1. If Shakespeare were alive today, he would be a video game designer
2. Video Games can be art, and Shakespeare is the key to opening this new medium
3. The Tempest is a video game, and either should be produced in the style of video games or made into a video game
4. Video games probably share more in common with theatre than any other art form, and Shakespeare is the key to bridging this gap and improving both mediums
Of the four (and there's more, possibly), the first catches attention the fastest and I probably have the most evidence for it/would do the best job arguing it. I care a lot about the other topics, though, and could potentially put them into the work, but probably couldn't give them the attention I wanted.
And there's another problem when I find stuff like this:
embedded from http://media.salon.com/2011/08/ive_gotten_to_the_secret_level_in_macbeth-460x307.jpg
What you see here is a performance of Macbeth called Sleep No More that's been running in NYC since 2011. No one speaks. The guys in masks are the audience, not the actors. Old warehouses have been turned into a fake five-story hotel and audience members are let loose to explore while the story of Macbeth plays out throughout the hotel as the night goes on--all stylized in the tradition of film noir and the early 20th century. If you want it to make sense, you have to follow a single character around the hotel all night--unless, of course, they run so fast you can't find them, or they just lock a door behind them, as they just might do.
To find the whole story, though, you have to play the game. Meaning, you have to find clues, collaborate on the internet, decode a website, and even find clues hidden in real-world NYC locations, which can lead to real-world encounters with actors outside of the hotel, but still in their roles. It's a performance. It's a game. It's mind-blowing.
You see what I mean?
Sleep No More sounds really cool. I first heard about it from Freakonomics Radio, but I didn't realize it was Macbeth. That--and point 4--really, really grabs me and makes me take your topic super seriously.
ReplyDeleteThe fourth topic sounds like the best, and most defendable, of all of them.
ReplyDeleteThe biggest thing that sets apart video games from other media is the fact that a video game is experiential medium--it is something that the viewer must experience, as opposed to passively watching.
to some degree, this is true of theater, especially productions in black box theaters (which are generally smaller and involve lots of audience interaction.
That's one possible angle you can take, and that's something I'd definitely be interested in.
Like a real, live video game! That's very intriguing. I think "If Shakespeare were alive today, he would be a video game designer" is a great title for a paper that argues the points applying to the topic "Video games probably share more in common with theatre than any other art form, and Shakespeare is the key to bridging this gap and improving both mediums".
ReplyDeleteHey, that's a great idea! Thanks, Leah.
DeleteYou will need to start distinguishing among types of video games, as their genres vary wildly. Sleep No More is more of an ARG (alternate reality game) that combines theater, gamification, and Web 2.0 interactivity. I'm not sure many would call it a video game at all.
ReplyDeleteWhile "Shakespeare would have been a video game designer" is some low-hanging fruit in terms of generating interest, I think your fourth point (which is a double thesis, and therefore a bit tricky) is your strongest.