August 2025<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the context of videogames, what are the feelings involved when one is engaged in physical violence? Or on the flip side: what interactions -with which qualities – bring about a sensation of being a part of a violent altercation? Such is the question guiding the research-creation project developed by Christopher No\u00ebl [student, UQAT] at the Milieux Institute during a Hexagram residency in June 2025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Violent Videogame<\/em> is the outcome of this project. It is a meta first-person shooting game that explores two distinct interpretations of violence in games: one classic approach tied to militarism, realism and tactical gameplay; and the other centered on cruelty, difficulty and brutality.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The foundation of No\u00ebl\u2019s project is an atomist approach he developed in his master\u2019s thesis: the estheme<\/em> (No\u00ebl 2021). Comparable to other concepts dissecting wholes into parts – such as the narratheme (Propp 1971) – the estheme<\/em> seeks to identify the constitutive elements of an aesthetic experience. For instance, physicality and suffering would be esthemes<\/em> of violence. While this proved to be a useful tool for theoretical analysis, No\u00ebl sought to explore its practical application \u2013 thus the genesis of A Violent Videogame<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the theoretical backbones of this project is somaesthetics, a branch of philosophy concerned with bodily sensations (soma<\/em>), as developed by Richard Shusterman (2008). Within this framework, No\u00ebl implemented elements such as heavy breathing, field-of-view heart pulse effects, camera shakes (\u201chead bobs\u201d), camera sway and roll. Additionally, he adopted a practice of reflexive journaling (Moon 2008) as his primary data collection method. Begun in 2022, this journal now contains more than 100 entries, totaling more than 60 pages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Building on his previous skills in animation, film and videogame production, No\u00ebl chose to work with industry-standard tools he was already familiar with: Autodesk Maya<\/em> and Unreal Engine<\/em>. Since the project studies bodily sensations, it was necessary to feature a strong presence of bodies within the game. This relates both to the presence of multiple human bodies in the game and to the fact that the creation process required deep physical engagement from the researcher. As such, No\u00ebl used motion capture for both body and facial animation, integrating it into gameplay and cinematic sequences.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n\n\n\nSharp Mind…<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
…and Sharp Tools<\/h2>\n\n\n\n