When I was working at the Workcenter of Jerzy Grotowski and Thomas Richards in Italy, Thomas Richards, the director of the company and the figure considered as one of the most influential people in modern theater, often spoke about ‘action’ with great importance. This naturally raised a question in me: ‘So, what is action?’

In his eyes, there were two kinds of action: alive action and dead action. Whenever I finished presenting a piece I had developed (which was mostly every 2-3 days), he would say something like, “The action is dead,” “You are still searching for the action,” or “The action was alive.” I couldn’t articulate the differences in words, but I certainly felt the differences between the actions. There were moments when I pushed forward even though the thread was lost. The action was gone then. At other times, the action was there with me, guiding the direction my being was heading.

In the context of the Workcenter, ‘action’ goes beyond mere physical movement or activity. It embodies a deeper, almost ritualistic practice (although I am unsure if he would agree with this term) where the actor’s physical and vocal expressions are inextricably linked to their internal impulses and emotions. Throughout my time at the Workcenter, I came to understand the term ‘action’ as an expression of the process through which a performer turns inward. It was expressed outwardly yet oriented towards the internal.

Not all games, but many personal games, apply similar practices. Game mechanics in these games, like the actions referred to in the Workcenter, rely on an underlying process that turns inward. In games, this process is expressed through computational logic, transformed into code, and then into actions that players can engage with. The difference is that games make you, as a player, participate in the creator’s process or journey within through the ‘action.’

My mentor, YoungJu Kim was the first person who introduced me to the possibilities of games. The idea of wider implication and meaning of games was much of a vague concept to me then. Having experiences in theater and films already, game-making's unique aspect of interactivity and way of computational arguments were stand-out factors and differentiated from other mediums. it soon made the games to become my obsession, with its enormous possibility of effectiveness in conveying meaning and messages. games can be vehicles.

Since the entry of AAA games and giant game developer companies, indie games tend to be ignored or overlooked. But indie games existed from the beginning of video games. The first video game was created by two individuals, as well as many of the first RPG games created by students who were testing out the simple capacity of machines, code, and stories. And while the bigger games' focus is heavily centered on polished visuals and intricated and complex mechanics, the smaller games - indie games tend to focus on the small action that can ultimately penetrate the story and meaning of the game. and the way it is created makes the player somehow realize that simple mechanics and action are enough. 

Anchors is a small game developed by developer ID serif_. The major action in Anchors is to walk. In this walking, the game developer invites players to experience the everyday routine the developer took in the middle of the night, which was to walk until the negative mind of passive suicidal thoughts is gone. The developer would have a goal for each of the walkings, to buy candy in a drugstore, buy a burger or fries at the diner, or get a cold drink from a vending machine. This 5 minutes of small game guides players to introspect about their own negative thoughts and difficulties through participating in the process of others with the action of walking.

(more to come...)