Re-enact Roc Herms’ reinterpretation of Ai Weiwei’s iconic protest in the series Study of Perspective by taking a screenshot while giving the middle finger to symbols of power within GTA V. To perform this action, get on a motorbike, select your fist as a weapon, and hold right-click on the mouse or the equivalent button on your console (LB on Xbox, L1 on PS4). Make your way to the Vinewood Hills to gesture at the infamous Vinewood sign, or choose your own targets to direct your protest against. Think of different and creative forms of protests in contemporary society (e.g. creative protest signs, culture jamming and performance art). Try to find your own ways to express your critique through gestures, movements and symbols you can use in the game (e.g. spawning props and objects with specific meanings, writing with bullet holes on walls).

Use scripting tools to create new scenes within the game, staging characters and props to develop unexpected scenarios that deviate from the default game world. Experiment with the game’s mechanics to craft unique and thought-provoking situations that challenge the conventional gameplay experience. Go to Del Perro Beach and spawn several NPCs by using a script. Take inspiration from 2girls1comp’s Towards a Philosophy of the Photo Daddy and try to give different animations or scenarios to your NPCs. Try out several NPC models and behaviours to create situations that could act as forms of protest and reappropriation. Think of interventions with large groups of NPCs performing different animations, experiment with custom voice overs and sounds playing in the background.

Address social issues depicted in GTA V by reclaiming the game’s narratives through imaging tools. Manipulate screenshots in Photoshop or use generative AI tools to envision an alternative Los Santos. Create images that reflect on or critique the societal dynamics within the game, offering new perspectives. Look at Mattia Dagani Rio’s project Los Santos and reclaim the game narratives by reimagining the world of GTA V. Think about digital imaging tools as expressions of possibility spaces, and useful techniques to question why things are represented the way they are and not otherwise, and what alternatives might there be. You can go to the Mission Row Police Station and take pictures of the LSPD policemen to use as the base of your manipulations. Think about the role of the police in safekeeping the public, but also the power abuse and discriminatory violent behaviours that have been a part of the force in many countries. Feel free to choose any other parts of society you want to focus upon and reflect on how you can visualise social change and reimagine the world through your images. Start with Photoshopping your pictures, and then move on to a generative AI platform and prompt new images.