빌렘 플루서의 디지털 상상론

Abstract

We are living in the digital era, and the digital technologies have changed our lifestyles compared to the analog era. In particular, the changing of users behavior in transition with the media is the most significant. As the independent media changed to multi-media by the development of technologies, also users have turned from being passive to being active. This change draws more interaction in the digital era than in the analog. Among the media forms of the digital era, video games are most important in terms of interactivity. Interaction with video games is not just about when they are released or bought, but when they are played by the users. Now, users are not there just to play, they also ‘arrange’ or ‘reproduce’ the games. This is called ‘mod’ which is produced by arrangement or reproducing of the games. Vilem Flusser theorized on the changing of both the media and media users. If Walter Benjamin expected The politicization of art through movies, Flusser did same through the changing of media in the digital era. Flusser said that if the media is changed, also views or cognition of the users do. He divided the history of the media in three phases; which are pre-alphabetic, alphabetic, post-alphabetic. He argued we should be Einbildner in post-alphabetic phase, which he called the era of technical apparatuses. If so, we might apply Flusser’s theory to the digital games. These Games differ from other media because they are made up digital technology at the beginning. They seem to be objects of entertainment only superficially. But games can be material of new entertainment like reproducing or arrangement, because digital contents must have variability that is easy to transform to make up various products. Thus, this study is aimed at the interaction in video game based on Flusser's theory, and changes in cognition through the development of the digital technology by focusing on realism and constructionism. Lastly, ‘modders’ and ‘mod players’ correspond to Einbildner.