Joan Nobile’s Drop in the Ocean
Saturday, November 22, 3–5 pm, artist talk at 4 pm
Free or suggested donation
Squeaky Wheel invites you for an afternoon to experience Joan Nobile’s visual novel video game Drop in the Ocean, with an artist talk by the artist. The work provides audiences with a space to explore how women and marginalized communities resist hostile gaming environments dominated by white, straight, cisgender men while finding companionship, community, and solidarity.
The video game is about Emily, a lonely gamer who struggles to find companionship. She finds an online community for her favorite video game, finding friendship and community for the first time, while simultaneously meeting a new potential love interest and catching up with an old offline friend. She struggles to balance these new social responsibilities when a new game comes out based on her favorite series. While online, Emily and another female-identified player are harassed, leading to the latter leaving the community and Emily becoming the target of continued harassment both on and offline. As Emily, the player must choose how to respond to 1) social obligations, 2) harassment, and 3) finding ways to improve the situation, if possible. The game will have multiple endings based on the player’s major choices along the way.
“The project aims to immerse audiences in the experience of a woman who struggles to find community while simultaneously facing harassment in gaming spaces, highlighting a sadly common occurrence in online spaces. For women and other marginalized people who might play, I want to show them that they are not alone, that this happens to other folks like them, and to provide both solidarity and possibilities towards recovery and online/offline community reconnection. Choosing a visual novel format over more traditional action games ensures accessibility and intimacy for players of all skill levels, utilizing text and simple imagery to explore themes of community, connection, resistance, and cyberfeminism.” – Joan Nobile
Attendees: Several computers will be available for audiences to experience the game. Squeaky Wheel is located in Suite 310 of Tri-Main Center. Take the elevator to the third floor, and head left. Click here to see parking, transportation, and accessibility information. Light refreshments will be available.
Biography of the artist
Joan Nobile (she/her) is an interdisciplinary artist-scholar from Brooklyn, NY. She holds a BA in Media Production from Buffalo State College and an MFA in Media Arts Production from the University at Buffalo. Her research and work broadly focus on media theory and critique, gaming, cyberfeminism, and glitch aesthetics/feminism. Her practice involves work in film, video, zines, and video games. When she’s not working or creatinJoan g, Joan enjoys visiting farmer’s markets, reading & watching non-fiction, and spending too much time playing video games. She currently lives in Buffalo, NY with her partner.
