Henry Hoffman's Game Art and Design

I’ve just got back from the ‘Street Dance Celebration of the Decade’, Serious About Streetdance 2010 and I must say that I’m really impressed. I’ve been to a few dance events and I’ve never been so inspired, not to dance (two left feet), but to blur genres and cultural references into a product that is so ultimately demographically niche whilst being so sensually captivating.

If the games audience is supposedly socially inept male teenagers, then the street dance audience is another kettle of fish altogether. Socially rampant, streetwise and ecstatic, this stereotyped demographic is the polar opposite of the games audience... though I’m not convinced that they are.

There’s the same feeling of belonging to a counter-culture brotherhood; a rebellion against mundanity and a collectivism of ideas. In the same way that gamers thrive on the insider knowledge, secret moves, cheats and completionist checklists, there’s a similar ever-evolving dance language. I felt very much an outsider, a culture-tourist if you will (and my tour guide was my girlfriend), though I did feel that I was getting a glimpse of a transcendent language that bonded an anonymous group of individuals.

Whilst it’s apparent that a new language is born within a following of any medium I think it’s the idea of a community forming around an expressive artistic origin in which a common appreciation is found - that I really drew the parallels. Also the idea that it’s participatory, that in order to be truly involved in the street dance and game language, you need to be involved in the shaping of the performance. Theatre, Film, Animation and fine art all are very passive (with exceptions) and I suppose lack the qualities and the opportunities that I feel are present in a medium that overflows its own capacity.

Something, however, really bothered me. How is it that street dance can effectively deal with serious cultural issues, yet games tend to negatively enforce them? I engaged with an incredibly harrowing depiction of war by the dance performers Boy Blue Entertainment and an equally shocking reflection on domestic violence by another group. I really wish that alternative games could get over this ‘are games art?’ phase and make a serious push for using the medium for serious expression, social commentary and even journalism.

Right, after that mental indulgence and semi-rant I need to prepare for the Tate tomorrow. Looking forward to some challenging stuff.

More info on Serious About Streetdance can be found here.