Galloway’s Counter Gaming talks about the lens of how we interact with gaming and the relationship fostered by it. Are we the master of a digital space to convey meaning or docile participants of a larger cultural entity. Mods are one action an individual can use to stretch those creative muscles by tampering with these entertainment products to creating more meaning through an abstract interactions. With gaming you have the ability to change a scene more than other mediums. Galloway spoke that “hollywood almost universally removes the apparatus from the image, while art or avant-garde filmmaking is often unafraid to include it in any number of visual experiments” (pg .169). This philosophy of avant-garde is something I believe has even more possibilities within the digital space.
Karo Orozco modded Soul Calibur 2’s game to show only one character in the game. Talim, a character considered to be one of the clearest depiction of a Filipino woman in gaming. Her origins allude to themes to the parallels of Spanish colonialism as he’s the last priestesses of her people. To express those themes Orzoco, removed the background until what’s left is Talim and the faint echo of a metropolitan structure in the background. She herself expresses her culture through attacks and moves, based on the teachings of her people. A perfect example of how “the gaming apparatus may be foregrounded through image or through code” (pg .169). The console itself is framed in a pseudo wooden frame, reminiscent of ethnic merchandising tourists purchase in south east Asian countries. Something that I’m all too familiar with.
Citation:
Orozco, Karl. “Talim VS — Horizontal Moves.” Vimeo, 9 Feb. 2021, vimeo.com/346922930.
Orozco, Karl. “Talim VS.” Vimeo, 9 Feb. 2021, vimeo.com/329731953.
Galloway, Alexander R. Gaming: Essays on Algorithmic Culture. University of Minnesota Press, 2010.
