Back from FILE

I was thinking of writing an event coverage feature on FILE. However, since time is scarce and their website is so comprehensive, I'll just stick to some random comments.

* First, my lecture went well, thank you very much. The content was pretty much the same from its first incarnation, although I explained the nature of games a little bit more this time, since the audience was not necessarily into the subject.

* Other lectures on games included Videogame: good or evil?, by Andre de Abreu; Smoking & No Smoking: a dialogue between Cinema and Games, by Cesar Baio; and Playtime in the white cube/Game art: between interactive art and video games, by Andrew Hieronymi.

* You probably know Hieronymi's work MOVE. If you don't, check his website - it's great! I'm used to read about projects like that on Ludology.org, but this is the first time I actually get to play with one. Interactive art is frequently playfull, and Hironymi extrapolates this characteristic with his deconstruction of game design. His installation was probably the most popular artwork on the event. His lecture was also brilliant.

* Some computer games were exhibited on FILE Games:
McDonald's Videogame, by Molleindustria;
a.Shooter: Sonic Invaders, by a.Game;
Panda Park, by Andreas Zecher;
The Cróquets in the Quelicera´s Mansion, by Antonio Carlos Vargas Sant´Anna;
Circ: Planet Treasure, by Barry Smylie;
The making of Balkan Wars: The Game, by Personal Cinema;
Las Familias- a gambling den, by Frank Werner;
The Ball of Bastards, by Jan-Philipp Behrens;
San Francisco Zero, by Sam Lavigne;
Derrota dos Deuses, by Vinicius Gouveia Armelin Ferreira;
Social Engine, by Urtica; and...
Insular, (surprise) by yours truly.

* There were several installations and interactive media artworks that could function perfectly (at least for me) as nongames. I should write about them on a future post.

More comments on FILE any day.