Month: April 2024

Description/Pitch

“Whistle” is a mystery RPG where the player plays as a new temp worker at a corporate national bank, Dolion Bank. Working from home, uses the team collaboration application “Whistle” (very parallel with Microsoft Teams or Slack) player quickly gets onboarded to the team and starts doing their daily tasks. As they do these mundane tasks, however, they are exposed to a multitude of interesting pieces of information that suggest that Dolion Bank is not as legitimate as they make themselves seem. Through talking with clients, digging through company archives, and searching the internet, the player is presented the opportunity investigate exactly what is going on at this shady corporation. However, with a need to work enough to make a livable income and a boss constantly monitoring checking for a “Online” Whistle activity status, this will not prove to be an easy task.

** This is a large progress that is a work in progress so the game linked below is more of a rough prototype than a finished product **

Documentation

Rough Twine Prototype: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1NBDlTeWiTItazTCyZeiAQBA3abjrk9AF?usp=drive_link

Artist’s Statement

“Whistle” is an evolving project aimed at immersing players in an environment where they bear witness to the pervasive presence of corruption. As a work in progress, the prototype submitted is just a glimpse of the expansive narrative and gameplay mechanics that will be further developed in the future.

The game invites players to step into the shoes of a new temp worker at Dolion Bank, a corporate giant rife with secrecy and deception. Through dynamic storytelling and interactive gameplay, “Whistle” confronts players with ethical dilemmas and moral complexities inherent in confronting corruption within the workplace.

Through “Whistle,” I want to prompt the challenge players to question their own beliefs and perceptions surrounding labor ethics, corporate misconduct, and what it means to “speak up” about what may be going on in one’s workplace. By presenting players with difficult choices and complex scenarios, the game aims to foster a deeper understanding of the challenges faced by whistleblowers and the bravery of their actions.

My main inspiration for this game is the public reactions to various whistleblowers in recent years (ex. NYT article speaking against the Trump’s conduct while he was in office) and how some people called the authors of these information leaks “cowards” because they didn’t speak up sooner or attach their name to the article. As a previous member of PSA/HOWL (students orgs focused on labor organizing and labor justice), I felt that these attacks were gravely misplaced and that people may need to be educated more about how corrupt workplaces make it significantly difficult to do what “should be done.”

As development progresses, “Whistle” will continue to evolve, offering players a rich and immersive gaming experience that explores the intricacies of workplace corruption and the profound impact of individual actions on society as a whole. Through its exploration of timely and relevant themes, “Whistle” aims to inspire positive change and foster a greater sense of awareness and accountability among players.

Overview

The work I chose to make for my intervention piece is called “A Portrait Opportunity.” In this work, the artist goes into a already existing social gathering (the premise of the gathering does not matter), and holds their phone up with the camera app open toward the rest of the room. From there,

Setup/Rules

1. Go to a natural social gathering of some kind.
2. Hold your cell phone up with the camera app open in a random direction (ideally not facing right in front of a wall, however). Make sure to hold the phone with two hands in a pose that highly suggests you are taking a photo.
3. Observe what the people around say and do in reaction. If someone purposely goes in front of the camera, take a picture.

Documentation

Picture 1: One of my roommates as we had a movie watch party with friends at our apartment

Picture 2: One of the hosts of a dinner party I attended

Picture 3: School club member at the end of a club meeting

Artist’s Statement

My intervention piece, “A Portrait Opportunity,” is inspired by the daring performances of artists like Chris Burden, whose works such as “Doomed” often prompted audience members to observe and potentially interact with him.

With “A Portrait Opportunity,” I seek to explore the dynamics of social interaction and power within the context of a natural social gathering. By inserting myself into these settings with my phone held up as if taking a photo, I create a scenario where others must navigate around my active camera angle. This presents two possible responses: some may view the camera angle as an obstacle to be avoided, perceiving me as having dominance over the space, while others may see it as an opportunity to become the dominant focus in that moment.

Drawing parallels to Burden’s work, where audience members were invited to observe and potentially interact with him, “A Portrait Opportunity” challenges traditional notions of power and agency within social settings. Much like Burden’s performances, which prompted viewers to confront their own role in the art and the potential consequences of their actions, my intervention encourages participants to consider their response to my presence and the active camera angle.

Through this exploration, I aim to provoke thought and reflection on the ways in which we navigate social environments and negotiate power dynamics. By documenting the reactions and responses of those around me, “A Portrait Opportunity” can be seen as a study in human behavior and interaction, shedding light on the complexities of social dynamics and the performative nature of everyday life.

Though I only included three of the photos, six of the ten times I conducted this experiment resulted in people posing in some way in front of the camera. Two of the ten times people notably scurried out of the way of the photo, and the remaining two times people were already out of the camera POV and remained out of the POV until I put the phone down.

Overview

For my appropriation piece, I created a game called “スクランブル (Sukuramburu).” The name comes from the Japanese-ified version of the word “scramble.” This game is a fun word game that uses the flexible, “scrambled” grammar of the Japanese language and applies it to English in order to make for a word guessing game.

Setup/Rules

Necessary Materials: Six-sided die, writing utensils, 2x small pieces of paper (where x = amount of players), x amount of Sentence Cards (shown in the Documentation section), and a basic understanding of English grammar rules and devices.

1. Split the group of 4+ players into 2 even teams.
2. Have the two teams together decide on a theme/prompt for this round of gameplay. Make sure to pick themes that everyone is knowledgeable about and have a lot of different places, people, or things associated with it. Examples of good themes would be “Household objects,” “Boston,” and “SpongeBob SquarePants.”
3. Have each person take 2 small pieces of paper and write a person, place, or thing that fits in the chosen theme on each piece of paper. For example, if the theme is “Boston,” possible words could be “Fenway Park,” “Clam Chowder,” or “Green Line.” Do not share your words with any other players.
4. Once everyone is done writing their words, collect all of the pieces of paper and shuffle them well. Then distribute each person two cards.
5. Have each person take sentence sheet (shown in the documentation section).
6. Think of a sentence that describes a scene involving the word on the card. The sentence must have a single verb, location, and one of at least three of the following five grammatical devices/pieces of information: time/frequency, direct object (of the main verb), indirect object (of the main verb), an adverb (directed toward the main verb of the sentence), or adjective. The subject of the sentence must be the word on the card. Examples of viable sentences for “MBTA” would be “The MBTA transports people unreliably around Boston everyday,” and “The red MBTA combusted recently unexpectedly.”
   1. These grammatical devices/pieces of information are called “Sentence Components”
7. Next, write your sentences for your two cards at the top of the sentence sheet and write each grammatical devices/pieces of information in its corresponding slot below. These cannot be edited or added to later in the game.
8. Once the sentence cards are completed, choose a team to go first (if unable to decide, the team with the player who has the most proficiency in a foreign language can go first). Choose a member to go first (if unable to decide, the team member who has traveled the most can go first). The player whose turn it is called the “Scrambler” and the team member to their right is the “Interpreter.”
9. The Scrambler picks one of the two themed words on their sentence card to try to have their team guess (next time they are the Scrambler, the will choose the other Target Word from their Sentence Card).
10. The Scrambler rolls a 6-sided die in private so nobody sees, and reads aloud the Sentence Component from the Sentence Card that corresponds with that number.
11. From there, the Interpreter can either ask for another Sentence Component or guess the Target Word. If the Interpreter guesses the Target Word correctly, then their team receives points (the less Sentence Components revealed before guessing, the more points). If the Interpreter guesses incorrectly, then their team receives zero points for that round and it becomes the opposing team’s turn.
    1. One Sentence Component ⇒ 10 points
    2. Two Sentence Components ⇒ 8 points
    3. Three Sentence Components ⇒ 6 points
    4. Four Sentence Components ⇒ 5 points
    5. Five Sentence Components ⇒ 3 points
    6. Six Sentence Components ⇒ 2 points
    7. Seven Sentence Components ⇒ 1 point
12. The two teams take turns trying to score points until each player has both been the Scrambler and Interpreter twice. Whoever has more points wins!

Documentation

Sentence Card:

Example Sentence Card:

Artist Statement

My artistic creation, “スクランブル (Sukuramburu),” is not just a game but a reflection of my personal journey grappling with the intricacies of language and culture. Inspired by my own struggles as a native English speaker navigating the scramble-able grammar of the Japanese language, this game embodies the fusion of linguistic exploration, cultural exchange, and playful interaction.

Drawing from the avant-garde spirit of the Dada movement, particularly its subverting of conventions and embracing absurdity, “Sukuramburu” challenges traditional notions of English communication by infusing them with the dynamic structure of Japanese grammar. Just as the Dadaists sought to disrupt established norms, I aimed to disrupt the conventions of language by blending elements of Japanese and English in a playful and innovative manner.

In addition to its artistic influences, “Sukuramburu” is deeply rooted in my personal experiences with language learning. As a native English speaker grappling with the fluidity of Japanese grammar, I often found myself struggling to piece together the complete idea conveyed by a speaker. Unlike English, where the structure of a sentence provides clarity, Japanese offers a more flexible approach, allowing for different pieces of the idea to be grasped at various points in the sentence. This aspect of the language posed a unique challenge for me, inspiring me to create a game that embraces and celebrates the complexities of language.

Like the Dadaists who sought to disrupt societal conventions, I sought to disrupt linguistic conventions through the creation of this game, inviting players to explore the boundaries of language and culture in a playful and interactive way.

Overview

This work is called “Biography.” This work is a commentary on the representation of people on social media.

Rules/Setup

Necessary Materials: Two pieces of lines paper, a writing utensil, and a 6-sided die.

1. Number the first three lines of a lined paper as “1,” “2,” and “3.” Repeat this process five more times down the paper.
2. Beside each group of three lines, write the number of the year it was 7 years ago. In the first sentence, express your feelings from that year. In the second, write about a regrettable action from that time. In the third, share a strong opinion you held then. Avoid specific dates.
3. Repeat step 2 for each preceding year up to 2 years ago.
4. On a new piece of paper, craft a 5-sentence paragraph about the most recent past year of your life. Separate each sentence on different lines, leaving a blank line after each.
5. Roll a 6-sided die twice to randomly select a sentence from the first paper. The first roll determines the trio of lines, and the second roll selects the specific line (1-2 for the first line, 3-4 for the second, and 5-6 for the third).
6. Place the chosen sentence into the first blank row of your 5-sentence paragraph about the most recent past year.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 until all blank rows are filled in the paragraph.
8. Share the completed paragraph as a caption accompanying a self-portrait on social media.

Artist Statement

“Biography” stands as a poignant reflection on the intricacies of self-representation in an era dominated by social media. It is heavily influenced by the in-class activities we did where the whole class wrote various statements on a piece of paper to create one single ridiculous series of statements.

In today’s digital landscape, social media affords instantaneous glimpses into various facets of individuals’ lives, often presented in a non-chronological and fragmented manner. This phenomenon shapes perceptions and constructs perceptions of people that can be heavily influenced by past events, chaining individuals to outdated versions of themselves. “Biography” seeks to confront and unravel this phenomenon by challenging participants to reflect on their past experiences and beliefs and consider how it relates to their current self.

Specifically, the rules and setup of “Biography” are designed to disrupt the linear progression of traditional autobiographical narratives, mirroring the disjointed nature of social media timelines. By anchoring each section of the narrative to a specific period in the past, the work compels participants to confront the disjunctions between past and present. Through the random selection and integration of sentences into a cohesive narrative, this works aims to blur temporal boundaries, inviting viewers to reassess the fluidity of personal identity and the way they view other people.