Scrape Scraperteeth: Artgames Recognised as Gameification Seizes Our Souls

Scrape Scraperteeth is a new artgame by my friend Jason Nelson, who, with it, has received some much-deserved recognition (at long last!).

In his words:

The game was commissioned by the San Francisco Gallery of Modern Art for a series on interactive works. Hopefully this is a sign that, as the recent Supreme Court ruling stated, that games (even simple/odd ones like mine) should be seen/created as artworks first and galleries are recognizing the artistic potential of the game engine and playscapes.

What I love about Jason's games is that the rules aren't obvious. You have to learn and relearn them in the landscape provided -- a landscape so loaded with cultural cues that they're an exercise in themselves. Let me know what you think. (Jeff Kwiatek has already responded to me with, "Oh my god what is this? It's overwhelming ... the stress.")

Here are other games of Jason's that I've covered, over the years. I have always found that with him I don't just play, I linger.

Rules of the Game, and Our Inconstant Frontiers

This is an article I did for a session at MIPTV this year. I've been thinking a lot about this conversation lately in the context of how data visualisation can change the way we see, and how game mechanics are (finally!) being exploited by marketers.

"Maps are very simple," began Orange labs researcher Christophe Aguiton. "They are practical things. But at the same time a map is a dream engine ... people dream on maps."

Once upon a time, ordinary maps were given depth with topographical tricks. Today you can layer maps with data - examples of which we see in plenty, like how criminal acts, bars or schools can be mapped for the BBC's The Truth About Crime project.

And as an example, Aguiton showed us a map of France, seen from above, layered with the frequency of real-time SMSes in a given area on new years. SMS concentrations were illustrated to look like flames, burning calmly over the country and culminating in a gleaming ball of fire in Paris. When midnight hit, the lights suddenly exploded upward and outward, indicating the immediate rise in text messages - a fireworks show composed by data.

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