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.

Evidence of Everything Exploding!

Graphic artist Jason Nelson has released a new "art game creature digital poem" called Evidence of Everything Exploding. Like his past work it takes snippets of phrases, images and sequences we recognize, then mashes it all up in a digital rabbit-hole blender.

It's simple but it will frustrate you. What I love about it is that at the start of each level you have to stop and reorient yourself, understand what's going on, then slowly venture forth into a world with no apparent order. Sometimes you have help; many times you die.

But mistakes made in the game are integral to understanding how it works: what's your friend, what isn't. Slowly, a logic -- a benign intelligence, even -- starts to manifest.

Humor me ››

'i made this. you play this. we are enemies.'

Jason Nelson makes my most favourite games in the entire world. He's like what would happen if Douglas Coupland made whoopie with Hasbro ... and then they used Google to swaddle their lovechild.