CyberSightings

In the Spotlight

When we think about video games, we generally think of them as computer programs designed to provide enjoyment and fun. However, the rapid evolution of gaming technologies, which includes advances in 3D graphics accelerator, stereoscopic displays, gesture recognition, wireless peripheals, and so on, is providing novel human–computer interaction opportunities that are able to engage players' mind and bodies in totally new ways. Thanks to these features, games are increasingly used for purposes other than pure entertainment, such as in medical rehabilitation, psychotherapy, education, and training. However, “serious” applications of video games do not represent the most advanced frontier of their evolution. Actually, a new trend is emerging, which consists in designing video games that are able to deliver emotionally rich, memorable, and “transformative” experiences. In this new type of game, there is no shooting, no monsters, no competition, no score accumulation: players are virtually transported into charming and evocative places, where they can make extraordinary encounters, challenge physical laws, or become another form of life. The most representative examples of this emerging trend are the games created by computer scientist Jenova Chen. Born in 1981 in Shangai, Chen holds a master's degree in the Interactive Media Program of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. Chen believes that for video games to become a mature medium like film, it is important to create games that are able to induce different emotional responses in the player than just excitement or fear (such as in conventional videogames). This design philosophy is reflected in his award-winning games Cloud, flOw, and Flower. The first game, Cloud (http://interactive.usc.edu/projects/cloud/), was developed while Chen was still in college. The game is the story of a boy who dreams of flying through the sky while asleep in a hospital bed. The player controls the sleeping boy's avatar and guides him through his dream of a small group of islands with a light gathering of clouds, which can be manipulated by the player in various ways. The second game, flOw, is about piloting a small, snake-like creature through an aquatic environment where players consume other organisms, evolve, and advance their organisms to the abyss (www.jenovachen.com/flowingames/flowing.htm/). Despite its apparent simplicity, the game was received very well by the audience, attracting 350,000 downloads within the first 2 weeks following its release. One of the most innovative feature of flOw is the implementation of the “Dynamic Difficulty Adjustment” process, which allows adapting the difficulty of the game to the player's skill level (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_game_difficulty_balancing/).

In the third game developed by Chen and his collaborators, Flower, the player controls the wind as it blows a single flower petal through the air; approaching flowers results in the player's petal being followed by other flower petals. Getting closer to flowers affects other features of the virtual world, such as colouring previously dead fields, or activating stationary windmills. The final goal is to blow the breeze that carries color into every part of the gaming world, defeating the dinginess that surrounds the flowers in the city. The game includes no text or dialogue, but is built upon a narrative structure whose basic elements are visual representations and emotional cues. Chen and his collaborators at Thatgamecompany (a software developer that he cofounded with Kellee Santiago) are now working on a new game, Journey, which is expected to be released in Spring 2012. In this new game, the player takes the role of a red-robed figure in a big desert populated by supernatural ruins. On the far horizon is a big mountain with a light beam shooting straight up into the sky, which becomes the natural destination of the adventure. While walking toward the mountain, the avatar can encounter other players, one at a time, if they are online; they cannot speak, but can help each other in their journey if they wish. Again, as in the other three games, the scope of Journey is to provoke emotions and feelings that are difficult to find words to express, and that are able to produce memorable, inspiring experiences in the player.

Chen's vision of gaming is rooted into a theory of optimal experience called “flow” developed by psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi. According to Csikszentmihalyi, flow is a complex state of consciousness characterized by high levels of concentration and involvement in the task at hand, enjoyment, a positive affective state, and intrinsic motivation. This optimal experience is usually associated with activities that involve individuals' creative abilities. During this “optimal experience,” they typically feel “strong, alert, in effortless control, unselfconscious, and at the peak of their abilities. Both the sense of time and emotional problems seem to disappear, and there is an exhilarating feeling of transcendence…With such goals, we learn to order the information that enters consciousness and thereby improve the quality of our lives” (Csikszentmihalyi M, Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. New York: Harper Perennial, 1991). The most intriguing aspect that I find in Chen's design philosophy is the fact that the video games that he is creating are informed by sound and well-accepted psychological principles, with the explicit intention of eliciting positive emotions and supporting personal development. From this perspective, Chen's video games might be considered advanced “transpersonal technologies” or personal interactive art products, which are purposefully designed to foster the development of consciousness. As suggested by Roy Ascott, a transpersonal technology is any medium that “enables us to transform our selves, transfer our thoughts and transcend the limitations of our bodies. Transpersonal experience gives us insight into the interconnectedness of all things, the permeability and instability of boundaries, the lack of distinction between part and whole, foreground and background, context and content” (Ascott R. The Architecture of Cyberception. In Toy M (Ed.) Architects in Cyberspace. London Academy Editions, 1995, pp. 38–41). More examples of transpersonal technologies will be examined in the next Cybersightings. Stay tuned!

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