The Agency Between Technology, Nature, and Liminal Spaces
This image from The Gathering Cloud depicts Jussi Parikk's desire to directly paint out how our modern era is taking over the natural one. In this image it becomes apparent that even natural things have been replaced by technology. For example, this fish has been subbed in for a USB stick. All of these confusing images leave the user in a form of a liminal space. Where we are both between the era of having nature with us and the era of technological overthrow. Placing the player in a liminal space pushes them to pick a black and white side. Either they want to participate in making a change or they want to allow the cloud to overtake nature. Janet H Murray describes giving the user a choice to make as "Agency" (Murray). In her definition of agency, Murray also expands upon the idea that giving the user a choice creates a sense of immersion, however, looking at this piece reveals a form of 'reverse' agency which creates more of an impact on the user. Whereas the typical definition of agency states that the user is making a choice on a character with black and white options in a digital world, this instance shows the decision being pushed for us to make a black and white choice in how we act in the real world. This is because this image transverses between a fictional world (the one where physical clouds represent the technological cloud) and the modern era where something tangible like both fish, technical adaptors, and a fish shaped usb exist. Murray's idea of agency paired with Jussi Parikk's depiction of a choice to be made makes The Gathering Cloud a game that pushes the reader to find something within themselves that either wants to help the environment or is forced to neglect its needs.
