The world premiere of GG by Conjah and PSEUDO brings the logic of gaming to street dance at Arts House as part of Now or Never.
Most video games have figures who respond to the player’s choices, but they never make their own. Gamers call them NPCs, non-player characters. GG takes NPCs off the screen and onto the stage.
Co-lead artist Sam Mcgilp said NPCs don’t have agency – they are passive and exist to serve the player’s experience.
“There is a connection to our contemporary experience here, where we can feel instrumental to other structures. We might have freedom and autonomy, but that does not equate to agency or power,” said Mcgilp.
The audience is seated close and drawn into a small, contained world before the space peels open around them into something larger.
What emerges is an arena, half dance floor and half video game, where performers face off in a dance battle, motion-captured in real time and projected as large 3D avatars.
As the competition softens into something more collaborative, the space opens up. What happens next is up to the audience, with an invitation to participate or simply watch on as the spectacle unfolds.
GG includes Melbourne’s street dance community, so the cypher runs on their real rules. Stepping in is always a choice and watching from the edge is just as welcome.
The title carries its own meaning. GG means “good game,” what gamers say when a match is over, whether you won or lost. It’s a gesture of respect at the point of surrender.
GG points out that most games, and some systems, take from people without giving anything back. Imagine what it would look like to build one where everyone had a say.
Arts House and Now or Never are programs delivered by the City of Melbourne. Arts House is a contemporary performance space where artists and audiences gather to find new creative frontiers. Now or Never is an award-winning festival of art, ideas, sound and technology.
August 26 – 30
artshouse.com.au
