Sammie Kim— Looking Outwards—11

Angela Washko is a digital artist who creates experimental games and entertainment that often revolves around feminist themes. One project that really stood out to me is called The Game, which won the Impact Award at Indiecade. As a feminist video game, this project presents an “exploration of consent and the politics, tactics and practices of the male pick-up artist and seduction community.” The format resembles a dating simulator, where players experience several seduction techniques deriving from instructional books and seduction coaches (pickup artists. The pickup gurus attempt to seduce the player, where six prominent coaches try to gain the player’s attention at a bar—an opportunity for players to explore the complex social behavior and psychology behind dating, as well as experience being a femme-presenting individual exploring this difficult and risky path. I found this game to provoke a reflective process step by step, as it allows us to virtually explore and manipulate, while simultaneously complicit in the frequent dehumanizing behavior. This game is unique as it’s composed entirely of scenarios moving on, providing a digital narrative that satirizes this convoluted system of power and desire in the world of contemporary sex and dating.

Link to the artist’s website:  https://angelawashko.com/section/437138-The-Game-The-Game.html