Art of Gaming

Women as Heroes

Heroínas

Art of Gaming: le donne nei videogiochi

Female representation in video games has long been a source of frustration for female gamers. Protagonists were almost always male with female characters often reduced to sexual objects. Things have changed since Lara Croft and “Horizon Zero Dawn”.

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<p>Female representation in video games has long been a source of frustration for female gamers. Protagonists were almost always male with female characters often reduced to sexual objects. Things have changed since Lara Croft and “Horizon Zero Dawn”.</p>

Female representation in video games has long been a source of frustration for female gamers. 

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What happens when cinema meets video games? Trinity investigates with scriptwriter Jean-Luc Cano by playing ‘Life is Strange’, ‘Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice’ and ‘Beyond: Two Souls’.

What happens when cinema meets video games? Trinity investigates with scriptwriter Jean-Luc Cano. 

Lights, Cameras, Action!

Melek visits VR developers Illusion Walk at their Berlin offices and tries out the latest in virtual reality gaming technology.

Melek visits tries out the latest in VR gaming technology at Illusion Walk in Berlin.

Virtual Reality

Open world games such as ‘Grand Theft Auto’ offer an immense territory for the player to explore. But is this just an illusion of liberty? Trinity and Sébastien Genvo explore ‘Skyrim’, ‘The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild’ and ‘Shadow of the Colossus’.

Open world games offer an immense territory for players to explore. But is this just an illusion of liberty?

Open Worlds

Melek and Dennis Niewerth, sociologist and consultant at the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven, dive in and explore worlds of water in video games.

Melek and Dennis Niewerth dive in and explore worlds of water in video games.

Water

Why do people play sports video games instead of going outside and playing real sports? Trinity and e-sports commentator Brak play ‘Kick Off Revival’, ‘NBA 2k18’ and ‘Top Spin 4’.

Why do people play sports video games instead of going outside and playing real sports?

Virtual Ball Games

Melek Balgün and games designer Anjin Anhut test out combat games with titles such as ‘Street Fighter II Turbo: Hyper Fighting’, ‘Nidhogg 2’ and the atypical game ‘Johann Sebastian Joust’.

Melek Balgün and games designer Anjin Anhut focus on combat games.

Fighting Games

Do we play video games in the same way around the world? Trinity along with gaming blogger Diraen explore video games made by different cultures: They play “Gravity Rush”, “Dynasty Warriors 8” and “Aurion: Legacy of the Kori-Odan”.

Trinity along with gaming blogger Diraen explore video games made by different cultures.

Around the World

How are dreams represented in video games? Melek and gaming critic Stephan Greitemeier play ‘Dream’, ‘The Dream Machine’ and ‘The Evil Within 2’, entering unnerving sleeping worlds that sometimes turn into nightmares.

How are dreams represented in video games?

Dream of Virtual Sheep

Doors can be scary in games such as ‘Resident Evil’ and ‘Silent Hill: The Room’. What lies behind these mysterious portals? Trinity plays and discusses their significance with gaming writer Jean Zeid.

Doors in can be scary in games such as ‘Resident Evil’’. What lies behind these portals?

Hold the Door

In some games, the text isn't just a signpost that signals a change in the action. It's integrated into the very nature of the game itself. Melek plays games that challenge our perception of the role of text in her video game alongside her guest, Lisa Gotto, a media sociologist.

What happens when the game is text and text is the game? 

Typographic Video Gaming

The goal of the platform games is clear: get from one end to the other - from left to right - without dying. Do this enough times and you'll reach a boss, before making it to another level and the cycle starts all over again. But despite how simple the formula sounds, it's actually a genre full of some of the hardest video games, such as Cuphead and Super Meat Boy. Even with Super Mario or Inside, you know you'll have to see your avatar die on a regular basis.

Playing a platform game like Super Mario means that you have to be OK with the fact that you'll watch your avatar die on a regular basis

Jump 'n' Run

Melek Balgün plays "Anno 1404", "World of Warcraft" and "That Dragon, Cancer" with Andreas Lange, and interviews Tobias Knoll about how players perceive religion in games.

Melek Balgün interviews Tobias Knoll about how players perceive religion in video games.

Religion Art of Gaming

It seems that nearly all computer games are based on capitalist ideology, always collecting and amassing possessions whether they be gold coins, apples or weapons. With philosopher Mathieu Triclot, Trinity explores the political ideology of video games.

Always amassing things whether it is gold coins, apples or weapons.... Are all video games capitalist?

Capitalism

Two lines and a dot were enough for Pong to conquer the video game world. Melek Balgün looks at minimalist games Duet, Hook, Necrosphere and Limbo with specialist researcher Sebastian Standke

Melek Balgün looks at minimalist games Duet, Hook, Necrosphere and Limbo with researcher Sebastian Standke.

As simple as that

The first person perspective allows the player to truly embody the character and immerse themselves in the game.

First Person Perspective

Video game photographer Martin Geisler shows us with examples from “Skyrim”, “the Hunter” and “Squad” that photography within gameplay has become as art form.

Video game photographer Martin Geisler shows us that photography within gameplay has become as art form.

In-Game Photography

Love is a major theme running through all art forms. From the medieval chivalry of ‘The Witcher 3’ to the consumerist world of  ‘The Sims’, how is it represented in gaming?

Love is a major theme running through all art forms. How is it represented in gaming?

Love is a Game

Don’t play with your food! we were all told as children. In video games from Pac-man to the latest survival titles like “Don’t Starve”, the opposite is true.

Don’t play with your food! we were told as children. But with video games we always have...

Eat it!

How does it feel to cross deserts, prairies or forests in a virtual environment? Melek and her guest play ‘Red Dead Redemption’, ‘Firewatch’ and ‘Flame and Flood’ and discuss how nature is represented in art, films, and gaming.

Melek and her guest play ‘Red Dead Redemption’, ‘Firewatch’ and ‘Flame and Flood’ and discuss how nature is represented.

Nature

Why are racing games so popular? Sports science researcher, Nicolas Besombes, is Trinity’s guest in this episode all about speed. Featured titles are “Sonic Mania” and two racing classics: “Gran Turismo” and “Wipeout”.

Sports science researcher Nicolas Besombes is Trinity’s guest in this episode all about our need for speed.

Go Fast

In the human mind monsters have always existed, finding representation in myths and sagas all over the world.  But what is our peculiar fascination with terrifying beasts in video gaming?

Monsters haunt the human mind. What is our peculiar fascination with them in video gaming?

Monsters

Why are there so many birds in video games? This episode of Art of Gaming is going to find out with a survey of the best bird-theme games.

Why are there so many birds in video games?

Birds in Gaming

The multiplayer mode in gaming lets you play against your family, your friends, and even people you've never met before. How does playing against a real person change how you view the game, and how you play?

How does playing against a real person change how you view the game?

Versus

Do video games make us lonely? This is what the media often implies. And yet today, it's impossible to be a good MMORPG player without also beign in a team. Many games require effective cooperation to advance to the next level. So, are video games actually a way of improving our social skills?

Team Spirit

Trinity and Thomas Gaon, a psychologist, cheerfully kill each other in Call of Duty 4, and then team up to destroy their enemies. Sounds healthy to you? In this episode, Trinity tries to understand why we enjoy killing characters in video games so much.

In this episode, Trinity tries to understand why we enjoy killing characters in video games so much

The Act of Killing

Video games are often full of action and face-to-face showdowns. But sometimes they can also leave the player alone with his thoughts, giving him or her a sensation of solitude and the space for introspection. Melek analyses the genre with three loneliness experts: an ESA astronaut trainer, a philosopher and a media specialist.

Melek analyses loneliness with three loneliness experts: an ESA astronaut trainer, a philosopher and a media specialist

Art of Gaming - Loneliness

Some video games created the soundtrack to the childhood of a generation. Who can forget the catchy Tetris music, the hopping theme of Super Mario Bros, or the intro of PacMan? Since then, video game music has become more and more cinematic. Author Damien Mecheri and Trinity trace the development of music throughout the history of gaming.

Some video games created the soundtrack to the childhood of a generation

Let The Music Play

Some worlds in games seem lifeless, but for most games, background characters are part of what makes the games so vibrant and convincing. Though powered by an algorithm, these characters can come to feel like friends. Via Bioshock: Infinite, Transistor and Gears of War 3, Melek and her guest Jonathan Harth, a sociologist, analyse the different forms that these characters can take.

For most games, background characters are part of what makes the games so vibrant and convincing

Ghost in the Machine

Can video games, just like movies, be comedies? Usul and Trinity analyse how humour works in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and The Stanley Parable. The burlesque, irony, or the absurd, often take centre stage in these types of games. It's what makes them worth playing.

Usul and Trinity analyse how humour works in Far Cry 3: Blood Dragon and The Stanley Parable

Humour

Video games, unlike other forms of art, have to integrate instructions into the game. But how do you integrate instructions creatively, without being overbearing but still getting the message across? Melek talks through the issues with Jörg Friedrich, a game designer, as they play Spelunky, Warcraft 3 and Far Cry.

How do you integrate instructions creatively, without being overbearing but still getting the message across?

Tutorials

In literature and cinema, it is often the bad guys who captivate us the most. In video games, you can actually become them: the iconic Dark Vader (Star Wars: the Force Unleashed), a violent psychopath (Man Hunt), or even an immigration officer (Paper Please). Trinity and Yann Leroux plunge into the dark side of video games.

In literature and cinema, it is often the bad guys who captivate us the most. In video games, you can actually become them

Bad Guys

Above, below, left, right. Our sense of direction comes naturally to us. But how do you create this sense of realistic, physical space in video games? And if gravity is optional, how can a game mantain a sense of realism?

How do you create a sense of realistic, physical space in video games?

Orientation

History is a playground for game designers. Sybile Collas (Narrative designer) and Trinity go back to WW1 in Battlefield 1, rewrite history with Wolfenstein: The New Order, and discover an imagined history in Bioshock Infinite. Utopia, dystopia or uchrony, why these genres so compelling?

History is a playground for game designers

Alternate History

When we think about sex in video games, we think of the classic Leisure Suit Larry, or the crude representations that are a reward for the player rather than a part of the plot. Some games take a different approach. Melek discusses sex in gaming with gaming journalist Nina Kiel and sexologist Jan Winter.

Melek discusses sex in gaming with gaming journalist Nina Kiel and sexologist Jan Winter

Sex in Video Games

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Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, the unofficial capital of vintage racing bikes. London, where cycle-cafés also hold speed dating evenings and Amsterdam where cyclists stand out from the crowd with style.

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Discover contemporary cycling culture in three European cities: Berlin, London and Amsterdam.

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Yetundey is originally from Leipzig and mixes styles and influences. Layla Boe wants to make the German language smoother in her music.

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Tracks dives into the world of augmented reality, avatars and hologram performances. With ABBA and others pioneering avatar performance, is nostalgia pushing technology forward? Also in the programme: Synth pop French musician Oklou and German DJ, Boys Noize.

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Holo Life - Avatars and Holograms

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Meet two of Poland's oldest hippies: Juliusz (92) and Krystof (77) have been living on the shores of Lake Solina, in almost total isolation and surrounded by nature and animals, for decades. But life in the middle of nowhere is increasingly hard on their aging bodies. 

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Behind his polite exterior lies a formidable leader with a ruthless character, ready to do anything to make China the world's leading power by the People’s Republic’s centenary in 2049. This well-documented portrait of the Chinese president gives an unprecedented insight into his politics and shows how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

A portrait of the Chinese president giving an unprecedented insight into his politics and showing how Xi Jinping's personal journey has shaped his choices as he steers China towards world domination.

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Lowriding is a passion for cars where owners customise their vintage vehicles to look cool gliding along the Los Angeles boulevards. For long a male-only pursuit, more and more women are getting into it lowriding.

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Faced with more frequent and violent natural disasters caused by climate change, animals and plants are adapting. Some species, such as sharks, which are able to sense the change in atmospheric pressure of a coming hurricane, move away from danger. Others learn to live with it, such as curlews, which use the hot ash from erupting volcanoes in Papua New Guinea to incubate their eggs. A surprising and inspiring documentary about nature's survivors.

How Animals and Plants Survive

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Pippi Longstocking, the superhumanly strong redhead with pigtails and freckles, conquers the world of classical ballet. The Swedish dancer and choreographer Pär Isberg stages Astrid Lindgren’s favourite character from the Villa Villekulla for the Helsinki opera house. The ballet music is the work of Georg Riedel and Stefan Nilsson.

From the Helsinki Opera

The Swedish dancer and choreographer Pär Isberg stages Astrid Lindgren’s favourite character for the Helsinki opera house.

Pippi Longstocking

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Vadum Minsyuk and Yuri Andreyev fled the war in eastern Ukraine to start a new life in the Chernobyl region,  The dangers of radiation are better than the rockets of war for them.

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Stuttgart Ballet performs ‘Onegin’, John Cranko’s acclaimed 1965 choreography of Alexander Pushkin’s novel. Classical ballet at its best in a version created for the cinema.

A Ballet by John Cranko

Stuttgart Ballet performs ‘Onegin’, John Cranko’s acclaimed 1965 choreography of Alexander Pushkin’s novel.

Onegin

The Indian state of Sikkim has banned pesticides completely, allowing only organic farming. The results: healthy food and healthy soils.

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The United Arab Emirates includes the sci-fi like cities of Abu Dhabi and Dubai with their breath taking towers and impressive beach resorts. It is also a land of expats with residents from over two hundred different nations.

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United Arab Emirates

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Iraq in 2022: Will the emerging nation succeed in resisting influence from foreign powers, and from Iran in particular? 

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Carolyn Carlson and her company bid farewell to each other in a final creation. On the Chaillot theatre stage in Paris, the legendary choreographer and performer presents The Tree (Fragments of poetics on fire), an ode to nature and the elements.

Théâtre de Chaillot

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Cult Film Locations

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Sting was an ecologically-conscious yogi hipster before it was even a thing. He's always been fighting for our right to enjoy a better future than the one we are making for ourselves. Perhaps a strange mission for someone with punk musical roots?

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A special gala concert to celebrate five years of Hamburg’s fantastic new concert hall, the Elbphilharmonie.

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It's big business: in summer, hundreds of kilos of mushrooms are illegally picked every day in Romanian forests. They are then transported to Italy by intermediaries where they are sold at astronomical prices. Romanian authorities do nothing as the forests are looted unsustainably for their grey gold.

It's big business: in summer, hundreds of kilos of mushrooms are illegally picked every day in Romanian forests

Art of Gaming

Art of Gaming

Lights, Cameras, Action!

Virtual Reality

Open Worlds

Water

Virtual Ball Games

Fighting Games

Around the World

Dream of Virtual Sheep

Women as HeroesArt of Gaming

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