051.Ofwhatuseisthepasttoagamer?PeterLunenfeld:"Forthemostpart,itsblood,mischiefandroleplayingthatgamersrevelin.Theyliveinanalternativeuniverse,asolipsisticonescriptedbydesignerswhoseframeofreferenceextendsnofurtherbackthanPong,Pac-ManandDungeonsandDragons.Thevisualandstorylinetropest
hatmostofusbringwithusasculturalbaggageareÉallbutforgottenancestralmemories,thrownoff,onpurpose,toocumbersometobeofanyuse."Inthisnewworldthatappearsindifferenttohistory,withonlyhallsoffameforitschampions,chroniclesofitsbigbattlesandchartsofitsgreatesthits,accountingforhowthisdigitalg
amespacecameintobeingpresentssomethingofachallenge.Perhapsitisbesttoapproachitinitsownstyle,asaseriesoflevels,eachofwhichappearstothegameronbattlingthroughtotheendofthelast.Ifoneisdefeated,onestartsover.Butremember:thesearethegrindlevels.Thegoingishardhere,evenalittleboring.Youmaynee
dtoattemptitmorethanonce.Ingamespace,timeismeasuredindiscreteandconstantunits,andwhileonecannotalwayswinalevel,onecanalwaysstartoveranddoitagain.052.Clicktostart.Hereisanewworld.Thefirstlevelopensontoatopic(fromtheGreek'topos',orplace).Hereatopicisaplacebothonthegroundandwithinlangua
ge.JacquesDerrida:"Thethemes,thetopics,the(common-)places,inarhetoricalsense,arestrictlyinscribed,comprehendedeachtimewithinasignificantsite."Onecanplaceone'sfootonatopicbecauseonecanplaceone'stongueonit.Oronecanpointtowarditandsay:"thereitisÉ".Allaroundthetopicitisdark,unknown,unmap
ped,withoutstories.Movearoundabitandyoubumpintoothers,fromothertribes,othersettlements.Viaothersonelearnsofstillothers.Thetopicsstarttoconnect.Amapforms.Oncethereisamap,thereisthetopographic,whichtraceslinesthatconnectthetopics,andwhichdoublesthetopicalwiththespaceofmapsandtexts.Thes
eoutlinethecontoursinspaceandtimeofwhatwasthetopical,redrawingandrewritingitasacontinuousandhomogenousplane.Thelinesofthetopicaretracedintothepage;thelinesonthepagearetracedbackontotheearthastopography.Historyisastoryandgeographyanimageofthistopography,inwhichtheboundariesareforeverb
eingexpandedandredrawn.Thisplaybetweenthetopicalandtopographicisthefirstlevel.053.Inthefirstlevel,everytopicalfeaturethatresistsinscriptionasacontinuousspaceiserasedandreplaced.Impassablemountainsyieldtheirpassages,joiningonceseparatetopics.Everyrecalcitrantpeoplewithitsownindigenous
toposisexterminatedandforgotten.JamesFenimoreCooper:"Inashorttimetherewillbenoremainsoftheseextraordinarypeople,inthoseregionsinwhichtheydweltforcenturies,buttheirnames."Thenamespersist,onmaps,orinbookswithtitleslikeTheLastoftheMohicans.Thefirstlevelisthisdissolutionofthetopicalintot
hetopographic,whereanoralloreiserasedandreplacedbyinscription:Linesonmaps,linesonpages;linesthatevolvefromtrailtorail.Thefirstleveliswherethetopographicunfoldsasthelinebetweenwhatischartedandwhatisuncharted.(SeeFig.3)Thestorylinedwellsbetweentheautonomyofthetopicalandtheauthorityofth
etopographical,alwayslaggingbehind.054.Inthecinema,mappingandwritingmeet.Theemergenceofthetopographicanditsstruggletosubsumethetopicalbecomesthegreatthemeofwesterngenre,aboveallofthedirectorJohnFord.JimmyStewart,thefrontierlawyer,bringingthewildwesttobook,runsupagainsttheoutlawgunsli
ngerLeeMarvin.WhenStewartshootshiminashowdown,Stewartbecomesalegend,andasenator.OnlyitwasJohnWayne,thehonorableoutlaw,whoreallyfiredthefatalshot.InTheManWhoShotLibertyValence,cinemafunctionsastheformthatcanrevealretrospectivelytheworkingsoftopography,itscreationofastorylinethatjustif
iestheimpositionofthethinbluelineofthelaw.Thecompletionofthetopographicisthesubjectoffilmnoir.Herethetopographichasconnectedallofspaceinaloosenetwork,andonecannotrunbeyondthefrontiertoescapeit.Oneescapeswithin,lookingforill-lit,interstitialtopics,liketherailyardsandwholesalemarketsof
JulesDassin'sThievesHighway.Here,onthe'wrongsideofthetracks'thereisstillaspaceforillicitdesire,andanescapefromboredom.055.Whatclosesthefrontierforfreeactionistheenclosureofthespaceofmovementwithinaspaceofcommunication.Thelinesplits,intoonethatmovesobjectsandsubjects,andanother,faster
onethatmovesinformation,thelineoftelesthesia,ofthetelegraphthentelephone.InHighNoon,SheriffGaryCooperlearnsthroughthetelegraphthathislawlessnemesisarrivesonthemiddaytrain.InTheNakedCity,thispoweroftelesthesia-perceptionatadistance-iseverywhere.Thepolice,forensics,thecoronerareallbrou
ghttogetherviatheswitchboardoperator,enablingandovercomingadivisionoflaborwiththetelephone,andcompactingspaceintoatemporalevent.Weseethepolicemanmakeacall,theoperatormakingtheconnection,andthecallbeinganswered.Telesthesiaallowsthespeedingupandcoordinationofmovementalongallotherlines,
settingtherailwaytimetablesbywhichvastarmiesofgoodsorsoldiersmaybemobilized.Telesthesiamakespossiblethecompletionoftopographicspace,wherevastterritoriesarecoordinatedwithintheboundsoftheline.Astelesthesiadevelops,fromtelegraphtotelephonetotelevisiontotelecommunications,topographicspa
cedeepensandhardens,butalwayswithgapsandexclusions.FilmNoirdwellsinagapbetweenthefreeactinanunmarkedspaceandtheimpositionoftheline.Youcanrunbutyoucan'thide.056.Eventually,eventheoutofthewaytopicwithinthetopographicismappedandstoried.InDassin'sNightandtheCity,madeinpoliticalexileinLon
don,thewholeofspacehasbecometelegraphic.Thereisnoescape.Thiscompletesthefirstlevel.Topologybeginswhenthetopicalceasestohaveanyautonomy,whenthelinealongwhichcommunicationflowsclosesthegapbetweenmapandterritory.Theopenfrontierisenclosedinafieldofcalculation.Historyandgeographyceasetodw
ellbetweenthetopicalandthetopographical,alwaysrushingtokeepup.Historyandgeographyaresubsumedwithinatopology,whichtendstowardsacontinuousfieldofequivalentandexchangeablevalues,instantlycommunicableeverywhere.Wherethetopicalwasonceboundedwithinthelinesofthetopographical,itisnowconnecte
dalongthelinesofthetopological.Thefixedgeometryoftopographygiveswaytothevariableformsoftopology,inwhichthelinesconnectingpointstogetherlendthemselvestotransformationwithoutrupturefromoneshapetoanother.Thestorylineofoutwardmovementiscomplete;thegamespaceofinteriorplaycommences.Welcome
tothesecondlevel.057.FilmNoircomestoanendwhenitisnolongerpossibletoimagineanythinggreatbutevillurkingoutofbounds.Ifsomethingpassesundetectedforanylengthoftimeitisbecauseithasnovalue.Theeraofthegreatopenlydeclaredvillainsisover.Intopologicaltimes,thebadguyspassasnormalorcorruptthelaw.
Cinemaasthemachineforimaginingtheopenspaceoutsidethelineisconsignedtothepast.Topologyannouncesitsnewambitionsthroughradioandparticularlytelevision,asignalforeverywhereandnowhere,potentiallyinterestedinanyoneoranywhere,aCandidCamera.Thekeygenresforworkingoutthesubsumptionofthetopograp
hicintothetopologicalarethesituationcomedyandthegameshow.Onagameshow,anyonecanbetakenoutofeverydaylifeandbroughtintothemagiccircleoftelevision;onasitcom,televisioncanextenditselftotheeverydaylifefamiliartotheaverageviewer,anywhere.Sitcomandgameshowannouncethecomingofatopologyinwhicha
llofspacemightbedoubledsimultaneously,withoutlag,bylinesofimage,linesofsound,whichasyetstillbroadcastoutofcentralnodes.Thelinesrunonlyonewayandindiscriminately,butincorporatesanyoneandanythingofvalue.Whatisexcluded,fromitspointofview,hasnovalue.Theromanceoftheoutsiderisdead.058.Whatc
ompletestopologyandpreparesitforthenext-unknown-leveliswhenthelinesplitsagain,intoanaloganddigital.Theanaloglinesofradioandtelephoneandtelevisiongivewaytodigitallines,whichreachbacktotheprecedentofthetelegraph,butextenditsdigitalcodetoanincreasinglyflexibleandallembracingwebofcommuni
cationlines.Gradually,thedigitalextendsandexpandstothewholeoftelesthesia.Theinternetincorporatestext,sound,images,thenmovingimages.Thecyberspaceoftheinternetbecomesmobileandportableandturnsintothecellspaceofmobiletelephony.Thiscombinationofthespeedoftelesthesiawiththedigitalcodeiswha
tmakespossibleavastandinclusivetopologyofgamespace.Thisisthethirdlevel:TheworldoftopologyistheworldofTheCave(tm).Anyandeveryspaceisanetworkoflines,pulsingwithdigitaldata,onwhichplayersactandreact.Inworkandplay,itisnotthenovel,notcinema,nottelevisionthatoffersthelinewithinwhichtograsp
theformofeverydaylife,itisthegame.JulianDibbell:"Éinthestrangenewworldofimmaterialitytowardwhichtheenginesofproductionhavelongbeendrivingus,wecannowatlastmakeoutthecontoursofamorefamiliarrealmoftheinsubstantial--therealmofgamesandmakebelieve."059.Ifthenovel,cinemaortelevisioncanrevea
lthroughtheirparticularsanallegoryoftheworldthatmakesthempossible,thegamerevealssomethingelse.Forthereader,thenovelproducesallegoryassomethingtextual.Theworldofpossibilityistheplayofthelinguisticsign.Forthecineaste,theworldofpossibilityisaplayoflightandshade.Forthegamer,thegameproduc
esallegoryassomethingalgorithmic.Theworldofpossibilityistheworldinternaltothealgorithm.So:apassagefromthetopictothetopographic,mediatedbythenovel;apassagefromthetopographictothetopological,mediatedbytelevision;apassage,mediatedbythegame,fromthetopologicaltoasyetunknownspaces,apointwh
erethegamerseemstobestuck.Isitreallythecasethatthegamermerelyrevelsinbloodmischiefandroleplaying?Oristhereadeeperunderstandingofthecavethatcanbehadfromgamingwithinit?060.Startoverwithanothernewworld.(Thistimewithalittlegamertheory.)Welcometothefirstlevel:Thenovelisalineofacertaintype
,whichopenstowardscertainpossibilities,astoryline.Itarisesatthemomentwhentopicgiveswaytotopography.ForGeorgLuk‡cs,whatistobevaluedisthehistoricalnovelanditsabilitytotracealineacrossanhistoricalmomentandrevealtheforcesatworkinit."Itistheportrayalofthebroadlivingbasisofhistoricalevents
intheirintricacyandcomplexity,intheirmanifoldinteractionwithactingindividuals."Thehistoricalnovelshowshistoricaleventsthroughsecondarycharacters,perhapsnotunlikethereader,andanhistoricaleventasbeingatthesametimeatransformationofeverydaylife.Andyetthenovelsuffersfromthisparadox:Toillu
minatethetopographic,thenovelhastohideitsownform.Ifitexploresthepossibilitiesofthelinewithinitspagesitopensitselftoa'formalism'thatleavesthereaderbehind.061.Thefirstlevelcontinues:Cinemaisalineofacertaintype,whichopenstowardscertainpossibilities,anilluminationofthedarkcornersoftopogr
aphy.ForWalterBenjamin,whatistobevaluedisthe'opticalunconscious',cinema'smachinicvisionofaworldthatisitselfmachinedwithadensegridoflines.Cinemacanexpandorshrinkspace,extendorcompresstime,itcancuttogetherimagesofdiversescalesorforms-intimationsoftopology.Itcreatesa'Spielraum',aplayroo
m,fordividingupthemachineworldotherwise.ContraLuk‡cs,Benjaminopenstowardstheformalpropertiesofthelineattheexpenseofitsrepresentationofanhistoricalsituationasatotality.Butwhatdoesn'tchangeisthatthespectator,likethereader,isexternaltothelineitself.Cinemacanshowhowtheworldismadethroughi
tscutsandmontages,anindustrialprocesswiththeuniquequalityofshowingitselfasworks.Yetthereisstillaseparationbetweenthosemakingthecinemaandthosewatchingit.062.Thefirstlevelends:Thenovellanguishes.Cinemafailstorealizeitsallegoricalpotential.GuyDebord:"Butthislifeandthiscinemaarebothequal
lypaltry;andthatiswhyyoucouldactuallyexchangeonefortheotherwithindifference."Boredomreigns.063.Thesecondlevelbegins:Radioisalineofacertaintype,whichopenstowardscertainpossibilities.ForBrecht,whatistobevaluedinitisacertainunrealizedpotentialforthelinetopointbothways:"Radioisone-sideda
nditshouldbetwo.Itispurelyanapparatusfordistribution,formeresharingout.Sohereisapositivesuggestion:changethisapparatusoverfromdistributiontocommunication.Theradiowouldbethefinestpossiblecommunicationapparatusinpubliclife,avastnetworkofpipes.Thatistosay,itwouldbeifitknewhowtoreceiveas
wellastransmit,howtoletthelistenerspeakaswellashear,howtobringhimintoarelationshipinsteadofisolatinghim."Radiocouldbelikeapublictelephony.Butitisallanalogflow;itlacksadigitalcode.Itradiatesfromonepointtoeveryother,withoutdistinction.Itlacksthetransformationalgeometryoftopology,wherea
nythreespecificpointscouldbeconnected,anywhere,andstillmakethesame'triangle'connectingsenderandreceiverandthethird'line'-telesthesiaitself.064.Thesecondlevelcontinues.Televisionexpandsthelineofradio,butdoesitaddmuchtoit?Doesityieldmuchbywayofaspaceofpossibility?FredricJameson:"Theblo
ckageoffreshthinkingbefor