Infocult: Uncanny Informatics

Taking driving games seriously in Japan

A teenager apparently practices homicidal driving in a computer game, then tried to apply her skills on the streets of Osaka.  Perhaps this story will appear in arguments about game violence, as an example of closing the simulation gap.

(thanks to Arnaud Leene via Twitter)

Zombies march in the Carolinas; candidate safe from flesh-rending

In today's presidential Gothic, the Republican vice presidential candidate should be safe from zombie attack.  At least in Asheville:

As many as 700 zombies are expected to amble up Flint Street past the Civic Center about 5 p.m., just after doors open for the Palin event.

(thanks to Steve B)

Fear the terrorist Twitter

Twitter has a new layer of negative reputation: it could be used by terrorists.  Yes, the latest twist on e-Qaeda or iJihad involves microblogging, according to a US Army document, "alQaida-Like Mobile Discussions & Potential Creative Uses" (pdf).  A terrorist could snoop on a Twittering US soldier, for example, or use Twitter feeds to conduct joint surveillance of targets.

To be fair to the paper, the authors offer multiple caveats, arguing that they are exploring possibilities, which might not work.

Folks on the Web have had a fun time creating graphics for this story. From Crunchgear:

 

From Podcasting News:

From Wired:

More presidential Gothic

Shooting McCain to look monstrous: this story describes a photoshoot and its followup.  Here's the lit-from-below grim version:

The photographer next had fun with Photoshop, yielding results like this:

Pair with this Sarah Palin poster for full GOP Gothic effect.

Deleting a game character is murder, or some other crime

Murder is sometimes the result of a relationship gone sour.  Such is the lesson of crime fiction, and now virtual communities - so says MSNBC, reporting on one couple's split-up, when one ex-partner deleted the other's Web-game avatar.

Angry online divorcee 'kills' virtual ex-hubby

The more you look into this, the sillier it becomes.  For instance, there was no in-game killing.  She simply deleted his account.  Would this story even be discussed if she deleted his email account?

Then the game's style renders the whole thing even goofier.  We're not talking about a Gothic world, or even a Tolkien/WoW land, but one populated with characters like this:

And this:

Chibi-on-chibi violence doesn't really work, does it.

The site's blurb now takes on new meaning:

At Maple World, hunting and engaging in battles are not the only options you'll have.

Yes, you too can inflate stories into silly "murder" tales!

The Dutch account (linked above) adds a Second Life angle:

In August this year, a woman sued Delaware in the U.S. because they would have been planning its digital boyfriend, who play Second Life had met in real life to abduct.

(translation via Ubiquity)

(thanks to Arnaud Leene via Twitter, and Todd Bryant via email)

Twitter storytelling, for video

"Twitter Story" (2008) uses Twitter tweets to subtitle a video:

The creator explains:

I Twittered my thoughts at the Cambridge Folk Festival then converted it to audio using my Mac's text to audio recognition software. I then dropped it over clips filmed on my mobile phone. The results are quite interesting.

(via Alan Levine via del.icio.us)

Terrorizing banks in return for the financial meltdown

Today's economic crisis Gothic comes from the FBI, who announced that someone's been sending threatening latters to big banks:

"Steal tens of thousands of people's money and not expect reprercussions," said the letter, which is written in all capital letters and includes the misspelling. "It's payback time. What you just breathed in will kill you within 10 days. Thank (name redacted) and the FDIC for your demise."

Yes, that picks up on the old white power-anthrax theme.

I'm reminded of that great magic murder in I, Claudius.  My daughter thinks that the timing is intended to coincide with Halloween (assume mailing around the 21st; add ten days).  We both think this is just the beginning.

Previous Infocult posts on this Halloween economy:

• Monsters: economy as Frankenstein's monster (here, and here), as vampire, as zombies, as undead thing
• One splendid villain
• Pandora offers a grim take
• The toilet metaphor
• America as Nigerian email scam

In that spirit, let's see Robert Fuld once more, when testifying as "designated villain," and before getting punched in the face:

Computer games involved in runaway case, or not

A boy runs away from home.  Not a remarkable story, if sometimes a horrible one.  But consider this headline:

Search continues for missing video game-obsessed teen

From such an intense word choice, we might think computer games will play a key role in the story, yes?

But reading further into the article, we find that games aren't actually that important.  They are, in fact, not even there:

Police and Crisp's parents believe an addiction to video games may be a factor in the teen's disappearance. His parents think he may have run away from home after they took away his video games.

Note the qualification: "may."  It's even repeated; "may be a factor... may have run away..."  And games, or the lack of them, constitute "a factor," one element in the case.  Yet the headline, limited to a precious few words, picks this potential theory, removes the potential bit, and sets it as the story's most important feature.

But flagging the computer game world lets Global play to that cultural theme of fearing computer games.  Some readers will notice that the main game in question is played online, so we can add the larger, older fear of digital networks to the mix.  One might wonder if the kid had been abducted by rogue gamers.

Or, to put it another way, imagine if some other teen issue had been floated by parents and police.  Would we see a similar headline?  A boy refuses to do chores around the home:

Slacker teen protests overwork by flight

A girl's reading habit is curtailed by clueless parents:

Bookworm forced into daylight; flees home

A football jock compelled to do more homework:

Boy obsessed with warfare-simulating game escapes harsh home

A boy's pizza craving is blocked :

Italian food-obsessed boy on the run; Mafia suspected

Computer gaming has become a spice, if we can be permitted to carry on the culinary language: added to any story to spice it up.  It's a shocking spice, one triggering a cluster of fears and anxieties.  One wonders, does this flavoring work? does it bring back readers for more?

Notice, too, the comparatively sweet role played by Facebook in the article.  Even concerned mothers use it.

(thanks to D'Arcy Norman!)

NB: this blog post is in no way meant to make light of the parents' suffering, nor of the potential cruelty befalling the boy.  We're focusing on the reporting, and how it engages with culture, here.

Monstrous presidential ticket, continued

Today's Gothic presidential campaign image:

(thanks to Aaron Schmidt)

Cannibalism in the UK

A British man was sentenced to life imprisonment for killing and eating his lover.

Sentencing Anthony Morley to life, judge James Stewart said the murder was one of the most gruesome he had ever encountered and reminiscent of a scene from a work of fiction.

"Not only did you murder your victim by cutting his throat and stabbing him, but you cut him up, cooked him and ate part of him," Stewart said, according to the Press Association.

"Before this case I had associated cannibalism with eras long gone, with the tale of Robinson Crusoe. No longer. You have plumbed depths rarely encountered in our court."

Note the perennial British fascination with actually knowing how to cook: "cooking it with fresh herbs and olive oil..."  One would hope the herbs were fresh.

We haven't covered cannibalism nearly enough of late.  Please be sure to send your long pig tales to us.  In the meantime, nibble on our previous posts, over the hungry years.