CURRENTLY, CONTEMPORARY SOCIETIES ARE UNDERGOING A PROCESS OF DEHUMANIZATION THAT, IS TAKING US SLOWLY BY SLOWLY INTO A VIRTUALISATION OF HUMAN RELATIONS AND EMOTIONS TOWARDS FRONTIERS UNKNOWN.
THE DEHUMANIZATION OF THESE RELATIONS BARES SIMILARITIES TO THE MOVEMENTS MADE BY PLAYERS OF VIDEOGAMES HANDLING THEIR CHARACTERS AS THEY PLEASE: DIRECTING HIS/HER INDIVIDUAL RELATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH THE SURROUNDING ENVIRONMENT. CULTURAL DIFFERENCES BETWEEN COUNTRIES ARE DISAPPEARING WITHIN THESE VIRTUAL CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION, WHILE THE REAL STRUCTURAL ENVIRONMENT CONTINUES TO SHOW US A CRUEL, UNDISCERNABLE, AND DEHUMANIZING WORLD THROUGH THE SCREENS OF OUR TELEVISION SETS, COMPUTERS, AND CELL PHONES.
THE CONCEPTUAL BASIS OF THIS PROJECT IS ROOTED IN THE RECOGNITION OF THE RADICAL SHIFT TAKING PLACE BY MEANS OF THIS VIRTUALISATION AND SUBSEQUENT RECONSTRUCTION OF REALITY. THE FINAL RESULT IS A VIDEOGAME WITH AN ARCADE AESTHETIC BASED ON THE FLUXES OF ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION INTO DEVELOPED COUNTRIES WHERE THE MORE ORDINARY DYNAMICS BETWEEN THE PLAYERS/SPECTATORS OF VIDEOGAMES AND THEIR CHARACTERS ARE TURNED UPSIDE DOWN. INSTEAD, HE/SHE ACTIVELY BECOMES AN 'ANTIHERO' THAT HAS TO FIGHT FOR HIS/HER ACTUAL SURVIVAL IN 'REAL TIME' AND IN THE LIVING WORLD. THIS DOES NOT ATTEMPT TO REVISIT PAST REALITIES OR CREATE IMPOSED ONES. THIS IS OUR INESCAPABLE PRESENT REALITY.
VIA THE COMPUTER KEYBOARD, AND CELL PHONE BUTTONS, THE SPECTATOR/PLAYER HAS TO OVERCOME A SERIES OF CHALLENGING LEVELS DERIVED FROM THE MAJOR GLOBAL ROUTES OF ILLEGAL MIGRATION UTILISED IN THE TRAFFICKING OF PEOPLE.
IN 'THE MEXICAN DESERT', THE PLAYER BECOMES A MEXICAN LEFT BY THE 'COYOTES' ON A TRAIL BY WHICH ONE CAN REACH THE UNITED STATES THROUGH THE DESERT. IN 'RAFT PEOPLE', ONE BECOMES PART OF A GROUP OF CUBANS THAT HAS CREATED A SELF-MADE RAFT TO TRY AND CROSS THE STRETCH OF SEA SEPARATING CUBA FROM THE UNITED STATES. IN 'THE EURO TUNNEL', ONE BECOMES A KURD NEEDING TO CROSS 7 MILES FROM CALAIS, FRANCE ONTO THE PORT OF DOVER, UK. IN 'BOAT PEOPLE', WE BECOME PART OF A GROUP OF SUB-SAHARANS TRYING TO REACH THE COASTS OF THE CANARY ISLANDS (SPAIN) BY BOAT. IN 'THE GREEK/TURKISH BORDER' WE ARE CONVERTED INTO A PALESTINIAN TRYING TO REACH GREECE THROUGH THE MINEFIELDS SITUATED BETWEEN THE GREEK AND TURKISH BORDERS ALONGSIDE THE EVROS RIVER. LASTLY, IN 'CHRISTMAS ISLAND' WE BECOME AN INDONESIAN TRAVELLING BY SHIP TRYING CLANDESTINELY TO REACH CHRISTMAS ISLAND, AUSTRALIA.
WE WELCOME THE PLAYERS OF 'ILLEGAL HEROES' IN A SUBTLE, IRONIC, MANNER JUST LIKE BEING NEO IS WELCOMED RIGHT AT THE VERY MOMENT WHEN HE SEES REALITY JUST AS IT IS - WITHOUT THE MATRIX. THE REALISATION THAT IMMIGRATION HAS BEEN ARTIFICIALLY CONSTRUED AS A THREAT TO DEVELOPED COUNTRIES BECOMES EQUIVALENT TO THE CESSATION OF THE MATRIX - THAT IS, THE CLEAR AWARENESS OF THAT WHICH LIES BEHIND THE FALSE ILLUSION OF WELL-BEING AND HAPPINESS AS DISTRIBUTED BY MEANS OF COMMODITIES AND MARKETING.
WELCOME TO THE DESERT OF THE REAL.
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ENTTER FINISHED 'ILLEGAL HEROES 1.0' AS DEMO VERSION OF THE TOTAL GAME ON THE 15TH OF FEBRUARY 2005.
THIS DEMO CONTAINS ONLY ONE LEVEL: THE MEXICAN
DESERT. HOWEVER, THE ADVENTURE DOES NOT STOP THERE. WE WILL CONTINUE
ADDING NEW LEVELS TO THE VIDEOGAME. OUR PRIMARY GOAL IS TO HELP INCREASE
AWARENESS ABOUT THESE, AND OTHER LESSER KNOWN, ILLEGAL ROUTES OF MIGRATION
THAT TOO OFTEN RESULT IN TRAGIC CONSEQUENCES.
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