Discord: https://discord.gg/pDCSRMXUtR (Schizoid friendly)
https://twitter.com/Headstacker
The 1970s witnessed a major shift in mass production and consumption. This shift involved a transition from Fordism, a system of standardized and mass-produced goods that catered to the needs of a homogeneous market. To post-Fordism, a system that reflected the emergence of new consumer preferences and identities. That sought to express their individuality through personalized products.
A similar shift can be observed in the video game industry in the last decades. Games in the 90s were based on standardized products that appeal to a mass market. They relied on centralized management and design. CS:GO skins on the other hand are based on flexible products that appeal to a niche market. These skins can be bought, sold or traded on various platforms, creating a dynamic and lucrative market for virtual goods. CS:GO skins illustrate how video game consumption has changed from buying standardized games to customizing one’s own virtual experience. They also represent a broader trend of commodification within digitalization, where digital objects acquire economic value and social status.
I believe this trend of customization will intensify with the advancement of technology, as it appeals to the new generation who seek connection and meaning through cyberspace, while also facing isolation and manipulation by a multitude of forces in the analog world. Customization will impact not only the aesthetics but also the stories, characters and mechanics of the games. I envision this shift occurring in three phases. Culminating in the final phase where gaming technology has reached its ultimate extension, and transcended its current definition.
Psychology behind video games and its extension. Virtual reality and VR.
Games and films referenced:
Doom
Half Life
CS:GO
Evolve,
Roblox
VR Chat
World of Warcraft / Asmongold
Enter the void
TikTok user agreement
Twitch.tv
Jacobs ladder
Urashima Tarō
Overlord
The Bothersome Man
Freud’s Death Drive
Pre-Oedipal stage
Werner Herzog’s Land of Silence and Darkness
Gummo
Neon Demon
Solaris
Eraserhead
Alfred’s Playhouse
Altered States
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