ME DEA EX_ gameBOY/GIRLplay
Mechanisms
and Characterizations:
1. General remarks:
(VR = Virtual Reality, RL=Real Life)
·
The
plot is going backwards (in time and in levels/screens of the game), from the
most horrible murder, to scene of love and optimism.
·
Medea
is not playing the game, but rather taking us with her to “previous screens”,
in her “debugging” process of the past. The hidden agenda of playing the game
is getting the “Golden Fleece”, which s in computer games, once in a while will
float somewhere in the air, as if giving bonus points to those who click on it.
In this hypertextual 3D
environment, she may redesign/reengineer her identity and position in the MYTH.
·
In
each level we may identify with another aspect of Medea, resulting yet with
another horrifying death.
·
Moving
from one level to another, changes the
"skin" of the scene (serving us for unification between the
screened VR and the RL) in th following means: slight design changes, lighting
changes in both worlds simultaniously, sound, music, graphs and charts on
screens, language of actress and avatars).
·
Chorus
avatars may be at different angles of the screens, talking to each other,
amplifying the 3D notion.
·
we use
NO actual lighting and NO actual decoration set - control it only in the
virtual worlds (the screening projectors light is dominant)
·
Continuity
- The audience will be arriving after wandering in the previous 4 spaces. Medea
on a wheel chair, and the 4 Jasons, will accompany the visitors and behave as
if part of them. Medea will avoid the annoying remarks and gestures that the
Jasons do throughout the voyage of the Argonauts. Only when entering the ME DEA
EX space, will the actors take their place. Elements from the previous spaces
can be represented in ME DEA EX universe.
·
The
design of the physical space should enable the illusion of being part of the
virtual space (and vice-verse). For example, the floor looks the same in both
worlds, and so does the ceiling. Moving around the 3D environment is only for
the home user. Onsite will have only vertical movement, e.g. transport between
“skins” of the 3D space, by moving down from one to another.
·
Info
Screens - Several sign objects in the 3D environment will display the following
information:
o
Subtitles
of all the used languages are constantly displayed on the screens (current
language highlighted).
o
Inventory
(like in computer games) of: lives, ammunition, power, win point, lost humans,
etc…
o
Graphs
and charts, showing statistics on how the virtual audience is choosing options
o
Texts
of alternative adaptations and productions of Medea
o
Chat
texts between users
2. List of the scenes:
|
Story |
Environment |
Media
involved (sound, video,
links) |
|
1) Intro: (Language=English) Medea talks to the real audience, in sort of a dramatic invitation to cyberspace. Here, she sais, we’re all immigrants. When asked if she wants another game, Medea declares herself a hacker, who can try and redesign the Myth. |
Greek ancient look. Lots of visual quotes from Medea productions. Stone game choice buttons. |
Background Sound – acient greek
(click to hear the midi): PVienna G 2315, ~200 BC.
Enharmonic tuning. Links: Trivia game: http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~loxias/medea/medea.htm David Kovacs
translation. (English): (and others…) http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0114 Medea st person: http://www.geocities.com/medea19777 Video quotes: Video: Steven Stedman (dance) – chorus parts Video: NY classics – chorus dancing |
|
2) Shahids:
(Hebrew&Arabic) Medea’s anger on the oppression and her frustration from poor living in the refugee camp,
forgotten by all Israeli friends, nothing to hope for or to look upon, for
her and the children, topped the already deprived and betrayed woman in
herself, and made her send her boys as shahids, killing 13 people, including
Creon and his daughter Glauce who has married Jason. |
NYSE environment, covered as hectic news room. |
Background Sound (click to hear the mp3 file): -- Breaking News: Suicide Bombers
*** SHIMSHON, samson Video quotes: Fon Trier – kids on tree, Steven Stedman (dance) - kids, Ddasin movie, Pazolini – army men + kids murder, Japanese – the end Running images:
|
|
3) Exile: (Hebrew&Arabic, Second intifada starts, Medea is
kicked out of Israel back to the refugee camp with the children. Jason, already committed to Creon
and Glauce, doesn’t help. This happens after they had to
escape the US where they married, studied and had 2 kids, because of a fraud
Medea did to save Jason’s status. |
New York stock exchange look. American background. Blue colors. |
Background Sound (click to hear the mp3 file): -- Breaking News: Fraud / Mafia killing
Video quotes: Video: Martha Graham – love to Glauke Video: Fon Trier – Glauce dressing Video: NY classics – exile Video: Japanese – exile Running images:
|
|
4) Love: (Hebrew&Arabic) Medea and Jason, in great love, escaping Israel, after Medea has
sacrified her brother and her national identity in order to save her lover,
the Israeli soldier, son of german immigrant family. |
Clean wireframe look. Few White textures. (Peaceful background. |
Background Sound (click to hear the mp3 file): Opera1.mp3, Opera2.mp3 Video quotes: Video: Habima – in the village Video: Pazolini – village, castle. Love scene. Video: Martha Graham – love dance Running images:
and more… |
|
Finale: (English) Medea is asked for another game, but chooses to kill the Jason avatar,
get on her feet and hug the real Jason. In a way, she has made a decision and switched her world, in a way,
she’s at the same place (palestinian loving israeli = trouble) |
Greek ancient look. Lots of visual quotes from Medea productions. Stone game choice buttons. |
Background Sound – acient greek
(click to hear the midi): PVienna G 2315, ~200 BC.
Enharmonic tuning. Video quotes: Fast forward of all the videos |
3. Characterization and mechanisms:
|
|
Medea |
Jason |
Chorus |
Appearance |
Live, on wheel chair, holding a laptop (for home user
- video embedded) |
3D avatar (color of tie/suit changes in each scene) |
Male/female gray simple avatars, representing the online
visitors. (Not much pre-defined, so easier to identify with.). Restricted
from entering the virtual stage where Jason and Medea are. |
|
Text style |
Modern, gaming style - in intro and finale. Euripides (original, slightly modified classics) – in the
other scenes |
Euripides (original, slightly modified classics) |
Collection of quotes (Euripides, Muller, others…) – sorted
by manner (mild/aggressive), and by style (modern/classic) |
|
Language |
Hebrew and Arabic |
Hebrew (with his parents German) |
English, Hebrew, Arabic, other languages… |
|
Sound |
Live |
Pre-recorded human sound |
Text to speech (synthesized sound) |
|
Activation mechanisms: |
Live, independent, in control. (but tied to her wheelchair) |
Bot programmed to get commands from Medea (or Neo).
Commands include sound file and movement gestures. |
Head of chorus is a bot with pre-programmed text. Then the
virtual audience gets options of texts. What they choose is played untill
timeout cut. |
|
Identity: National /Exile |
Palestinian, Always immigrant (refugee camp, israel, USA). Queen/lower class (representing opressed women in third
world, rebel) |
Israeli, son of German Jews in US (representing
American/Stock exchange culture). Adjusting to exile, making the best out of
it. Opressing third world. |
Global village We are all immigrants in cyberspace. |
|
Identity: Personality/Gender |
Childlish, hacker, passionate, magic tricks, refuses to
see reality (something we accept from men only, women considered to contain!,
this is part of their conflict). Cyborg – body/mind detached |
Rational, money minded, power oriented, imposing his
culture & choices, refuses to get older. Robotic decision making and behaviour. |
Say they want to help but don’t really do anything. Have
choices of texts from several manners, therefore not always agree as unit. |
4. The story in short:
(never told explicitly
in the text itself (which is original Euripides), only on info screens or by the chorus.
The actual play shows the plot backwards, from the
most horrifying death, through exile, to the pure original love.)
Medea, palestinian, good established family in the
village. She was a teenager when she met Jason.
Jason, the son of Jewish German
religious couple who immigrated to the US after the war,
decided at age of 18 to make Aliya and serve the
Israeli army.
Jason arrived at Medea’s neighborhood during the war
and stayed there several days after.
His class occupied the second floor of her family
large house, to watch from, over the quarter, to rest between patrols.
They fell in love immediately. Passionate, secret
love.
When his commander found out, Jason was bound to be
expelled out of the army.
Medea, a hacker in heart and mind, knowing she’d
never see him if he gets back to the US, helped him get back his credibility. When the Israeli troops were supposed to put the Israeli
flag on the local mosque, she put the mosque Kahdi to sleep, so Jason could
climb up and put the Israeli flag, and get a special reward from his commander.
Jason was proud. Called his religious mother in the US to say that the Jewish
people are back to their homeland.
Jason, the soldier, who had no family to go to on
weekends, spent more and more time with Medea and her friends.
Medea’s family, starting to realize her relations
with the enemy, kept threatning her that they’ll hand her and ger lover, to the
enemy.
Medea’s brother, being her secret keeper, tried to
help, protect her from their verdict.
Medea, terrified form loosing her love, framed her brother Apsyrtus and practically handed him over to the Israeli authorities, who put him in jail, where he died.
The troops destroyed her family house, and forced
them to move to a refugee camp.
Medea and Jason were on the run.
Jason, owing her so much, and full with love and
admiration to Medea, takes her away, back to the US where they get married.
They both studied there. She became kind of computer
specialist, hacker, he became a successful finance specialist, broker in the
stock exchange.
They had 2 kids.
Jason’s family never accepted Medea, neither his
social milieu.
When Jason got into trouble in his financial
business, Medea hacked his enemies’ (Pelias) company and caused his daughters
to murder him.
They had to escape the Americal authorities.
Jason succeeded in arranging his papers for coming
back to Israel, and a promise to help with his two sons future citizenship (by
executing a huge financial stock transfer for the benefit of the Israeli
General Creon).
Medea, without Jason helping her, gas no permit, and
is forced to go to the refugee camp with the children.
--
Jason, eventually is about to marry Glauce, daughter
of Creon the army general.
Medea’s anger on the oppression and
her frustration from poor living in the refugee camp, forgotten by all Israeli
friends, nothing to hope for or to look upon, for her and the children, topped
the already deprived and betrayed woman in herself, and made her send her boys
as shahids, killing 13 people, including Creon and his daughter.
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