Posted by: designxpress on: March 26, 2008
In this book Brenda Laurel explains her personal journey and experiences with Purple Moon- the company she launched dedicated to create video games for girls. However, the games launched by Purple Moon were criticized as sexist- a belief that girls could not play regular action oriented games. And the company had to be shut down.
She calls herself a Utopian entrepreneur because, she had the courage to stand up for what she believed in and could put it in action. The book is a sort of a memoir on Purple Moon in which Laurel recollects the lessons she learnt. She sees herself as an explorer in girls’ games, virtual reality, and the intersection between art and tech. Laurel addresses all the Utopian entrepreneurs, those who want to do ‘socially positive work in the business world.’
The most unmistakable part of the book is the design. The book has a very innovative layout which highlights or draws attention to those subjects, lines or words that Brenda wants her readers to remember or those that were important lessons for her. The breakthrough layout makes the book appealing and interesting.
Towards the end of the book, she talks about intervention. According to her intervention is a key to that can intersect art and technology. With intervention, one can create work that is socially beneficial. While, she advocates newer technologies, she expresses fear that newer technologies are making interpersonal communications complicated.
Interestingly she also comments upon transmedia or what is now known as cross platform content. Even today the content is first created for one medium – in media generally television and then it is repurposed for different mediums. Laurel suggests that the design should incorporate transmedia factors at the very beginning. She says, transmedia authoring is material in nature, that is, it places the emphasis on developing materials that can be selected and arranged to produce many different forms.
Other readings of the week –Social Impact by Design (Darion Rapoza), Researching America’s Army (Margaret Davis et al), A Virtual Walk on the Moon (Bruce Damer), Demo- Mobium (Jin Hyun Park) embody Laurel’s concept of Utopian Entrepreneur. They explore the uses of mediums such as video games, virtual reality, and wireless devices as means to enhance consumer experience, reconstruct earlier events or increase awareness in social issues. The authors of these readings explore new and existing mediums to do socially positive work.
Damer’s experiment, one of the early experiments in virtual reality exemplifies what Second Life can shape into. The construction of the virtual space for the experiment resemble to the SL lands, and the demonstrations of the experience appear close to what on experiences in SL. Damer uses the virtual medium to reconstruct an historical event in a way that it would be shared by common people.
Park’s Mobium explores the uses of wireless devices. Such experiments are extremely relevant in today’s wireless world. Mobium in a sense is answer to Brenda Laurel’s claim’ personal family storytelling is increasingly replaced by TV.’ Park talks about similar disconnection between his visits to the museum as a child and as an adult. Mobium is his way of bridging the gap between generations when it comes to communicating with each other or telling stories.
Discussion Questions:
Laurel writes, ‘we construct ourselves out of two deeply intermingled kinds of materials: our life experiences and our culture context. We are the product of both the stories, we hear and the stories of our lives.’
