D-generations

D-generations is a series of paintings produced with oils on canvas. The series depicts the directional pad (d-pad) of sixteen pivotal Nintendo controllers or handheld consoles. All d-pads are presented in near identical dimensions to support comparison of the historical development of these devices. The series begins with the Donkey Kong II Game & Watch handheld game (1983) and culminates with the Nintendo Switch Lite (2019). All paintings were completed between May and August 2023.

As a visual research project, D-generations explores personal and collective memories of games hardware and the tactile connection to game play. It draws on theories of media archaeology (Parikka, 2012), memory studies (Erll, 2011), nostalgia (Boym, 2002) and retro culture (Reynolds, 2012), while taking influence from the works and writing of Michael Craig-Martin (2015). Using the tactility of oils over digital image making, D-generations critiques a perceived focus in the game artworld on the game software as the source of aesthetic (audio-visual, ludic, narrative) engagement with games, by instead visually representing the consumer products and examining the physical connection to play that has remained consistent through many generations of Nintendo platforms.

The fixation on the d-pad, eliminating all other features and buttons on the various controllers and providing no gaming context, is intended to draw attention to both the evolution and the consistency of this basic input. In all images, the movement of the viewer’s thumb tracing up, down, left, and right movements is implied. The close-up scrutiny of the d-pad draws out impressions of the 3D surface of the objects, depicting grooves, soft and hard edges, grips, and the material qualities of the plastics and rubbers each device was made from. The argument of D-generations is that tactile interaction with the D-pad is an aesthetic and meaningful engagement with digital games worthy of critique.