It is one of the first ever experimental art games ever made and for the past decade, Bill Viola’s The Night Journey has been exhibited in venues around the world as a work in progress. Now, Bill Viola Studio and USC Game Innovation Lab have launched the award-winning game worldwide on Mac and Windows PC (and on PlayStation in the US), marking the first time home players have been able to experience it.
Using both game and video technologies, The Night Journey tells the universal story of an individual’s journey towards enlightenment. It is cryptic from the start: there is no single goal to achieve, nor a narrative – linear or otherwise – to follow. Players are prompted to navigate an interactive open world over which a mysterious darkness is looming. Their actions determine how the landscape transforms: players can pause to ‘reflect’, and may eventually slow down time itself and forestall the fall of darkness.
Drawing from The Night Journey Notes, 2001-2009
Viola’s previous works provide reference for the game world, while the in-game ‘reflections’ are drawn from the American artist’s archive of video footage. A custom set of post-processing techniques was even developed to give the 3D environment the sense of ‘explorable video’. Text from the 3rd-century philosopher Plotinus and 13th-century Islamic poet and mystic Rumi, among others, have also been incorporated into the game.
The game’s makers asked: What is the game mechanic of enlightenment? How can we model such an intensely personal yet archetypal experience in a game? The answer, apparently, is the antithesis of mainstream modern gaming, from The Night Journey’s lo-fi monochrome visuals to its defiantly slow pace. It’s a curious, meditative, puzzling and at times mystifying endeavour that is sure to divide players.
The Night Journey debuted at digital art gallery SIGGRAPH in 2007 and has since travelled to institutions including The Museum of the Moving Image, New York; Nam June Paik Art Center, Seoul; and Museum of Design, Atlanta. The game was developed with funding provided by the National Endowment for the Arts, Intel, Zero1 Art & Technology Network, and the Annenberg Center at the University of Southern California.
INFORMATION
The Night Journey, $19.99, available on Windows PC and Mac, and on PlayStation 4 for players in the US. A USB box set is also available from Blain|Southern. For more information, visit The Night Journey website and USC Game Innovation Lab website
-
‘It feels like something out of a movie’: Studio I-IN designs the Tokyo office for Japanese haircare brand KinujoStudio I-IN’s design for the head office of Tokyo-based haircare brand Kinujo includes a striking hemispheric desk, a fluted marble wall and porous natural lighting
-
Out of office: a week in the world of Wallpaper*From gallery visits to fine dining, here's what's been occupying the editors this week
-
Where to eat Thai food in LondonLondon’s best Thai restaurants each offer their own unique spin on the cuisine that push boundaries and present new culinary experiences. Browse our pick of the best
-
A’strict: the South Korean digital art collective bringing nature to urban lifeAs part of our Generation Generative series, we spotlight a’strict, the artistic unit of South Korean digital media design company d’strict, whose immersive art aims to bring viewers closer to nature
-
Bruce Nauman’s Venice mega-show is a full body experienceFocusing on the American artist's performative 'Contrapposto Studies', Bruce Nauman's show at Punta della Dogana, Venice, gives new meaning to body language – on view until 27 November 2022
-
‘Image as virus’: World AIDS Day 2021 marked with powerful new public filmTo mark World AIDS Day, (1 December 2021), and 40 years since the disease was first recorded, Circa will present VideoVirus, a compelling new film by AA Bronson and General Idea screened on public billboards in London, Seoul and Tokyo
-
Meet emerging artists from Oppo Renovators 2021 ProjectTechnology innovator Oppo announces the winners of its Renovators 2021 emerging artists project and says, ‘Everyone can be, and is, an artist’
-
Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement: radical reflections on surreal timesAt Centre d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, the Biennale de l’Image en Mouvement 2021 kicks off with group show ‘A Goodbye Letter, A Love Call, A Wake Up Song’, a full house of subversive moving image commissions
-
Oliver Beer’s mouth-to-mouth performance art resounds through Paris’ Opéra GarnierThe British artist presents a sound and video installation, Compositions for Mouths (Songs My Mother Taught Me), at Opéra Garnier in collaboration with French audio brand Devialet
-
Review: Ryoji Ikeda’s London show is a sensory assault courseExhibition review of Ryoji Ikeda's epic intervention at 180 The Strand, London. The Japanese artist’s solo show is an intense fusion of sound and vision. Warning: videos include flashing images
-
Watch Mat Collishaw's eerie ode to batsBritish artist Mat Collishaw's mesmerising public video installation Echolocation tunes into the navigation technique used by bats and pays homage to the rich history of Kingston
