I have it on solid authority that the Jedi crave not these things. But boy hardy, I shore do.
Thus: I have been invited to present at a conference on horror video games.
It's organized by Ludicine, a research group with the University of Montreal. They are hoopy froods, who really know where their towels (collectively) are. The conference has its own theme song, so you know it's legitski.
Because do you know who else had a theme song? That's right: Batman.
I'll be blogging on my general topic in the weeks to come, in order to scare up some ideas, and to get me in the spirit of things, and also to Frankenstein's Monster.
Hmm. Looks like I plumb ran out of puns, there. Quick! To the Puncave, to recharge!
- Rook
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Congrats Brendan!! This is really exciting! Your series on mediation and signification in games has been great, are you going to give your paper on that? Or not sure yet? Or is it that when you get invited to give a talk, they tell you what they want you to talk about? Invited talks are so mysterious!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Suzanne!
ReplyDeleteI'm super stoked too. I've chatted with some folks about what I want to do, and I think ultimately It'll be some areas that my mediation/signification stuff will dovetail into: control forms and avatar studies in games, in relating to theme and mood. Specifically, the mood of SCARY and the theme of BOOOO! (as said by ghosts)
Remember the first Halloween Two, when all festivities had been over with and I was like "As long as I have ten people trapped in a room, I am going to talk about SHADDER OF THE COLOSSUS!" - a bit of what I was going on about then will come up. That is, the degree to which the bounds of a character (both external stuff like controls, and internal stuff like game dynamics) are relatable to and directly affect play experience.
While in passivity the medium may be the message, when any degree of control into the mix, mediation becomes the message. THIS I BELEEB.
I will be looking at Silent Hill 1 through 3, and Ico, partly as an excuse to play through these games like twenty more times each. Also, I guess I have to man up and play Dead Space and Left 4 Dead, such that I know what all the cool kids are talking about.
Wow man, that's bloody amassing. Congrats!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Romeo!
ReplyDeleteI have devised a title for my talk, working under the basis that all you need is a brilliant title that will spin people's bow ties such to the extent that you can pretty much just say a bunch of lies afterward.
I think I'm going to rock "I Scream the Body Electric". It's sure to be a hit with the transcendental American poetry reader / Horror buff / pun lover crowd.
That is to say, me.
Close rivals included "The Uncanny Valley of the Dolls", "You Pesky Kids: Things I would have gotten away with it too, if it weren't for" and "BOOOOOO!: A study."
Going to be honest... I kind of like BOOOOO!: A Study myself. lulz
ReplyDeleteWell, that's something to be considered. Let it be said that, while Fred Durst did it all for the nookie, and ambitious-rock-project Phenomena did it all for love, and Rod Blagojevich did it for the children, and Tracy Chapman just plain "did it all", none of those things hold a candle to MY motives.
ReplyDeleteBecause I did it for the lulz.
I would also like to add my congratulations, and offer up any of my services (video, etc.) that might assist you in your presentation, should you wish.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Bryan!
ReplyDeleteI will gladly take you up on your talents as a Level 7 Videomancer, once I find out what technology will be present at the conference.
I had this idea where we could put together a video comprised of all sorts of horrifying images - images man was not meant to see. At the end we could have this effect where, seven days later, I would crawl out of the screen and kill them.