Tekken Tag Tournament to create an Instagram Art Gallery
Regular readers of AlmostZara will know that I fall into the casual gamer category– I love the XBox and Playstation, but I’m really more of a button basher/ casual user than hardcore MMORPG fan. I have dabbled with RPG games, and that’s precisely why I don’t play them anymore- when I lost a summer in the 90’s due to an obsession with Baldur’s gate I realized I simply can’t devote that much energy to game and still have a life. Kudos to those that can, it’s just not something that works for me.
Tekken will always be my one true love as far as console games go, it was the first game I ever became truly obsessed with; and involved hours spent learning combo moves and character special holds. I just learnt that Tekken has launched a worldwide competition for people to create and share their best Tekken moments via Instagram, and though I don’t normally share this kind of content (a little too much like an advert), I’m too much of a fangirl to let this slip by without a mention. The best shots are going to be displayed in a London Gallery, which I find incredibly exciting, and I wish I was in the UK now so I could see this in person.
Images are being collated through Instagram using the hashtag #WEARETEKKEN and #TT2 (Tekkan Tag 2) and there have been some pretty cool entries so far. I like to think that people who are uploading are not necessarily trying to win; that it’s more about having an avenue to share their love of the game and get creative with Instagram filters (like they need an excuse!).
I know this is a marketing stunt for Namco Bandai, who are trying to promote the new Tekken Tag Tournament 2, but I’m such a fangirl that I don’t really mind giving them a shout out. They’ve consistently created great games in the Tekken franchise, and I like that they are trying to tap into people’s passions about the game through photography: Plus, it will be pretty cool to see the final curated pieces hang in a gallery. I also love how the digital medium of Instagram and video gaming can transpose into a live art space- to view camera phone shots in such a way is an evolution of how we consume media, and taking a full circle route from game action TV screen– to mobile screen– to canvas wall, which reverses the traditional method.
The images are going to be curated by artist Vince Ray and his favourites are going to be displayed on canvas at London’s Shoreditch Protein Gallery from September 13th – 16th 2012.
I find it pretty interesting to see the different ways people portray their Tekken fandom; some are very literal and show boxes of the game and screen action, whilst others show moments in time- boxing matches, beaches, personal poses. There are also a bunch of artistic entries which involve sketches, and I can’t really decide which style I prefer– as a whole, they create a lovely overview so I think it’s maybe best to enjoy them in that context.
