ABSTRACT
Until now, when one describes the key characteristics of digital culture, the fascination of computer-generated worlds has mainly been discussed with regard to the boundless expanses of inexhaustible techniques of simulation. This is certainly an important point; however, one cannot help being struck by the incredible success of the Wii console, its attractive body codes and kinaesthetic qualities with which, in the perception of many players, the game seems to leave the computer and generate a hybrid space in which the computer acts in the living room and the player in the space of the screen. The console’s commercial success also reflects a trend in digital culture to stage computer-game models in real space. The most recent developments include mobile-network-based computer games—so-called network-based performances 1 —which operate in urban space with a wide range of new media practices. These involve ludic interactions with technological communication systems combining elements of art, play, design and entertainment to create new types of participation. These combinations seem to be based on particular forms of transitionality between real and visual space. Like all apparently “brand-new” phenomena, this one has a long prehistory, too. However, considering the most recent developments, interaction with digital technology, the old wish to participate in the reality of images seems to have gained new currency.
