Waco Resurrection
Waco Resurrection is an art video game and installation by the Los Angeles artist collective C-Level. Developed in 2003, it is based on the 1993 Waco siege and places players in the role of David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians. The game was created by Eddo Stern, Peter Brinson, Brody Condon, Michael Wilson, Mark Allen and Jessica Hutchins.[1]
The game was made as an installation as well as a computer game. Players wear plastic headgear resembling Koresh and use voice commands while playing. C-Level referred to the project as a "subjective documentary".[2]
Gameplay and installation
[edit]Waco Resurrection is a multiplayer game in which four players appear as Koresh inside a recreation of the Branch Davidian compound. Players can run, hide and shoot at federal agents, but can also gain followers and convert agents.[3][4]
Each player wears a hard-plastic Koresh mask fitted with a microphone. Spoken phrases activate abilities in the game. Bibles fall from the sky and give players additional powers, including healing and converting federal agents; some of these require the player to speak chants aloud.[5][2] The game's audio uses material connected to the siege, including samples of Koresh's voice and recordings of songs performed by him.[6]
During gallery presentations, the players formed part of the installation. Their gameplay was projected in the space and the sound was amplified for spectators.[7]
Development and exhibitions
[edit]C-Level began work on Waco Resurrection in 2003 in its Los Angeles media lab.[4] It was planned as the first entry in Endgames, a series of games dealing with apocalyptic movements and ideological conflict.[7] Contemporary coverage described C-Level's approach as an attempt to use video games to address real events rather than the fictional settings common in commercial games. Stern told The New York Times that the group was trying to create "documentary video games".[3]
The work premiered at The Kitchen in New York in October 2003.[7][3] It was shown at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco as part of the exhibition Bang the Machine in early 2004.[8] Other presentations followed in Australia and the Netherlands.[4]
In 2004, Waco Resurrection was included in Join Us: Calls to Ecstasy From the Edge of Oblivion at Grand Arts in Kansas City. The Associated Press reported that more than 300 people attended its Midwest debut there.[4]
Reception
[edit]Matthew Mirapaul included Waco Resurrection in a 2003 New York Times article on artists using games to recreate real places and recent events. He described the broader development as a move toward "social realism" in computer games.[3] Alexander R. Galloway later cited the game alongside September 12th: A Toy World and 9-11 Survivor as games that referred directly to recent political events.[9]
Ian Bogost discussed the game's use of voice commands, arguing that requiring players to speak Koresh's religious language was more important than simply recreating the compound. He saw the game as dealing with religious extremism and its relationship with government authority.[2] Mary Flanagan later discussed Waco Resurrection as an example of "critical play", noting the way its game mechanics place the player in Koresh's position while dealing with religious belief, violence and political power.[1]
The use of the Waco siege as the basis for a game also drew criticism. Branch Davidian survivor David Thibodeau told the Associated Press that the idea itself did not anger him, but objected to treating what happened at Waco as a game because real people had died there.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- 1 2 Flanagan, Mary (2016). "Critical Play: The Productive Paradox". In Paul, Christiane (ed.). A Companion to Digital Art. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 446–459. ISBN 978-1-118-47521-8.
- 1 2 3 Bogost, Ian (September 2006). "Playing Politics: Videogames for Politics, Activism, and Advocacy". First Monday. 11 (Special Issue 7). doi:10.5210/fm.v0i0.1617.
- 1 2 3 4 Mirapaul, Matthew (September 17, 2003). "Online Games Grab Grim Reality" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
- 1 2 3 4 5 Douglas, Jeff (July 3, 2004). "Game resurrects Waco tragedy and challenges video game conventions" (PDF). Associated Press. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
- ↑ Bembnister, Theresa (July 15, 2004). "Apocalypse Now". The Pitch. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
- ↑ Dodson, Sean (February 19, 2004). "Play time for grown-ups". The Guardian. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
- 1 2 3 "Restart/Reborn" (PDF). Filmmaker. Fall 2003. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
- ↑ Sullivan, James (January 22, 2004). "Digital art finds more than joy in joysticks". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved September 5, 2026.
- ↑ Galloway, Alexander R. (November 2004). "Social Realism in Gaming". Game Studies. 4 (1). Retrieved September 5, 2026.