Peacecraft

Installation, posters, two computer stations and remote server.

Peacecraft ends the war in World of Warcraft thru the use of private servers and intervention within the reverse engineered game-space. Visitors are invited to engage the environment by playing one of the factions members and work together to a common goal. The work is about being in the space and making choices based on previous knowledge or finding common ground. War is over, if you want it.

With Third Faction, Peacecraft is currently offline.
DPS Site
DPS Manifesto (video)
ISEA Site

Demand Player Sovereignty (DPS)

Demand Player Sovereignty or DPS is a movement in civil disobedience led by Third Faction. Our goal is to gain greater autonomy for the players of the massively multiplayer online game "World of Warcraft" not only to support the diverse and creative play styles that are created by the players, but also to earn the players a voice to change the rules of the game itself. The Third Faction Collective, will lead its members and volunteers in active engagement within both the game environment as well as outside it.

The rules of World of Warcraft are strictly designed to keep the player's actions within the expected experience engineered by the game's creators. That engineered experience however is one of war and conflict. Attempts to push the borders of acceptable gameplay are met with resistance on the part of the game creators. At best, the game is patched to remove the offending potential actions. At worst, the player is punished and their account taken away. The Terms of Service, which must be agreed to play the game, exist to control the social mores of the players. To achieve our goal, we subvert the deliberate factional conflict within the game, participating with our supposed enemies, exploring peaceful modes of play, and bringing the ideas of political player resistance to the in-game public forum.
/hug page
Turbulence coverage (as Third Faction)
Coverage (as Third Faction)

/hug (Slash Hug)

"/hug" [ or slashhug] is a Third Faction project which seeks to establish a non governmental aid organization in World of Warcraft. This exhibit is a mixed reality installation that demonstrates the work of the /hug collective and is inspired in part by the Red Cross. This installation encourages viewer interaction in carrying out Non Governmental Organization of Azeroth missions via hands-on participation. 

/hug is guided by the following principles:

Humanity – /hug is born of a desire to bring assistance without discrimination to the wounded on the battlefield./huggers endeavor – via an inter-factional and inter-kingdom capacity – to prevent and alleviate humanoid suffering wherever it may be found. Its purpose is to protect life and health and to ensure respect for the humanoid. It promotes mutual understanding, friendship, cooperation and lasting peace amongst all races.

Impartiality – /hug makes no discrimination as to race, religious beliefs, or class. It endeavors to relieve the suffering of individuals – being guided solely by their needs and to give priority to the most urgent cases of distress.

Neutrality – In order to continue to enjoy the confidence of all, the movement may not take sides in hostilities or engage at any time in controversies relating to faction, reputation, religion, race or looting practices.

Independence – The movement is independent. The realm societies (while auxiliaries in the humanitarian services of their governments and subject to the laws of their respective kingdoms) must always maintain their autonomy so that they may be able at all times to act in accordance with the principles of the movement.

Voluntary service – We are a voluntary relief movement not prompted in any manner by desire for experience, gear or achievements.

Universality – The International /hug Movement is across all regional variations. All /hug societies have equal status and share equal responsibilities and duties in helping each other.
Ars Virtua Website - current focus is research
AVAIR & on Turbulence - Ars Virtua Artist in Residence
PDF of Early Exhibits

Ars Virtua

Ars Virtua is an ongoing investigation into the nature of 3D rendered environments. With an ever expanding exhibiton list, artists in residence (both in Second Life and World of Warcraft) an annual conference that addresses issues through the eyes of outside experts and an ongoing research agenda we are able to examine the space both conceptually and as a medium for artistic production.

Our primary center is the gallery and new media center in Second Life but we have expanded to include Guilds on two servers in World of Warcraft.

Through artist residencies and conferences we have expanded our reach to become part of the dialogue about these new spaces.
Ars Virtua Tidy Page

Looks Very Tidy

The work originates in the 3D virtual engine of Second Life and is made up of three elements. Vacuum cleaners were created in the environment and rendered into real space with a 3D printer, a movie of the pair vacuuming the gallery (Ars Virtua) and a rotatable model of the Second Life vacuum cleaners are also featured.

Vacuuming is a fundamentally mundane process that relies on the nature of terrestrial reality (dirt & dust). When transposed into a game world it takes on an absurd quality and the drudgery becomes purely performative. Furthermore since the vacuum cleaner if functionally useless it becomes an object of pure fetish or "sculpture."