Sunday, January 29, 2012

LSD - project 2

LSD is a unique game. A member of a Japanese game production company kept a dream journal and decided to use it to produce a game. Over 10 years dream fragments were recorded. These fragments gave birth to the game. The game is very open, you start a "dream" and you have an environment to explore with objects, entities, etc. The idea of algorithm of this game is very interesting because it is a direct result of someone's brain and memories of dreams.

At the end of this dream, which can vary in length, you see this map of the type of dream you had. see below:


Here are some clips of the game LSD, which was made in 1998, released on the playstation.

I am thinking of using the Wark book and the idea of algorithm, gamespace, etc to compare and dissect the ideas and driving forces behind the game. Are dreams gamespace or games? How are dreams interpreted into images while we are awake? How is making a game from memories of dreams altering that gamespace or creating space in a game. SO MANY QUESTIONS!!! Do you all think it's a good direction to go, explore the game and comparing/contrasting it to some of Wark's theories?

I would also use the actual dream journal which was released as a separate print piece, I'll put some images of it below:


other gameplay imagery:

3 comments:

  1. I love this idea. I'll elaborate when I have more time.

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  2. I personally am very intrigued by this idea, although I am not sure if Wark is the best absolute choice for this. Even though this could very easily correspond with many of the ideas he discussed, it seems more suited to an metaphysical idea of 'being' both in an out of the game, specifically in regards to ontology. Leibniz, a 17th century German philosopher, who wrote an interesting essay about the distinction between 'real' and 'imaginary' phenomena, which I could see relating both to dreams and video games, and even deeper, dreams in video games.

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  3. any other dream-like/based books you guys would recommend?

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