The Conversation

A single player card game - reminiscent of Tarot, this game is designed to help you make decisions and find answers within your subconscious mind.

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Whenever I have to make a difficult decision between two things that I want (and where one does not have a clear practical advantage over the other, making it a purely emotional choice), I like to throw a coin.

Not to let chance or even fate decide, but because it helps me figure out what I truly want more.

The trick lies not in the result of the coin toss, but in my immediate emotional reaction to it. If I am relieved and glad (be it just to have the choice made for me), it is either the right option or it does not matter.

If, on the other hand, I feel disappointment, sadness or regret, I should choose the other option.

It is a very simple trick, and once you know how it works, the moral seems obvious and the trick a useless middleman: just go with what you feel more comfortable with!

In emotionally complicated or complex matters, however, this mediation, the brief illusion of a forced choice is often needed to make the most instinctive feelings surface. It can be hard to imagine the choice being made, especially if you have been contemplating it for a long time already.

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I have always liked the concept of consulting Tarot in a non-esoterical way. Like the two-step coin toss, the game is simply used to bring own thoughts and emotions to the surface. It does not matter whether the cards you pick fit your future, but the way you interpret them shows how you think – it opens up a voice channel for your inner demons. In a way, you end up conversing with yourself, or other versions of yourself.

When talking about interactivity, I always end up discussing the possibility of interacting with yourself.

This experiment might be the one that is in line with my original concept the most –it explores the technicalities and potential profits of different versions of one person having a conversation.

This game is supposed to be played alone, and has a purpose similar to that of journaling or meditation. Since there are hardly any rules, I would go so far as to say that the terms “artist and audience” or “creator and consumer” do not apply any more at all.

Here, the game has been reduced to its most primal form as a basic medium – a middleman like described in The Hermann Story.

PSI Reality – The Transcendental Dimension

In the beginning of my research, I defined my take on the concept of multiple realities. Though most of it has become somewhat irrelevant to the current version of my project, there is one part I would like to talk about nonetheless, as it suits this game very well and represents an important part of its background – not to forget it still being the title of this project.

PSI Phenomenon

A sub chapter of parapsychology describing extrasensory perception. PSI phenomena include telepathy, telekinesis, reincarnation and precognition. Though treated by some as a (medicinal) science, it has yet to be officially accepted as such. Instead it is usually put on a level with religious and esoteric theories.

PSI: Parasocial Interaction

Paracommunication refers to communication with a fictional character or non-interactive, mediated processes towards real people. In the right setting, this can occur accompanied by emotions and effects not different from any other kind of communication. Widely used examples for Paracommunication include the 4th wall break and prayer.

The Birth of Reality PSI

Upon discovery of this lucky connection of letters, I immediately knew that I had found the perfect name for my project. The overlap between an at least partly conscious choice to interact with an unknown and possibly un-real, non-real, anti-real or in any way differently real entity, and the inexplicable, fantastic experiences and responses one might get is exactly where this part of my project is located.

Another way of mediated conversation with one's suppressed voices is not talking to yourself, but some cosmic entity that is always listening. If you prefer to think of it like that, Tarot in its more original spiritual sense works just as well, as long as you remember to stay critical towards the advice you might be getting.

Of course, the line to prayer is extremely thin here.

The Layers

The Tarot Layer

You can play the game using Tarot spreads and techniques. Though the deck does not follow the traditional Tarot system, but rather leans on the structure of Tarock, known cards and their meaning are easily applicable to the images by your own choosing or following the guide that comes with the game. In Tarock, there are four suits of face cards and twenty-two trumps. To keep it contained, this game features two full sets of face cards (one red and one black suit) and eleven trumps, according to care- and purposeful artistic selection. Read more about the meaning of the cards in the blog post "Making of: The Conversation" or in the handbook that comes with purchasing the game.

The Interpretation Layer

As described above, being confronted with your initial reaction to a card and its perceived meaning can help you realize your hidden desires and fears. In order to understand your gut reactions, analyzing the image that evoked them can be easier than truly critically analyzing the mess of your own emotions.

The Mentor Layer

This layer is personal – it relates to the decisions that were made in the process of developing the game and that went into its design in the end.The people and situations portrayed have meaning to me personally, and each card evokes a different specific (if nameless) emotion or memory fragment in me.

In ethics, there is a system that is supposed to help you make a choice in a difficult or morally ambiguous situation. The questions to ask yourself are: What if everyone behaved this way all the time? What if everyone knew you were doing this? And, most relevant: What would your mentor advise you? Would they be ashamed of you or proud? Would you be comfortable with them knowing about your actions?

By choosing to portray people that are close to me and that have shaped me and my personality when growing up, and that therefore have influence over me, I make use of this mechanic of simulated advice in the cards. When I need to make a choice, and the card I pull shows the face of my grandfather, my tendency might be afflicted differently than when I see my little sister. I might put more focus onto doing the right thing to honour his legacy, as opposed to being tempted to behave as a rolemodel or in a protective manner.

While this layer of course mainly has meaning only for me, I do believe that there is some universality to the relations one might have with an elderly man or a young girl. The facial expressions these people show can incite encouragement or support in all players, and perhaps provide counselling especially to those that don't have the luxury of being able to turn to their own relatives or mentor figures for help.

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