Zen Luo

Why game? The alternative question is: if not to game, then what? To answer, we must ask what else life is other than games. Hence, this proposes two interdependent states – to ask “why game?” is to ask “what to be?” To ask “what to play?” is to ask “how to be?” As George Bataille proposes: “Are we here to play or to be serious?”

As an astronaut, the player finds themself trapped in an cyclical journey between the base and alien lands. With no guidance, the goal of the game is, by design, ambiguous. The destination of a mere base, but not home, signifies temporality in such achievement, and reflects the Heideggerian notion of our beings-in-the-world, which are fundamentally bound, defined by, and presented as tasks, circumstances, and conditions. The game reflects the struggle over meaning as an inherent human experience.

Zhenghan (Zen) Luo is a New York-based creative professional whose work ranges from filmmaking to immersive and interactive media to video games. Luo’s work often explores the intersection of technology and existentialism in human struggles.