Made in 1997 by Julien Alma and Lauren Hart, Borderland resembles a traditionnal fighting video game, as it has the same features : choice of the character, choice of the opponent and the environment where the action takes place, the possibility to customize the attack and defense skills, life bar, score levels and stages of progression.
Beyond the critical and satirical approach of archetypes like the duality of winner/loser, Borderland showcases other struggles (social, cultural, communautary, urban) within which every representation of individuals are confronted to the representation of others. By involving characters that are filmed and embeded in photographed scenes of wastelands or industrial area, the resort to a “documentary” realism is opposed to the smooth aesthetics of computer generated imagery. It lessens the interstices between reality on one side and the fiction of the game on the other side.
Document(s) to download
Fiche pédagogique de l'œuvreOn a number of aspects of artistic computer games – Tilman Baumgärtel
