Stewart Skylar Copeland's "Observation Arena" is an 11 minute interactive documentary project built inside a video game engine. Using an Xbox controller, the audience/player decides which cameras to view and what information is displayed. Observation Arena recreates a conversation between the artist and his fiancée about her decision to use an AI-generated profile photo on LinkedIn. Their lighthearted chat touches on more serious themes and raises questions about identity, authenticity, and autonomy in today's world.

The project builds on Stewart’s years of experimentation with recreating recorded conversations inside of real-time 3D environments. The conversations are always between Stewart and his partner, Ji Yoon. Two earlier projects Janus (2022) and This Sporting Life (2023) were developed using a program called TouchDesigner and designed specifically for installation where viewers used MIDI controllers to navigate the scenes. “Observation Arena” was created using Unreal Engine, a game design software. The webcam recordings used in the game were made in January 2024 and the project was completed the following June during Stewart’s residency at ARTS ITOYA. It was displayed publicly for the first time on June 26 in Takeo, Japan.

Early iterations of “Observation Arena” allowed the player to roam a virtual space populated by multiple screens. However, players unfamiliar with first-person video game controls had difficulty navigating the scene and would often get frustrated trying to control the camera. The final version is inspired by the rubix cube. Players can zoom the camera in and out and pan slightly left and right. In order to change the video screen they see, they press trigger buttons on the controller to ‘spin’ the screens around or ‘flip’ them upside down. They also have the ability to ‘shift’ their view using the right thumbstick, but once the stick is released the view snaps back to center. The captions and other data can be toggled on and off from the controller. The audio is spatial and is altered by the location of the video screen in regards to the player controlled camera.

A very special thanks to Ji Yoon Chung for always playing along. I never get tired of talking to you. Thanks to Hirofumi Matsuzaki at ARTS ITOYA for his kindness and support. Charles Hill for the Japanese caption translation. All the old men at Takeo Onsen. Yuki & Sol at IRIE. Nishi at Crossover. The Takeo Bakery Lady. Anna, Emily, Shelby, and Won for being great housemates. Thank you Takeo City, for being so welcoming and genuine.

Download “OBSERVATION ARENA” for Windows!

• Clicking the link should automatically start download of the Zip file
  
• Once download is finished, extract the Zip File
  
• Run the .exe file

NOTE: I will update this when I get the chance, but I wanted to provide some version for download as soon as possible. The file is large (1.33 Gb). This version will only run on Windows. Keyboard and Mouse work, but Gamepad is recommended.