Game Art: Kent Sheely's Ready for Action Grid #3 (2016)

Kent Sheely's amazing Ready for Action (2012- ongoing) series is an ever evolving project. The latest iteration consists of a grid version that combines four stand-alone, previously released episodes, remediating the format of CCTV cameras, with its variety of perspectives and angles. The mixed reality aspect (the soundtrack is captured from real-life situations) makes Ready for Action truly uncanny. The main theme - uber-mensch characters at the mercy of public transportation - has deeper implications about the process of simulating urban environments in video games. As Sheely writes,

In each scene, the surreal inertia of the game’s world is interrupted by a moment of inaction and powerlessness that would be commonplace in our own world, but seems alien when experienced by a gun-toting game avatar. The player has chosen to give up this birthright of control and be manipulated by external forces.

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