Benjamin Poynter
Ben Poynter
Benjamin Poynter undertook a research residency at D6 for 3 weeks in July 2014. Benjamin Poynter is a practitioner of digital media and independent video games in the contemporary art world. Poytner is based in Nevada (USA), having just completed his Masters of Fine Art at University of Nevada Reno.
During his residency, Poytner undertook research and development into an intensive, 3D virtual reality indie game (Oculus Rift support) re-titled Story Generating Apparatus.
Benjamin told us about the game he worked on during his residency: “The game narrative is experimental in that I am telling the story of a fictional, ex-video game hero on his deathbed. Yet, the memories this character has before becoming an extinct intellectual property are my own personal ones. It is an experiment in just how far a self-identity work can be taken, even at the expense of the artist's own ethics or morality. Story Generating Apparatus values introspective player experience as a gameplay mechanic, rather than the social, mystifying itself from how a game is supposed to socially function in society. All 3D models, visuals, character design, and programmed through Unity all rendered by myself.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
The mission is no longer escapism, but excavation. Benjamin Poynter is a practitioner of digital media and independent video games in the contemporary art world. Dreams he has within of immersive landscapes are at the labor of belonging in a world all society knows. The art work he creates, venturing from intensive game art to animated tales, often dimensionalizes when propelled by the themes of virtual reality and experimental narrative. Ben's existence and work explores how reality dissolves into a representation of its own being through the accumulation of new media and prosthetic ability to escape within it. Benjamin is finishing up a Masters of Fine Art candidacy at the University of Nevada Reno (USA) with specialization in media arts directly after achieving a BFA in media arts at the University of Oklahoma (USA).
Exhibitions of Benjamin's work include the International Mobile Gaming Awards and a nomination for Best Serious Game, a showing at the E3-Indiecade showcase in LA, a top jury prize at the annual Nevada Museum of Art film festival, UCLA Game Arts festival, a lecture at ISEA 2013 in Sydney, Australia, and more.
During his residency, Poytner undertook research and development into an intensive, 3D virtual reality indie game (Oculus Rift support) re-titled Story Generating Apparatus.
Benjamin told us about the game he worked on during his residency: “The game narrative is experimental in that I am telling the story of a fictional, ex-video game hero on his deathbed. Yet, the memories this character has before becoming an extinct intellectual property are my own personal ones. It is an experiment in just how far a self-identity work can be taken, even at the expense of the artist's own ethics or morality. Story Generating Apparatus values introspective player experience as a gameplay mechanic, rather than the social, mystifying itself from how a game is supposed to socially function in society. All 3D models, visuals, character design, and programmed through Unity all rendered by myself.”
ABOUT THE ARTIST
The mission is no longer escapism, but excavation. Benjamin Poynter is a practitioner of digital media and independent video games in the contemporary art world. Dreams he has within of immersive landscapes are at the labor of belonging in a world all society knows. The art work he creates, venturing from intensive game art to animated tales, often dimensionalizes when propelled by the themes of virtual reality and experimental narrative. Ben's existence and work explores how reality dissolves into a representation of its own being through the accumulation of new media and prosthetic ability to escape within it. Benjamin is finishing up a Masters of Fine Art candidacy at the University of Nevada Reno (USA) with specialization in media arts directly after achieving a BFA in media arts at the University of Oklahoma (USA).
Exhibitions of Benjamin's work include the International Mobile Gaming Awards and a nomination for Best Serious Game, a showing at the E3-Indiecade showcase in LA, a top jury prize at the annual Nevada Museum of Art film festival, UCLA Game Arts festival, a lecture at ISEA 2013 in Sydney, Australia, and more.
