A Camera and an Engine
4-channel video , sound, color, 50 fps, 4min7s, 2024
"A Camera and an Engine" is a 4-channel rendered video portraying the duality of the suspended state of a young Chinese video game live streamer C in the digital and real worlds. Virtually, the suspension is manifested as encounters with glitches, bugs, and non-programmed areas, while in reality, it represents the instability and anxiety in a fast-paced, highly competitive society.
"A Camera and an Engine" is a 4-channel rendered video portraying the duality of the suspended state of a young Chinese video game live streamer C in the digital and real worlds. Virtually, the suspension is manifested as encounters with glitches, bugs, and non-programmed areas, while in reality, it represents the instability and anxiety in a fast-paced, highly competitive society.
Still from A Camera and an Engine
C is a full-time video game streamer. Besides her regular gaming live
streams, she dedicates her time to testing countless game bugs and
exploring the areas beyond maps. While bugs and glitches are a nightmare
for the virtual world, for her, these moments of being stuck become the
beginning of her dreams. It allows her to escape the suspension state of
real life. The brief loading times in games are magnified into significant
moments, becoming a utopian experience where she takes control of her
own will and imagination.
The work presents four different states of C in various temporal and spatial contexts: within and outside
of the video game’s magic circle, within and outside of the magic circle of the digital screen. Through the
interplay, contradictions, and contrasts of these dialogues, this utopian moment is presented as a strategy
for escaping the suspension state and as a performance of a game streamer countering the game itself.
The magic circle refers to the transformation of traditional magic circles into digital ones. This transformation
achieves the separation and reconnection of the game and the player, thereby establishing the foundation for
asynchronous interaction between the algorithmic and real worlds. Additionally, it opens up a semi-autonomous space, paving the way for thepolitical expression of video games. As a game streamer, a second layer of the magic circle is created. This involves both the inside and outside of the screen, where the digital magic circle serves as a stage that metaphorically represents reality. It requires players to assume their algorithmic roles, thus presenting the process of interface interaction as a dramatic act where players, embodying their algorithmic personas, embrace the sensory nature of reality. In this process, a post-human gaming experience is generated, creating new possibilities through recursive cycles of asynchronous interaction.
This project is rooted in the context of the phenomenon
of
"Suspension"
in Chinese society, discussing how young people face and
examine their own uncertainty and instability, as well as their psychological struggles in a fastchanging and highly
competitive social environment, and attempts to arouse
reflection and discussion among the young people about their
current situation. Suspension in the digital world is falling
without ever landing" which exists in video games in the form
of a recurring programming error - a glitch - through which the
avatar falls beneath the surface into the empty, non-
programmed space. The glitch as a digital nightmare.
"Suspension"
in Chinese society, discussing how young people face and
examine their own uncertainty and instability, as well as their psychological struggles in a fastchanging and highly
competitive social environment, and attempts to arouse
reflection and discussion among the young people about their
current situation. Suspension in the digital world is falling
without ever landing" which exists in video games in the form
of a recurring programming error - a glitch - through which the
avatar falls beneath the surface into the empty, non-
programmed space. The glitch as a digital nightmare.
BUGS
GESTURES
‘UN-REAL ENGINE’
process
Director: Yuting Chen
Sound & Music: Yuting Chen
3D Modeling: Yuting Chen
Editing: Yuting Chen
Special thanks: C酱です
Sound & Music: Yuting Chen
3D Modeling: Yuting Chen
Editing: Yuting Chen
Special thanks: C酱です