The tropes and cliches prevalent within the realms of computer gaming have been questioned for many years. As a broader demographic has become involved not only in the playing of games but in the development of games, the landscape has shifted.

This change has been in part powered by the groundswell in the number of quality Independent game studios and the availability of new, powerful and affordable software. When this kind of software becomes available, it doesn’t take much time for creatives to develop an understanding of this new media and imagine new ways to solve old problems. This often includes: how do I express myself?

Make it stand out

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Ama Dogbe is a young British-Ghanaian artist whose practice sits within digital realms. She has produced experimental animation of various kinds and is currently developing video games using a variety of self-taught digital mediums. The work on show at Institute was created with Unity

We presented two new game demos by Ama: Alien Invasion - No. 1607221 and Alien Invasion - Compartmentalising, as part of an audio-video installation. In Alien Invasion - No. 16072216, figures descend upon a garden-like world, and players follow paths to uncover talismans, relics and icons.

Using physical and digital repetition through photogrammetry (the process of creating 3D digital outcomes from photographs), Ama created a web of symbols that were both strange and familiar. The project was commissioned by MPND and funded by Arts Council England.

This event ran as part of Loughborough Lates, a free event open to the general public. The games ran on Mac computers and through Institutes exhibition screens. They were playable with PS4 controllers. It was intriguing to see children and adults engage with art in ways that they probably never have before.

The controllers would be familiar to some as would some of the game-like mechanics of navigation but the visual language and the use of space and the meaning of symbols were unique and had to be de-cyphered by the user.

There is much that we have learnt over the last few decades from digital gaming. We have created new worlds and developed communities as we populated them with our digital selves. We have negotiated time and money in favour of rewards and we have traded assets that resulted from our digital endeavours. We have become addicted and also frustrated- we have expressed the joy and anger of the physical world in virtual worlds. We’ve made friends and enemies. We’ve built clans, communities and businesses. We’ve stolen, we’ve conned, we’ve married, we’ve grieved. We’ve changed race and gender (often for a fee). We’ve planted crops and harvested them. We’ve built our own houses, developed new mythologies and made friends with people across continents.

As we move forward with VR, AR and the eventual mix of both, it is important that we capitalise on the learnings from gaming- the good and the bad so that we might capture the joy and empowerment that gaming can foster. It is also important that artists are equipped with the software and skills of new media technology as it emerges so that inquisitive, potentially contrarian voices become part of the discourse that develops our digital futures.

You will be able to see an online version of the project between 3rd November 2023 - 27th January 2024. The game is accompanied by a soundtrack of electronic, ambient and contemporary hip-hop by musician Louis Jack. The video game will be available to play via the Modern Painters, New Decorators website.

You can see also see more of Ama’s work here: https://www.instagram.com/artyfartyama/ and download Unity here: Download Unity.

Ama Dogbe's Game Engine Art

The tropes and cliches prevalent within the realms of computer gaming have been questioned for many years. As a broader demographic has become involved not only in the playing of games but in the development of games, the landscape has shifted.