(t)Error by Robert Praxmarer (soundtrack: Jennifer Carlile) is a game in real space, criticizing the politics of war and the gaming industry at the same time. The rules are simple: the player must choose the part he wishes to enact among the participants in the war (Osama Bin Laden, George W. Bush, Tony Blair), and then, regardless of the chosen figure, to collect as many dollars and oil pumps as possible, to kill civilians and demolish houses. As a game and an installation, Terror offers much greater interaction than the average computer game. The player must run, jump, duck. He becomes an active participant, readily adopting an influential identity in the game through which he experiences the impacts of the political and military systems. The player’s acts and his use of his body are where the game experience intersects with the meaning and repercussions of war and politics. Thus the difference between playing war games by moving one’s finger and active participation that forces the entire body to strain itself can be fathomed. It thus provokes reflection on the link between the game industry and simulations for military training, and on the way in which the game serves as preparation for the real thing.
The CDA's archives are operating with the support of the Ostrovsky Family Fund and Artis
