Gameplay Journal #6

Glitches again? Of course! They can actually be pretty entertaining if you’re amused by that kind of stuff.

The specific glitch I’m referencing is about 2:14 in and is within the game called Skyrim. The small clip shows the player attempting to interact or battle someone who is on a horse. As soon as those colliders near each other, the AI shoots off into the sky — — literally. Does this change the experience a player has? Absolutely, because that AI would be a little difficult to interact with while they are way in the sky or flung to the other side of the map. Some choose to have this sort of interaction on purpose.

“In order for glitch to work as a critical element, the audience has to be able to recognize it as an intended feature of the work, and not as an actual technical failure. The audience has to understand the glitch’s role “as disruption…” (Ferreira and Ribas 115). If players are intentionally creating this glitch art than it is not really disrupting their gameplay and may, in fact, just be a whole another game for them. I use the specific example of “funny glitches” because this activates an additional “level” for players which is humor and I personally find it enjoyable to see the games I normally play, acting a bit odd.

Ferreira, Pedro, and Luisa Ribas. “Post-Digital Aesthetics in Contemporary Audiovisual Art.” 2020.