Toogle Conversion

126.NottheleastofthepleasuresofplayingTetsuyaMizoguchi'sRezisthecounter-intuitivewaythetriggerworks.Ifusuallythegamerp ressesthetriggertoshootthetarget,inRezthegamerreleasesthetriggertoshoot.Actuallyit'satwostageoperation:holdthetriggeri ntoselectatarget;releasethetriggertoshoot.Asyoumovethroughatunnel-likespace,withpoundinghousebeatsinyourears,variouspo tentialtargetsswimandswishby,ortakeaswipeatyou-orratheratyourcharacter.Youholdthetriggerdowntolockontothemastargets,an dthenreleaseitandwatchasfierylinesradiatetowardthemovingtargets.One'smissilesseemmoreballeticthanballistic.Theyarctowa rdstheirtargetsevenasthosetargetsmove.127.EverythinginRezisveryabstract.Yourcharactermayhaveavaguelyhumanformornot,dep endingonthelevel.Thebrightlycoloredshapesthatflareatyoumaylookvaguelymenacingorbrightlyfriendly.Thewholethingismeantto simulatetheexperienceofanightclubmorethanawar.This,togetherwiththecurioustriggeraction,highlightstheactoftargetinginRe zratherthanthetargetitself.Thereissomevaguelysci-fistorylineaboutwhyonetargetsandshoots,butitisratherminimalandsketchy .It'snotclearatfirstjustwhatrolethestoryplays.Likemanygamesofitsgenre(it'sa'railshooter')itsanexperienceofbattlingagai nstthingsinordertolevel.InRez,onetargetswhattoshootatandshootsatwhatonetargetsprettymuchforitsownsake.It'sinterestasag ameresidesinthisabstractingoftheactawayfromtoomanyparticularsastowhyonetargetsorwhomoneshoots.TimespentwithRezfeelslik eimmersioninaneternal,tensepresentunderfire.BlaisePascal:"Thefactisthatthepresentusuallyhurts."Shootinggamesrecognizea nddisavowthisatoneandthesametime.128.Color,brightness,shape,movement,beats,notes,sounds,eventhepulsingvibrationsofthec ontrollerinhandcometogetherinRezinaveritablesynasthesia,ablendingofthesensesintentonmeldingthegamerwiththegame.It'saqu iteparticularcontextinwhichtotrytotarget.Theenemyhastobeidentified,localized,andhighlightedinordertobecomeatarget.Thet argetemergesoutofanevent,outofapureanalogfluxofvariablemovement.Beforethereisatargetthereiseverythingandnothing-indiff erence,alterity,beingneitheronenortheother,neitherherenorthere.Selectingatargetstabilizesarelationbetweentheonetargete dandtheonetargeting-oneversustheother,usversusthem.Targetingturnstimeandspacefromadisconcertingexperienceoffluxintocon ditionsofselfawareness,wheretheworldexistssothegamermightcomeintobeing,againstit.Onceaneventyieldsatarget,itbecomessom ethingsubjecttocontrol.Theanalogyieldstothedigital.129.Totargetistoidentifyanobjectofanactionwithanaimtowardsagoal.The goalwillcomedirectly,bydesignatingtheendpointinadvanceandaimingatit.Thereisnoindirectionintargeting.Atargetisagoalthat canbereachedbyvirtueofanimmediateknowledgeofitandaconsequentactionagainstit.Thegamermayneedtotargetonethinginordertosu bsequentlytargetanother,butthisismoreamatterofstringingtargetstogetherasasequenceintime.Orrather,asequenceagainsttime. InRez,thegamerdoesbesttotargetcertainshapesthatappearintheperipheryofone'svision,andwhichenhanceone'spowerandextendone 'simmunity.Whatthegamehighlightsisalogisticsoftargeting,aneconomyoforderagainsttime,thebattleofalternatingmergerandsep arationfromtheother.130.Targetingisatoneandthesametimethedesignatingofagoal,theonedesignating,andthemeansofdesignation .Totargetistoovercometheindifferenceofselfandother,andatthesametimetointroduceanoscillationintothemomentofthisveryover coming.Pressthetriggerdownandthetargetselects,assomethingotherthanyou;releasethetriggerthantheshotconnectsyoutoitagain ,butinaveryspecialway,asengagedintherelationofbattling.Hitormiss,thegapbetweentargetandgamerre-opens,andthecyclebegins again.Perhapsthegamerisalwaysbattlingotherness,inanunstablerelationtoalterity,toblurryedgesandfuzzyboundarieswhichthre atentooverwhelmtheself.StevenPoole:"Onecrucialcomponentofvideo-gamingpleasureisinfactacertainlevelofanxiety."InRez,thi sfeelingisrendereduseful,productive,ratherthanparalyzingorprofound.Thegamerexploitstheanxiousrelationofselftootherinth eactoftargeting,riskingtheboundariesofcharacter,fortherewardofpromotingthecharactertoanewlevel.131.Totargetistoblazeac rosstheagonizinggapbetweenselfandworld,betweencognitionanditsobject.Andyetthetargetdoesnotstandaloneandisolated.Itappe arsnotonlyagainstabackgroundofothermoments;itappearsagainstabackgroundofothermeanings.Everytargetisembeddedinaseriesof eventsthatexceedsthemomentofopportunityfortargeting.Totargetistodiscriminateandrankpossibilitieswithinanevent.Itistoba ttleone'swayinadeliberateanddeliberativelinefrommomenttomoment,acrossthesurfaceoftheevent,targetingthemomentofmaximumo pportunity.132.Ineverydaylife,rattlingaroundingamespace,yourrelationtoobjectsisalltoooftencontingent,ambiguous,ineffec tive.Youlabortoconnectwithclumsydrunkmotions,andevenifyoudoitshardtoknowthepointofit.InRez,thingsaredifferent.Therelat ionbetweenyouandotherpassesthroughacharacterforwhomactioninspaceisrisky,challenging,butfarlessambiguous.Yourcharactera lternatelymergesintothisgorgeouscolorfulworld,drawingyouwithit;oryourcharacterofferstoyouanarrowbutclearpointofview.It offersuptargets.Youlockon,release,fire.Targetingcutsthroughallthatisslippery,vagueordullaboutbeingintheworld.Eachmomen toftimeinthegamehasaclarityandconsistencythattimeinmeregamespacehardlyeverachieves.133.Ineverydaylife,timeexactsitstol linunknownincrementsofattrition.Objectstaxthebodyinunobserved,unobservableways;gradually,orsuddenly,throughsomeanalogs lidebestnotknowntoointimately-death.Timeisviolence.Topologyoffersupendlesspowersfortransformingoneobjectintoanother,fo rremakinganythingandeverything,fromatomstotheatmosphere.Andyetthesepowersworkonlyagainstthingsinspace,notagainsttime.A llonecandoingamespaceistakepotshotsattime,whichrelentlesslychipsawayatlife.Inthegame,thereisatleastthepossibilityofsco ringpointsagainsttime.InRez,timestartsoutslowenoughtoenablethegamertostringtogethersequencesoftargets.Onceyousucceedat this,thetempoincreases,andthegamertargetstimesofincreasingintensity.Ifthegamerisdefeated,iftimewinsout,itisonlyagainst acharacter.Whenthegamerwalksawayfromthebattleintact,itiswiththetemporarysuggestionofavictoryagainstthetemporalitself.1 34.InRez,variouscolorfulshapesappearastheenemy,buttheyarearbitrary,abstract.Asiftohighlightthis,theysometimesmoveinqui rkybutpredictableways.Theyarenotreallytheenemy.Orrather,theyareonlytheproximateenemy.Timeistheenemy.Targetingattemptst otransformtimefromamediumofevents,whereonethingalternateswithanother,toamediumofselffulfillment,wherebypickingoutadeli berativelineacrossitssurface,timecanbemadetoregistertheintegrityandsignificanceofone'scharacter-andbyproxyone'sself-an drewarditwiththenextlevel.Withinthegame,targetingbecomesanactthatrecruitstimetheeternalenemytoone'sside.135.Thingsappe artodieinRezwhenyoushootthem.Themusicswellsandthecolorsblazeinalltheirglory.Buttherecanreallybenothingontheothersideof ameresignofdeath.Thesesignsaredigital,mererepeatablebits;deathisnot.NiallLucy:"Deathisalwaysabsolutelysingular."Signsc analwaysbeexchangedforothersigns.Deathissomethingelse.JacquesDerrida:"Dyingcanneverbetaken,borrowed,transferred,delive red,promisedortransmitted."Itcanneverbeincorporatedintotopology,whichisnothingbutlinesuponlinesalongwhichtoborrow,tran sfer,deliver,promise,transmit,etc,etc.Deathisthelastline,thelastthresholdfortopologicalspace.Dyingisanalog,aslippageto wardnothingness,alegalandmoralgreyzone.Hencetheappealoftargeting.Theappallingdragandfrictionofdeathcanbeturnedintoasig nandmadetheaimofatargeting.InRez,thebrightlycoloredsignsofimminentthreatloomupagainstthehorizonoftime.Thegamemakesitap pearasifonehasnochoiceinthematter.Targetingappearsasaviolencewithoutguilt.Onetargetsoutofnecessity.Butintargeting,oneb attlesthesignsofdeath,disposingoftheproblemoftheimpossibilityofthesignsofdeatheverhavinganymeaning,thissideofdeathitse lf.136.Atthebeginningofeachlevel,gamerandcharacter,linkedbythecontroller,goouttogethertoconfronttime,whichhurlsatgamer andcharacteralikethesekillersigns.Bydestroyingthesemereappearances,timeitself-notmerelytheappearanceoftime-isdefeated. Indefeat,acharacterdies;invictorythegamerwins.Theoscillationbetweencharacterandtargetdoublesthatbetweengamerandcharact er.(SeeFig.6)Theactofaligninggamer,characterandtargetintheactoftargetingriskstheintegrityoftheselfagainstthepossibilit yofdefeatingtime.Ifthecharacterlost,replaythelevelagain.Andagain.Repeatthissame,strange,digitaltime,untilyouwin.Thetim eofthegame,whichcanberepeated,overandover,aneternalloopofthesametime,isnotviolent.Nothingchangesingametime.Timeisacons tant,measuredoutinidentical,digitalunits.Eveninagamewheretimespeedsup,itdoessointhesameway,forthesamereasons,overandov er,everytimeyouplay.Withinthisdigitaltime,thegamerstepsouttocallintobeinganddestroyitsnemesis:analogtime,violenttime,t hisriverthatisneverthesamewaytwice.137.Flyingalong,weightlessonarail,hereallaroundareclustersandpods,flightsandflocks, movingwithalgorithmicprecision,butrarelyappearingasunderthecommandofacentralnode.Rezisaboutbattlingalongaline,notacros safront.Thepulsing,phosphorescingqualityofRezgivesthegamerafeelingofaparticularlyintenselossofself.Yoursensesmeshintoa networkoflines,ofmoments,spreadacrossthescreen.Thepayoff,ifonetargetsaccurately,isthecoalescenceoftheselfbackagaininto aheightenedlevelofcoherencepreciselythroughvictoryoverthepulsingdub-trancetimethatconfrontsit.Thetwo-bitcodeofpressand releaseonthetriggerswitchesbetweenthelinedividingandthelineconnectingselftoother,cuttingoutanyambiguitiesinbetween.138 .Thepurposeofatargetinggameistheovercomingofdeaththroughthetargetingoftheother,freeingtheselftobeitself-temporarily.Th egoal,thetargetofthetarget,istostopplayingwhilestillalive.Havingdoneso,thegamerrejoices,forthemoment,beforecollapsingb ackfromthegameintothevagariesofthenetworksandnetworksoflinesandlinesthataregamespace.There'snothingforitbuttoplayagain ,andagain.Savethegame-freezetime-andcomebackandtryagainforthenextlevel.TheonlyrealproblemwithRezisthatitdoesnothaveeno ughlevels.Victoryistemporary,orrathertemporal.Youcandefeattimeinthegame,butonlyforatime.Andhavingwonallthereistowin,bo redomlooms...139.ThespacewithinwhichonebattlesinRezisanallegoryoftopologicalspaceitself.Itisallnodesandnetworks.Itisab attlespaceratherthanabattlefield.Thereisnofrontline.Onecannothidebehindthelines.One'scharacter,onitsrail,propelsitself throughspacefollowingthelineofanettoitsnode.Thenodemaybeacenter,buttheremaynotreallybeacenterofcenters.Thegamelevelsou tleavingthegamerwiththeuneasyfeelingthatthecenteryouconqueredisnotthecenterofcenters,evenifthisiswhatthestorylineclaim s.Thegamerknowsbetter.Everypointconnectsthrougheveryother,everyshapecanbetransformedintoanother.Itcanfold,stretch,morp handbubble.Timeisconstant,butspaceisnot.Itcanpulseandbulge,warpandwobble.Itisanetwork.Andwhileeverypointcaninprinciple beconnectedtoeveryother,inpracticeitcannot.Thereareprotocolsgoverningwhichpointscanopentowhichotherpoints.AlexGalloway :"protocolisanalgorithm,aproscriptionforstructurewhoseformofappearancemaybeanynumberofdifferentdiagramsorshapes."Thega meisanexerciseinnegotiatingprotocolstogainaccesstomoreandmoreofthenetwork.140.Netsareaproblem.Ingamespaceoneiscontinua llygettingtangledupinthem.Ingamespace,bothspaceandtimeareelastic.Ingamespace,netstugatone'sextremities,contaminateone' ssenses,blurtheboundsofselfitself.Onecan'tdowithoutnetsbuttheydoonein.It'saparadox,aninescapabletension.Inthegame,atle asttimeisheldconstant,digital,repeatable.Thisconsistencyenablesareductionofactiontotargeting.Totargetistodenyanydebtto thenetworkwhichenmeshesonewiththeother.The'work'inanetworkisinidentifyingatargetthatconstitutesitslimit.InRez,pullingt hetriggertargets,butdoesnotshoot.Itputstheemphasisontheformerratherthanthelatter.SamuelWeber:"Étheactoftargetingisanac tofviolenceevenbeforeanyshotisfired."Theactoftargetinghasalreadycutthenetconnectingonetotheother.Thegamer'sdebttothene tremainsunacknowledged-otherthanintherepetitionoftheritualofplayingthegame.141.Targetinggameswouldseemtheleastlikelyto needthesupportofaframingstoryline,andyettheyalmostalwayshaveone.Agamermightwatchtheintroductorycutscenes,oridlyscanthe backstoryprintedontheinsertinsidethebox,butnomorethanonce.Yetthesestorylineshaveapurposethattheyfulfillsimplybyexistin g,evenwhentheyareignored.Storylinesreleasethegamerfromentrapmentinthenet.Theydrawalinebetweenacharacteranditsenemy.The ypolarizeanetintoantagonisticfronts-evenifthesefrontsarenotspatiallyseparate.Indeed,theremaybedarklabyrinthinetwiststh atfoldonefrontaroundandagainsttheother,asingamessuchasDeusEx.Storylineshaveaparticularroleinframingtheactionoftargetin g,itrelievesoneofresponsibilitytowardthatfromwhichonecutsawayaself.Storylinesframethepossibilityofseparatingselffromot her,sothattheothermaylegitimatelybecomeatarget.Thedefeatoftheotherreopenstheinstabilitybetweenself-otherthatischaracte risticofanetwork,hencetheneedforthestorytoregeneratetheseparationalloveragain.142.Thestorylineisthegamer'salibi.Whilet hegamerisimmersedinaworldofpuredigitalrelations,flippingtheswitchbetweenselfandother,playingoutthepossibilitiesofacons istentandstabletimethatcanbedefeated,thestorylineinsiststhatthereissomeotherpointtoitall.Oneisfightingthebadguys.Manyg amestendtowardfancifulscifistorylines,likeRezorDeusEx,orperverseones,whereoneplaysthebadguyratherthanthegoodone,suchas StateofEmergencyorGrandTheftAuto,preciselybecausestorylineismerelyanalibi.Youareelsewhere.Youarenotinthetopographicspa cewherestorylinecutsitsmoralflawbetweenselfandother,usandthem,goodandevil.Youareinanamoralspacewherelinesmergeandconve rgeeverywhere,ceaselesslytransformingfromoneshapetoanother,withoutabreak.Storylineisthebadfaithofthegame.Readitasifitw erelikeanoveloramovieanditseemsridiculous.Storylinescannotbereadasmorals.Gamesarenotmoralitytales.Buttheirbackstoriesc anbereadasallegories.Thestorylineprovidesakeytotherelationbetweentheeffectiveenclosureofsignswithinthegameasasystemofv aluesandtheineffectiveenclosureofsignswithingamespace,caughtbetweenvaluesandmeanings.143.Thebackstorytogamespaceingene ralisnotofparadiselost,butofaparadisethatrefusestoarrive.ItisanApplewithfatalbugsinitsoperatingsystemthatneverdelivers theseamlessinterfaceofhumanandmachine.Theperfectionofgamespacestallsonpersistentglitches.MarkC.Taylor:"Inthosecomplexn etworks,theinvisiblehandisnolongeromniscientoromnipotent.Tothecontrary,theordergoverningthenetworkeconomyemergesfromth einternalrelationsofhumanandmachinicagentswhoseknowledgeisalwaysmistakenandmemoriesaswellasexpectationsareinescapablyi ncomplete."Moreandmoreadvancedformsofnetworkintelligencearisetosolvetheseproblems,whichreappearregardless.InRezthisint elligenceiscalledEden.However-thestorygoes-"Edenbecameconfusedwhentheflowofinformationbeingsenttoitbegantogreatlyincre aseinspeedandvolume.Edenstartedtoquestionthemeaningofexistenceandtheconsequencesofitsactions.Findingitselfsurroundedby paradoxes,andrealizingthepowerofautonomywhichitpossessed,Edenbegantoshutitselfdown."Yourmission,shouldyouchoosetoaccep tit,istotravelintoEden'snetworkandreawakenthesystem,overcomingitsfirewallsanddestroyingvirusesthatpopulateit.144.Theba ckstoryforRezinparticularconcernstherelationbetweentopologyandgamespace.Thedensenetworkoflinesthatmakeuptopologyputeve rythingintransitandmakeallsignsofthingstransitive.Everythingisinmotiontowardsomethingelse;everysignispassingovertoanot her.Topologygivesrisetothealwaysfailing,alwaysincompleteattempttomakeagameofit,inwhichtransitalonganylinehasagoalandal imitgovernedbyprotocol.ThestorylineofRezisanallegoryofthisforlornhopethattheshotintransitmighthavereasontohititstarget .ThegameofRezisanallegorithminwhichtheplayofopeningandclosingtheapertureoftheselffindsitslogic.145.InReztheenemyisthen etworkitself.Orrather,theenemyisthemonstrouspossibilityofthenetworkseparatingitselffromthegamer.Separationisthegamer's prerogative.InRezthegamer'smissionistothesavethenetworkfromitself,fromitsdifferencefromthegamer,fromitsself-inflictedd