised I had not heard about this project until now. I am a little nervous for when it goes free online because then there will not be an easily accessible feedback system in place, but hopefully the page will link to forums and resources for people to actually understand the intent and purpose of the game in a structured way. There is actually a counterpart to this game that gained some traction on Steam recently called Super Seducer which is run by one of these ‘pick up artists’ and has live action films of women reacting to the different lines and situations the player is walked through. Of course all the women here are scantily clad and the ads and previews for the game has the main character coach on a bed with two of them, needless to say it’s pretty cringe-y and I’m happy about this reverse project happening.
I love video games. But more than just loving all video games, I love video games that actually have a point. This game has an incredibly strong point. This art form is perfect for putting people in the shoes of another person. Whether that person is a medieval knight trying to protect his castle, or a woman trying to make it through a night at the bar, players often become extremely close with the character that they play as. One game that comes to mind is That Dragon Cancer, where you play as Ryan and Amy Green as they take care of their twelve month old child who is diagnosed with terminal cancer. I would say that out of everyone that has played that game, not many of them have been through such an event in their real life. However I think that it is safe to say that those that did play the game they learned something. I can’t wait for The Game: The Game to come out online so that I can play it and share it, because I know that there is something to learn from it.
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