Whispers of Resistance
My works this semester all have a common theme: resistance. Each time I started brainstorming for a Hack, I found myself critiquing some part of society or a pre-existing reality. After learning about critical play to start the semester, I was so intrigued by the idea that I kept the theme of social commentary consistent for the remaining Hacks. This class emphasized reimagining something as your own, and I did that through this constant theme of analysis and resistance. Each Hack I created tested my creativity by forcing me to explore and subsequently change existing games, platforms, content, and projects rather than create my own. This was something that I am not often asked to do in an academic setting. Taking pre-existing works and making them my own was fascinating as it allowed me to discover my interests and tendencies, which clearly lie within questioning the norm and social standards. This theme was something I did not even pick up on until I reflected during this portfolio, so the underlying theme of resistance that went undetected to me lent itself to the title: Whispers of Resistance.
1: Play with the Plush to Crush the Creep
This project uses juxtaposition to highlight the harmful implications of the easy accessibility of the internet to children. A Makey Makey, connected to four different stuffed animals, takes the place of the arrow keys in order to play a 2048 creepy edition, which uses serial killers as opposed to the traditional numbers. By placing plushes in proximity with serial killers, the game creates an uncomfortable scenario that forces the player to question the motives. Children in today’s world have just as much access to the internet as they do stuffed animals, and because of this, violence has become normalized. This game critiques the gaming industry and technology that allows this content to be readily available and normalized, as well as suggests that children should not be allowed free rein on these platforms.
This image depicts the first step in the process of creating Hack #1. A game that could be played with a Makey Makey required it to function using only 4 keys. That restriction narrowed the decision down quickly, and then all that was left was to find the creepiest version of 2048 out there.
This is the final product for the first Hack. A creepy version of 2048 in which four stuffed animals act as the arrow keys. When a stuffed animal is picked up to be played with, it moves the serial killer blocks!
“This week was met with excitement and failures regarding the creation of Hack #1. It was super overwhelming at first to choose an idea. There are so many different games and forms of technological play that a Makey Makey could be used to control. However, Marie and I decided to comment on the idea of games with a juxtaposition similar to what we saw in class on Tuesday.” – My Flog
2: Tradlife: The Game of Reality
This Hack explores the status of men in comparison with women in the world today. Originally, The Game of Life, this board reimagines the original as a window into the patriarchal society in which we live. By highlighting the inequities and injustices that women face regarding career aspirations and family life, this game aims to educate the players. The women in the game have less autonomy and more responsibility to uphold the societal standards than the men. Tradlife: The Game of Reality exposes the harsh actuality of life in America as a woman.
This was the first step in creating Tradlife. This was the one part of the original game that had nothing to do with the theme I was going for, so I completely changed its purpose to further show the inequities.
This is the final version of Hack #2. A reimagined version of The Game of Life that highlights and exposes the difficulties women have to overcome and endure that men do not have to face.
“The hardest thing for me to work around was the investment squares. I struggled to find a way to make various “reality” check cards that were applicable because users could be at different stages in their lives.” – My Flog
3: PTO: Paid Time to be Open
This Hack uses preexisting software intended to foster academic and work productivity and evaluate the lack of importance society places on mental health. Google Docs and the whole Google suite are aimed towards working individuals or students, and their design focuses on easy access from anywhere. Turning a Google document into a place for sharing feelings and stories completely shifts the intention. Additionally, it puts into question why technology is rarely used for personal growth and improvement.
This was the first iteration of the document I created on my school account. I then quickly learned I could not do that because I had previously interacted with people, which would not allow page visitors to be anonymous.
Final product pf Hack #3 with all of the comments and entries people left.
“Beyond Docs, it made me question the accessibility that work-related applications have that personal-focused software lacks. Because of technological innovations, we are never separated from email or modes of work, yet we have not gotten there in terms of using technology to help increase access to personal growth applications. I think this speaks volumes to the importance we place on success in school and work. It is still taboo to consider mental health as important as physical health, and I believe that is the reason there is little to no software created geared towards this subject.” – My Flog
4: The Illusion of Choice
This project explores the evolution of technology in order to raise questions about the future of technology and data commodification. Through videos, photos, text, and sound, this video uses a chipmunk voice for a satirical narration of how much technology has changed and improved. The ending reveals a fear of the future and data misuse, which is ironic because the video was created on TikTok, a company known for using people’s data, interests, and interactions to manipulate their behaviors and beliefs.
I started this process by scouring the internet for some super early footage of old computers to show their pure magnitude, to be able to later contrast with pocket-sized phones.
This is the final product of my remix video. It was an incredibly fun process and one of my favorite Hacks to make because it involved a lot of irony and satire! The chipmunk voice was a last-minute switch from a robot voice, but I am very happy with it.
“I had so much fun making this remix video. I did, of course, run into some hiccups with merging everything together to get it to look the way I wanted, but I really enjoyed the creative process. I also got so much great feedback in class . . . I had so many objectives and things I wanted to accomplish that I needed to bring up everything to paint the full picture.” – My Flog
5: Tradwife
This final Hack revisits the theme of highlighting the differences in a man and a woman’s life experiences in order to comment on the larger patriarchal structure in America’s society. Through the reality check cards, this game forces the players to have tough conversations. Additionally, this game requires players to reverse their roles from normal life, putting them in new, uncomfortable positions to raise awareness about gender inequalities. The name Tradwife also puts this historical term into real context rather than the lighthearted way young people have tried to use the word.
This was a very challenging part of the process: figuring out how to accurately and best depict the path of the game. After lots of digital trial and error I landed on tracing and coloring.
The final Beta version of Tradwife. I ended up rewriting the rules onto different sheets in order not to spoil the inequities that appear throughout the game.
“Specifically, I wish I could have made a super small simulation of the game on some part of the board or created a scenario that would actually happen in the game. I believe that could have strengthened my classmate’s understanding of the game and the changes. Additionally, not a failure, but I am still questioning the visual aspect of my board. I do believe the handmade aspect adds something necessary to the game; however, I think there is still a better way to execute somewhere out there that I was unable to find.” – My Flog
