dinosaurparty:

I won’t post any of Lea Schönfelder’s video clips, because they’re not particularly SFW, but I always get excited when I hear about new female artists working in the videogame realm. However, the issue with Schönfelder’s work is that (at least what I’ve seen) is too heavy handed (featuring themes like sexuality and homelessness) to facilitate any kind of meaningful immersion, exploration, or contemplative space. Games don’t have to be didactic to be meaningful. They don’t have to be fun, either, but it sure helps to engage audiences. 

The problem of heavy-handedness is certainly an epidemic within the art/game sphere, and I really look forward to a more advanced stage of development wherein artists’ games can become multidimensional realms for the contemplation and exploration of multiple themes, not just cursory demonstrations of melancholy. Want an example of what not to do? Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

my reply: Perhaps, as we explore what is possible, we find ourselves in the realm of the maudlin, the melodramatic. It’s not easy to modulate and moderate expression in this form yet. Fraina is sincere. Sincerity can be mocked by the cynical.