figure 6) but also in realtime tactical battles where they must manouevre and engage the enemy on the fly (see figure 7). Realtime Strategy games have gained more widespread popularity over the last decade. In games like Starcraft II: Legacy of the (Blizzard Entertainment, 2015) the player makes decisions about the kinds of Void units to and how to deploy them under the pressure of the clock and the “build” imminent arrival of the enemy player (or game AI) who brings their own means and method of attack to the encounter (see figure 8). These games play at the moment-to-moment control of that dangerous contingency comprised of the enemy and the unpredictable future with precisely the digital technologies at the very heart of both the accelarated exacerbation of the danger and the ever-expanding effort to anticipate and avoid it. This is gametime as the “fun” register of the ambivalent—Bernard Stiegler would say “pharmacological”—realtime transformation of temporal experience of conflict in the digital age. Epistemological Engagement: Immersive Informational – This screenshot of (Riot 2009) gameplay illustrates a League of Legends powerful trend toward a predominantly informational and systemic engagement in the gameworld that is increasingly evident in recent video games (figure 9). The screen provides a multifaceted and constantly updated status report on all of the elements in play in the game software’s provision of simulated combat. Starting at the lower right, there is a minimap situating the current action in the main command view within the wider game map along with player and fellow team member avatar icons and stats. On the upper right are score and various team progress stats along with elapsed gametime and screen frame-rate. The game’s text chat is shown on the lower left and
figure 6) but also in realtime tactical battles where they must manouevre and engage the enemy on the fly (see figure 7). Realtime Strategy games have gained more widespread popularity over the last decade. In games like Starcraft II: Legacy of the Void (Blizzard Entertainment, 2015) the player makes decisions about the kinds of units to “build” and how to deploy them under the pressure of the clock and the imminent arrival of the enemy player (or game AI) who brings their own means and method of attack to the encounter (see figure 8). These games play at the moment-to-moment control of that dangerous contingency comprised of the enemy and the unpredictable future with precisely the digital technologies at the very heart of both the accelarated exacerbation of the danger and the ever-expanding effort to anticipate and avoid it. This is gametime as the “fun” register of the ambivalent—Bernard Stiegler would say “pharmacological”—realtime transformation of temporal experience of conflict in the digital age. Epistemological Engagement: Immersive – Informational This screenshot of League of Legends (Riot 2009) gameplay illustrates a powerful trend toward a predominantly informational and systemic engagement in the gameworld that is increasingly evident in recent video games (figure 9). The screen provides a multifaceted and constantly updated status report on all of the elements in play in the game software’s provision of simulated combat. Starting at the lower right, there is a minimap situating the current action in the main command view within the wider game map along with player and fellow team member avatar icons and stats. On the upper right are score and various team progress stats along with elapsed gametime and screen frame-rate. The game’s text chat is shown on the lower left and
Crogan-Vdgmes%20War%20et%20Operatnl%20Aesthtcs.docx