My thesis combines the narratives of the real in virtual. By doing this, I aim to reveal that neither of them have a more legitimate stake than the other, because they function with one another.

I propose that this symbiotic relationship of the real and the virtual is that of the simulacra. According to Baudrillard, the third order of simulacra is when reality and simulation have converged. These theories support the cyborg visions of Donna Haraway, in that we have all become cyborgs in the age of simulation. Ollivier Dyens pushes this concept further, proposing that humans are no longer reliant on a body-centric point of view, and that we have become intelligent beings that evolve through our technologies and relationships to systems and information. Graham Harman’s theory of object oriented ontology grounds these ideas. He proposes that humans are not raised on a pedestal above the objects around us, but that we
encounter objects in the same way they encounter one another. Altogether, these theorists have paved the road for a transhumanist trajectory for humanity.

My studio work is an interactive digital narrative named IOTA that takes the form of a short video game demo and supplemental game manual. Similar to the format of my thesis paper, the four stages of the game relate to the four stages of simulacra. By employing the medium of the video game, I set forth a plan to create a full simulation post-thesis that converges the simulation with its code. By drawing attention to this relationship in a virtual reality, I aim to subvert all other realms of the real.