Comments on: Poesysteme - critical reception http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/poesysteme-critical-reception/ Work on Play, Play at Work Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:00:36 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Blain Newport http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-112 Blain Newport Thu, 27 Mar 2008 09:55:32 +0000 http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/08/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-112 Whoops. Looks like I should Google myself more often. Anyway, I think what Pippa's saying is essentially fair. I have specific tastes in games. The old "Game of Life" was never my cup of tea, either, and that's a classic to many, so you're in good company there. As for graphics, I do care about them, but I've played plenty of text based games from the Apple II onward. Poesysteme ran very slowly on my PC at the time (AMD 1.8GHz, IIRC) so it wasn't so much about the graphics as that very little was going on. I tested Bender's catch phrase. The words jerked around for a bit. A couple of them combined. It didn't really seem like I was being involved / engaged. If it's supposed to be a performance piece, than I agree that it probably needs a different label, like art game. Anyway, I didn't mean to discourage. I try to save my vitriol for the professionals. :P Whoops. Looks like I should Google myself more often. Anyway, I think what Pippa’s saying is essentially fair. I have specific tastes in games. The old “Game of Life” was never my cup of tea, either, and that’s a classic to many, so you’re in good company there.

As for graphics, I do care about them, but I’ve played plenty of text based games from the Apple II onward. Poesysteme ran very slowly on my PC at the time (AMD 1.8GHz, IIRC) so it wasn’t so much about the graphics as that very little was going on. I tested Bender’s catch phrase. The words jerked around for a bit. A couple of them combined. It didn’t really seem like I was being involved / engaged. If it’s supposed to be a performance piece, than I agree that it probably needs a different label, like art game.

Anyway, I didn’t mean to discourage. I try to save my vitriol for the professionals. :P

]]> By: @joburg | Art & Technology, johannesburg » Blog Archive » Academia in game development - Rare’s Academic Expansion http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-59 @joburg | Art & Technology, johannesburg » Blog Archive » Academia in game development - Rare’s Academic Expansion Sun, 10 Feb 2008 18:02:29 +0000 http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/08/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-59 [...] recently reviewed on AtJoburg as part of an Upgrade! event that was hosted at Wits University. Poesysteme has won one competition and has been selected as a student finalist for the Independent Gamed [...] [...] recently reviewed on AtJoburg as part of an Upgrade! event that was hosted at Wits University. Poesysteme has won one competition and has been selected as a student finalist for the Independent Gamed [...]

]]> By: Matt Peckham http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-56 Matt Peckham Sat, 09 Feb 2008 19:46:16 +0000 http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/08/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-56 Hi Balthazar, Couldn't find your email through the game site or here (if I missed it in my haste, my apologies). Would be able to drop me a quick email at the addy in the comments field? I'm trying to get in touch with you about hosting Poesysteme in an imminently running "top online downloads" feature for PC World! :) Kind regards, -- Matt Peckham Editor, Game On PCWorld.com 953 Scott Park Drive Iowa City, IA 52245 e-mail: matt_peckham@pcworld.com skype: 715.203.0025 Hi Balthazar,

Couldn’t find your email through the game site or here (if I missed it in my haste, my apologies).

Would be able to drop me a quick email at the addy in the comments field? I’m trying to get in touch with you about hosting Poesysteme in an imminently running “top online downloads” feature for PC World! :)

Kind regards,

–
Matt Peckham
Editor, Game On
PCWorld.com
953 Scott Park Drive
Iowa City, IA 52245
e-mail: matt_peckham@pcworld.com
skype: 715.203.0025

]]> By: Pippa http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-54 Pippa Fri, 08 Feb 2008 20:00:30 +0000 http://www.bauger.net/2008/02/08/poesysteme-critical-reception/#comment-54 This is just the comment I left with Matthew Williamson, maybe I'll get a reply, maybe not - Just because it irritates me at the simplistic and narrow-minded view that so many game developers and reviewers have about things that are out of the ordinary and try to engage the player in a slightly more intellectual manner.... sorry, irritation abounds.... Pippa says: Just a comment about Poesysteme. Whilst to some people it might appear to be a boring, interactive ’screensaver’ I think the real premise that many people miss is that this game is designed to be performative. Whilst many art games, for this is indeed what I think this game should be classified as (see www.selectparks.net if more explanation is required along these lines), are not designed to stand up to hours of gameplay, this is no way negates the fact that they explore issues other than quest based missions. This game is about the exploration of language and the way we attach meaning to words, even when they logically mean nothing. The poetry that is generated from the interaction between words should be read aloud to an audience, performed in a public space, where people place emphasis on certain syllables and the performer moderates their rhythm etc. This is not to say that I think this game is without fault. Granted, the interface is reasonably simplistic and there are some other problems that could indeed be ironed out to make the game seem slicker, but as an artwork, the designer’s exploration of language and interaction is reasonably sophisticated, drawing inspiration from OuLiPo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo loosely translated into English as Workshop of Potential Literature. Do not be too quick to dismiss this game based on it’s appearance - engaging for long periods of time? Perhaps not… Intellectual and well thought out? Definitely…. This is just the comment I left with Matthew Williamson, maybe I’ll get a reply, maybe not - Just because it irritates me at the simplistic and narrow-minded view that so many game developers and reviewers have about things that are out of the ordinary and try to engage the player in a slightly more intellectual manner…. sorry, irritation abounds….

Pippa says:

Just a comment about Poesysteme.

Whilst to some people it might appear to be a boring, interactive ’screensaver’ I think the real premise that many people miss is that this game is designed to be performative. Whilst many art games, for this is indeed what I think this game should be classified as (see http://www.selectparks.net if more explanation is required along these lines), are not designed to stand up to hours of gameplay, this is no way negates the fact that they explore issues other than quest based missions.

This game is about the exploration of language and the way we attach meaning to words, even when they logically mean nothing. The poetry that is generated from the interaction between words should be read aloud to an audience, performed in a public space, where people place emphasis on certain syllables and the performer moderates their rhythm etc.

This is not to say that I think this game is without fault. Granted, the interface is reasonably simplistic and there are some other problems that could indeed be ironed out to make the game seem slicker, but as an artwork, the designer’s exploration of language and interaction is reasonably sophisticated, drawing inspiration from OuLiPo http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oulipo loosely translated into English as Workshop of Potential Literature.

Do not be too quick to dismiss this game based on it’s appearance - engaging for long periods of time? Perhaps not… Intellectual and well thought out? Definitely….

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