Play
March 28, 2010 7:58 AM Subscribe
This is a 20 minute video. Context?
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:07 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints at 8:07 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Play
by David Kaplan and Eric Zimmerman
Society's obsession with video and online gaming has advanced to the point that virtual environments are indistinguishable from physical ones.
Think Existenz.
posted by litleozy at 8:11 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
by David Kaplan and Eric Zimmerman
Society's obsession with video and online gaming has advanced to the point that virtual environments are indistinguishable from physical ones.
Think Existenz.
posted by litleozy at 8:11 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
It's a good, but easily spoiled 20 minute video; too much context would ruin it.
I know a whole third of an hour fer chrissakes it's like don't these people know how terribly busy we are
posted by ook at 8:13 AM on March 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
I know a whole third of an hour fer chrissakes it's like don't these people know how terribly busy we are
posted by ook at 8:13 AM on March 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
I made my own synopsis based on the 15 seconds that I saw: People do things, shot in color with sound, and nobody understands why...because they stopped caring. Spoiler: No one gets out of Tunetown alive.
posted by zerobyproxy at 8:14 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by zerobyproxy at 8:14 AM on March 28, 2010
Too Moby; didn't click.
posted by Beardman at 8:15 AM on March 28, 2010 [5 favorites]
posted by Beardman at 8:15 AM on March 28, 2010 [5 favorites]
"Play imagines a not-too-distant future where video games have become indistinguishable from reality. These fully immersive games are nested inside each other like Russian dolls — each new game emerging from another and connecting backwards with increasing complexity.
...
Play has the structure of a puzzle, and is not meant to resolve into a single explanation or interpretation. Rather, the film is a meditation on our present day of hyperconnectivity and information overload, using videogames as the metaphor for the very human search for meaning and identity."
I'll admit, without context or a plot, I got bored and wandered away. Games are packaged with some notion of what's to come, or what you the player can expect, so a video link without context, leading to a 20 minute video, leads me elsewhere.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:20 AM on March 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
...
Play has the structure of a puzzle, and is not meant to resolve into a single explanation or interpretation. Rather, the film is a meditation on our present day of hyperconnectivity and information overload, using videogames as the metaphor for the very human search for meaning and identity."
I'll admit, without context or a plot, I got bored and wandered away. Games are packaged with some notion of what's to come, or what you the player can expect, so a video link without context, leading to a 20 minute video, leads me elsewhere.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:20 AM on March 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
In other words, I am one of those bastards who looks for the walkthrough when faced with a seemingly pointlessly complex puzzle in an otherwise quick game.
posted by filthy light thief at 8:22 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 8:22 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
the film is a meditation on our present day of hyperconnectivity and information overload, using videogames as the metaphor for the very human search for meaning and identity.
I bailed at four girls having a pillow fight. I think I've learned a valuable lesson.
posted by hal9k at 8:24 AM on March 28, 2010
I bailed at four girls having a pillow fight. I think I've learned a valuable lesson.
posted by hal9k at 8:24 AM on March 28, 2010
Context is God. Context is Dead. Long Live Context.
posted by Aquaman at 8:26 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by Aquaman at 8:26 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
This thread is more surreal than the video. I clicked the link, even without context, and watched the whole thing before clicking through to the comments. What an awesome video. I loved it.
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 8:28 AM on March 28, 2010 [8 favorites]
posted by The Winsome Parker Lewis at 8:28 AM on March 28, 2010 [8 favorites]
Had I known anything about the content of the video, I wouldn't have watched it. If had watched it while knowing the content of the video prior to watching it, I would have dismissed it and gotten all haughty. Going into it blind, I really enjoyed. Hence, I chose to provide no context.
posted by seliopou at 8:34 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by seliopou at 8:34 AM on March 28, 2010
Long Live Context.
And the wonderful thing with YouTube links is that, if you really do NEED that context, you can click on the text part of the link (as opposed to the arrow) which will skip the embed and take you directly to the site itself where you can enjoy untold minutes reading the (more info) bit and, of course, the always illuminating user comments such as this gem from LoginAnders:
naming the ost is not hard when your realize yourself. find your name in this flux and then the rest will come to you. you're welcome.
or this one from xRawlins:
I swear to god If I woke up with a vagina I would get the first guy I saw to fuck me.
posted by philip-random at 8:43 AM on March 28, 2010 [5 favorites]
And the wonderful thing with YouTube links is that, if you really do NEED that context, you can click on the text part of the link (as opposed to the arrow) which will skip the embed and take you directly to the site itself where you can enjoy untold minutes reading the (more info) bit and, of course, the always illuminating user comments such as this gem from LoginAnders:
naming the ost is not hard when your realize yourself. find your name in this flux and then the rest will come to you. you're welcome.
or this one from xRawlins:
I swear to god If I woke up with a vagina I would get the first guy I saw to fuck me.
posted by philip-random at 8:43 AM on March 28, 2010 [5 favorites]
I liked it.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 8:50 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by Benny Andajetz at 8:50 AM on March 28, 2010
Very eXistenZ, as others have said, and it also strongly reminded me of the movie Avalon. Right after the dude picked up the bat, I was totally thinking, "take on the smoking tough who's leaning against the lamppost! Skip the old people, they'll be easy and so won't drop any items worth having!" And then bam! He goes and totally gets his ass kicked by the old lady.
posted by nathanlindstrom at 8:57 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by nathanlindstrom at 8:57 AM on March 28, 2010
Too bad for you folks who didn't watch it. It was cool.
posted by scrowdid at 8:59 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by scrowdid at 8:59 AM on March 28, 2010
WOW!
Very excellent!
More Meta than Meta...
posted by Drasher at 9:01 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Very excellent!
More Meta than Meta...
posted by Drasher at 9:01 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Yeah that was great. Thanks for the post.
posted by ropeladder at 9:02 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by ropeladder at 9:02 AM on March 28, 2010
Youtube has this feature called "insight" where you can see on your own videos a little line graph of viewer attention vs. time -- so you can see exactly how many people watched exactly which parts of your videos. The graph shows you exactly where people lose interest and stop watching, or where they rewound and watched sections over again.
I bet I know exactly what the insight graph for this video looks like: huge dropoff in the first minute, then a slight bump for rewinds during the pillowfight, then a flat line for the rest of the video ending with a bump for people who skipped ahead to see if there's a twist ending.
And I wonder what lessons the filmmaker will draw from that.
If something doesn't explain to you in the first ten seconds exactly what it's going to be about -- which by its nature this particular video can't do -- viewers start dropping like flies. I mean, I get why this is; most stuff online is crap, so we're much more vigilant about filtering out things that don't grab us immediately so we don't waste our time or bandwidth or attention.
And I wonder what that's going to do to filmmaking. I suspect we're going to see fewer and fewer films like this one that need a slow buildup, or that are most rewarding to people willing to risk a whole 20 minutes of their lives without knowing ahead of time exactly what they're getting into.
posted by ook at 9:04 AM on March 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
I bet I know exactly what the insight graph for this video looks like: huge dropoff in the first minute, then a slight bump for rewinds during the pillowfight, then a flat line for the rest of the video ending with a bump for people who skipped ahead to see if there's a twist ending.
And I wonder what lessons the filmmaker will draw from that.
If something doesn't explain to you in the first ten seconds exactly what it's going to be about -- which by its nature this particular video can't do -- viewers start dropping like flies. I mean, I get why this is; most stuff online is crap, so we're much more vigilant about filtering out things that don't grab us immediately so we don't waste our time or bandwidth or attention.
And I wonder what that's going to do to filmmaking. I suspect we're going to see fewer and fewer films like this one that need a slow buildup, or that are most rewarding to people willing to risk a whole 20 minutes of their lives without knowing ahead of time exactly what they're getting into.
posted by ook at 9:04 AM on March 28, 2010 [4 favorites]
EXCHANGE MECHANISMS.
Just remember Hobart's rule; R = V ± H, where H is Hobart's constant. In the common tongue; any given worth of reality can only be swapped for the equivalent worth of Vurtuality, plus or minus 0.267125 of the original worth.
posted by the painkiller at 9:04 AM on March 28, 2010
Just remember Hobart's rule; R = V ± H, where H is Hobart's constant. In the common tongue; any given worth of reality can only be swapped for the equivalent worth of Vurtuality, plus or minus 0.267125 of the original worth.
posted by the painkiller at 9:04 AM on March 28, 2010
There are some more videos at the IndiesLab YouTube channel. There's some pretty cool experiments there!
posted by Drexen at 9:06 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by Drexen at 9:06 AM on March 28, 2010
I liked eXistenZ, but I feel the uneasy suspicion that this is just abstruse in order to ape depth beyond the nesting idea.
That said, I enjoyed the production and some of the visuals, like the spotlight on the bat near the start, which was viscerally game like.
posted by lucidium at 9:07 AM on March 28, 2010
That said, I enjoyed the production and some of the visuals, like the spotlight on the bat near the start, which was viscerally game like.
posted by lucidium at 9:07 AM on March 28, 2010
and it also strongly reminded me of the movie Avalon.
I am enormously disappointed that you were not linking to this AVALON which is the first thing that came to mind for me when I saw PLAY.
posted by philip-random at 9:07 AM on March 28, 2010
I am enormously disappointed that you were not linking to this AVALON which is the first thing that came to mind for me when I saw PLAY.
posted by philip-random at 9:07 AM on March 28, 2010
The Senator segment is pretty much how I imagined politicians think.
posted by The Whelk at 9:10 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by The Whelk at 9:10 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Whenever I see stuff like this I'm reminded of Brainstorm.
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:23 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
posted by WolfDaddy at 9:23 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
Do you people have any idea how difficult you're making it for us folks who are just looking for a spoiler to understand just what in the hell is in that link?
I mean, seriously, this is ludicrously unhelpful. Senators? Avalon? Stereotypes? People doing things? Just what in the fuck am I supposed to make of that without clicking the link?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:30 AM on March 28, 2010
I mean, seriously, this is ludicrously unhelpful. Senators? Avalon? Stereotypes? People doing things? Just what in the fuck am I supposed to make of that without clicking the link?
posted by Civil_Disobedient at 9:30 AM on March 28, 2010
Is this a post I would need an Aleph hard drive and a simstim deck to understand?
posted by KokuRyu at 9:33 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by KokuRyu at 9:33 AM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Terrific! I won't even harsh on you for the SLYT.
In some ways, things like this (virtual alter-egos having virtual lives of their own) have even already happened. I remember playing Shenmue for the Dreamcast, and spending entire days throwing my daily allowance into Space Harrier at the neighborhood arcade, when I was actually supposed to be tracking down the man who killed m—I mean, working for real money at my real job.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:34 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
In some ways, things like this (virtual alter-egos having virtual lives of their own) have even already happened. I remember playing Shenmue for the Dreamcast, and spending entire days throwing my daily allowance into Space Harrier at the neighborhood arcade, when I was actually supposed to be tracking down the man who killed m—I mean, working for real money at my real job.
posted by Strange Interlude at 9:34 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
I was slightly put off by the minimalist presentation and didn't think I had twenty minutes to spend on it, but I wound up watching and enjoying the whole thing. Thanks for the post.
posted by languagehat at 9:38 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by languagehat at 9:38 AM on March 28, 2010
It didn't help that it was spoiled in the first comment on youtube "ExistenZ 2" it said. And that was it. So I knew what I was getting.
But this was a little less dark, but could be a little more eerie, I guess.
Overall, it was worth 20 minutes. In fact, it seemed to go by really quickly.
posted by delmoi at 9:50 AM on March 28, 2010
But this was a little less dark, but could be a little more eerie, I guess.
Overall, it was worth 20 minutes. In fact, it seemed to go by really quickly.
posted by delmoi at 9:50 AM on March 28, 2010
If had watched it while knowing the content of the video prior to watching it, I would have dismissed it and gotten all haughty.
Yeah, that's sort of what happened to me.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:12 AM on March 28, 2010
Yeah, that's sort of what happened to me.
posted by Alvy Ampersand at 10:12 AM on March 28, 2010
Fun and well made, though didn't think it was saying very much. The 'spoilers' didn't really affect my enjoyment as the structure became clear pretty quickly.
posted by MetaMonkey at 10:17 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by MetaMonkey at 10:17 AM on March 28, 2010
[A] Snark at post
[B] Snark at other comments
[C] Rail against objectifying women every 7 min
[D] Admit to objectifying women every 7 min
[E] Favorite yourself
[F] Check favorite stats
posted by victors at 10:29 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
[B] Snark at other comments
[C] Rail against objectifying women every 7 min
[D] Admit to objectifying women every 7 min
[E] Favorite yourself
[F] Check favorite stats
posted by victors at 10:29 AM on March 28, 2010 [2 favorites]
I feel like this video was made by someone who has not actually played a videogame in 20 years. Level? Seriously? Next level? Points? give me a break. Come to think of it, it seems like all these games are more similar to online flash games than actual videogames.
posted by rebent at 10:32 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by rebent at 10:32 AM on March 28, 2010
Looks to me like philip-random found the real treat. Wish I'd had his insight twenty minutes ago.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 11:01 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by Jimmy Havok at 11:01 AM on March 28, 2010
So it seems that when The Singularity comes, we will still have cliches like the creepy. quiet kid who's a harbinger of things.
posted by mreleganza at 11:27 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by mreleganza at 11:27 AM on March 28, 2010
Along with Avalon, also reminded me of the very cool Nirvana, an Italian late 90's sci-fi about VR and games and craziness.
posted by MetaMonkey at 11:29 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by MetaMonkey at 11:29 AM on March 28, 2010
Wow, delmoi is definitely right about the 20 minutes going by very quickly. I can't believe I was captivated that long. Very good stuff.
posted by andeles at 11:45 AM on March 28, 2010
posted by andeles at 11:45 AM on March 28, 2010
Nice; well-made; was surprised by the size and quality of the cast.
But thematically very dull, and instantly (consciously?) dated (Chicago? really??).
The disconnect between the real and the virtual is a dilettante interest.
The virtual has been part of the real since the first pen was ever put to paper.
posted by eeeeeez at 12:06 PM on March 28, 2010
But thematically very dull, and instantly (consciously?) dated (Chicago? really??).
The disconnect between the real and the virtual is a dilettante interest.
The virtual has been part of the real since the first pen was ever put to paper.
posted by eeeeeez at 12:06 PM on March 28, 2010
... or more to the point, since the first celebrity voice actor was used to voice a 3D character.
posted by eeeeeez at 12:07 PM on March 28, 2010
posted by eeeeeez at 12:07 PM on March 28, 2010
Hopefully its been long enough to where this is no longer a spoiler, reminded me a bit of Vanilla Sky...especially the element of not knowing what is real or computer generated. I guess Total Recall, Matrix and Eternal Sunshine on a Spotless Mind could be a few others that share a common theme..where the one in the simulation is not initially aware of the true reality outside of it (although in the case of Play, the true reality isn't revealed...a nice twist leaving that part up to the viewer to interpret)
posted by samsara at 12:16 PM on March 28, 2010
posted by samsara at 12:16 PM on March 28, 2010
Yeah, when do we get to the hooker with three boobs?
posted by XMLicious at 12:48 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by XMLicious at 12:48 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Having read the comments before watching the video, I have resolved to watch it at a later date - if I remember to do so.
posted by Xoebe at 1:37 PM on March 28, 2010
posted by Xoebe at 1:37 PM on March 28, 2010
> Chicago? really??
What does this mean? Has Chicago been vaporized while I wasn't looking?
posted by languagehat at 1:43 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
What does this mean? Has Chicago been vaporized while I wasn't looking?
posted by languagehat at 1:43 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
So it seems that when The Singularity comes, we will still have cliches like the creepy. quiet kid who's a harbinger of things..
Oh my god, it's all so clear now. He is the Singularity.
posted by philip-random at 2:39 PM on March 28, 2010
Oh my god, it's all so clear now. He is the Singularity.
posted by philip-random at 2:39 PM on March 28, 2010
If on a winter's night a traveler...
posted by zardoz at 2:44 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
posted by zardoz at 2:44 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
The virtual has been part of the real since the first pen was ever put to paper.
Long before that. Virtuality dates back to animal warning cries.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 2:50 PM on March 28, 2010
Long before that. Virtuality dates back to animal warning cries.
posted by Jimmy Havok at 2:50 PM on March 28, 2010
languagehat - Didn't you get the expansion? The maps have totally changed since Wrath of the Frat Boy.
posted by bashos_frog at 3:09 PM on March 28, 2010
posted by bashos_frog at 3:09 PM on March 28, 2010
The disconnect between the real and the virtual is a dilettante interest.
Something about this statement seems dilettantesque itself. Some noteworthy philosophers (Kant, Descartes, etc) have spent a lot of time ruminating on the difference between the real and virtual, and the human compulsion to try to distinguish between the two (if in fact it is a dichotomy - oh lord all this can get so thick).
Could the video be interpreted to suggest that increasingly immersive video games can rid us of this question? Could games and gaming take us back to that more free, animal-like state (sorry Reo (my cat) I mean no disrespect) in which I don't realize that I'm scratching because I have an itch - I just scratch. Wouldn't that be great! No big question. No enigma. No Metafilter. ... Hold on a sec ... I'll be right back. Reo's at the door. She needs to level up.
posted by kneecapped at 4:14 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Something about this statement seems dilettantesque itself. Some noteworthy philosophers (Kant, Descartes, etc) have spent a lot of time ruminating on the difference between the real and virtual, and the human compulsion to try to distinguish between the two (if in fact it is a dichotomy - oh lord all this can get so thick).
Could the video be interpreted to suggest that increasingly immersive video games can rid us of this question? Could games and gaming take us back to that more free, animal-like state (sorry Reo (my cat) I mean no disrespect) in which I don't realize that I'm scratching because I have an itch - I just scratch. Wouldn't that be great! No big question. No enigma. No Metafilter. ... Hold on a sec ... I'll be right back. Reo's at the door. She needs to level up.
posted by kneecapped at 4:14 PM on March 28, 2010 [1 favorite]
Too much nitty, not enough gritty.
posted by storybored at 5:04 PM on March 28, 2010
posted by storybored at 5:04 PM on March 28, 2010
It looked cool for a few minutes, then I lost interest. Which is the same thing that happens when I play video games.
posted by thylacine at 5:08 PM on March 28, 2010
posted by thylacine at 5:08 PM on March 28, 2010
Chicago? really??
If there is a perfect match of non sequitur and a criticism, that one's it.
Yeah, what's wrong with Chicago? Dated? Do you mean the setting in the film, or that films aren't shot in Chicago anymore? Tons of films and commercials are shot here every year.
The GTA angle of the game is not really dated either, as the the new editions are still quite popular, and Rockstar Games' cash cow does not seem to be losing money.
I'm just confused with your statement.
Cool short though.
posted by chambers at 5:51 PM on March 28, 2010
If there is a perfect match of non sequitur and a criticism, that one's it.
Yeah, what's wrong with Chicago? Dated? Do you mean the setting in the film, or that films aren't shot in Chicago anymore? Tons of films and commercials are shot here every year.
The GTA angle of the game is not really dated either, as the the new editions are still quite popular, and Rockstar Games' cash cow does not seem to be losing money.
I'm just confused with your statement.
Cool short though.
posted by chambers at 5:51 PM on March 28, 2010
Suspension of disbelief was smashed when it got to the part where a senator from Rhode Island had media attention.
I enjoyed the rest, though.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 6:09 PM on March 28, 2010
I enjoyed the rest, though.
posted by CitrusFreak12 at 6:09 PM on March 28, 2010
Yeah, the Chicago font is sooo old hat.
Upon actually finishing that, I have to say it's really well made--good direction, good acting, and good writing, though the ending is a bit too cryptic for my tastes. Nice find.
posted by zardoz at 11:15 PM on March 28, 2010
Upon actually finishing that, I have to say it's really well made--good direction, good acting, and good writing, though the ending is a bit too cryptic for my tastes. Nice find.
posted by zardoz at 11:15 PM on March 28, 2010
hi kneecapped - what 'Play' reminds me of most is a kind of "reefer madness" madness in reverse.
Wish there were drugs this good! but alas, they don't exist.
What remains are stories like that of Pygmalion or Narcissus, showing the lengths people will go to in their determination to improve on nature in perfection and permanence. But 'Play' doesn't tell those stories. It tells the story of an technology that does not exist.
posted by eeeeeez at 11:21 PM on March 28, 2010
Wish there were drugs this good! but alas, they don't exist.
What remains are stories like that of Pygmalion or Narcissus, showing the lengths people will go to in their determination to improve on nature in perfection and permanence. But 'Play' doesn't tell those stories. It tells the story of an technology that does not exist.
posted by eeeeeez at 11:21 PM on March 28, 2010
Hello eeeeeez,
Fair enough. There's no question that this piece is an overstatement. But the sentiment of escape and disconnect still resonates. Huxley rang a similar alarm bell and, well, he wasn't far off. Of course we can't be too literal about the things that artists/prophets tell us. We still don't have soma, but the Feelies, and Centrifugal Bumblepuppy? We're not too far from those, eh?
You're right though. Alarms of all kinds are, ultimately, a bit tedious and pedantic. It's an old problem really. Who are you gonna shoot?
posted by kneecapped at 11:29 PM on March 28, 2010
Fair enough. There's no question that this piece is an overstatement. But the sentiment of escape and disconnect still resonates. Huxley rang a similar alarm bell and, well, he wasn't far off. Of course we can't be too literal about the things that artists/prophets tell us. We still don't have soma, but the Feelies, and Centrifugal Bumblepuppy? We're not too far from those, eh?
You're right though. Alarms of all kinds are, ultimately, a bit tedious and pedantic. It's an old problem really. Who are you gonna shoot?
posted by kneecapped at 11:29 PM on March 28, 2010
I assume that when we are able to create games that are indistinguishable from reality, it will take about 2.4 seconds before a law is introduced that makes two things mandatory:
- Visual/aural cues that makes it impossible to mistake a game for reality
- One or more "safewords" that will immediately exit any game being played
Of course, this doesn't really matter if the people playing don't want to exit the game, which seems to be the case for whoever was playing in the film.
posted by ymgve at 11:48 PM on March 28, 2010
- Visual/aural cues that makes it impossible to mistake a game for reality
- One or more "safewords" that will immediately exit any game being played
Of course, this doesn't really matter if the people playing don't want to exit the game, which seems to be the case for whoever was playing in the film.
posted by ymgve at 11:48 PM on March 28, 2010
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posted by bwonder2 at 8:07 AM on March 28, 2010 [3 favorites]