Temporality and Spatiality in In-game Photography

Ozan Yavuz

doi:10.25038/am.v0i28.591

Authors

Ozan Yavuz Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7220-4158

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.591

Keywords:

in-game photography; temporality; spatiality; ergodicity; decisive moment.

Abstract

This study delves into the intricate relationship between temporality and spatiality within the realm of in-game photography, aiming to dissect its unique methodology and uncover its vast potential. While in-game photography shares fundamental elements of temporality and spatiality with classical photography, it carves out a distinct niche by virtue of its association with virtual environments. Temporal considerations reveal commonalities between in-game and classical photography, as both capture specific moments in time, akin to the concept of the decisive moment. However, the arresting of temporal progression within the game, accomplished by halting or pausing the gameplay, introduces a novel facet to photography. In-game photography's capacity to exist within the ‘extended present’ creates a more manageable and distinctive approach to temporal freezing, redefining the notion of the decisive moment, which posed technical, aesthetic, and philosophical challenges in modernist photography. Spatiality, intricately intertwined with temporality, assumes an ergodic structure within in-game photography, offering a multitude of photographic possibilities. Within this framework, photographer can navigate along x, y, and z axes, transforming the camera into a mechanical eye that unveils the invisible and alternative facets of the subject. This newfound freedom introduces an additional layer of engagement between the photographer and the virtual environment, a feature scarcely attainable in classical photography.

Author Biography

Ozan Yavuz, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

Ozan Yavuz (1983) is a lecturer of Basic and Advanced Digital Photography Courses at the Middle East Technical University, Music and Fine Arts Department (Ankara, Turkey). In 2019 he received his PhD in Art from the Yıldız Technical University Art and Design Department for researching the relation between historical metafiction, photography, migration and autoethnography within his personal history. He collaborated on the translation of the book Education of the Photographer. His book titled Anthropology and Photography: On Method and Representation was published in Espas Sanat ve Kuram Publishing in 2020. He is currently working on the translation of Sarah Pink’s Advances in Visual Methodology into Turkish. Yavuz has also had two solo exhibitions; “Workers”, Patti and Rusty Rueff Galleries, Purdue, Indiana/USA (2016); and “Lily and Wild Pear” Public Art Project, Istanbul/Turkey (2019). He also participated with his in-game photographic works at the Rotterdam Foto Fest (“The American”, February 9–12, 2023) and at the Eindhoven Fotofest, (“MetaScapes”, May 18–23, 2023). His core areas of study are visual anthropology, virtual photography, in-game photography and theory of photography.

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Temporality and Spatiality in In-game Photography

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Author Biography

Ozan Yavuz, Middle East Technical University, Ankara, Turkey

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