Site:
http://www.propaganda-bureau.seHello all.
Just wanted to introduce myself. Because the registration seemed to take some time in November when I opted in, I figured something came between. By chance it now seems I got in and all, 9 months later. So I've not been lurking that long. :/ </ot>
My name is Mikael Vesavuori and I work under the pseudonym of Propaganda Bureau. Currently I live in Gothenburg, Sweden where I will study my MFA at Valand School of Fine Arts (Gothenburg University) for 2 years, starting next month. Previously I've studied in Karlskrona (Blekinge Institute of Technology) and also teached there for a year and a half.
Besides some consulting I do "art" and games and such. What you will probably be most interested in are the games, of course. Although I wish to be brief I must state my gratitude for this forum being here, and that others around the world share a similar mindset about games, not as culture (because they already are) but as forms capable of expressions more complex than what most have seen to date. Thank you, Michael Samyn and Auriea Harvey but also all of you others. My games this far have been both poetic in its rhetoric but also deliberate reworkings of conventional game mechanics. Themes have included asylum case work, fear of rape and political violence.
I've been doing my thing seriously for two years now, and I released my first buggy, incomplete attempt in October last year. As many of you other self-taught folks know, getting basic skills takes time but these have been honed over time, finally to an acceptable level. My entry point into games as a serious art form came through digital game theory and critical gaming. I've never been a huge fan of gaming in general (in the 'AAA' sense) but have instead seen (especially) more pleasure in freer forms of role-play and spatial exploration. A few months ago I slightly switched directions, including orienting myself towards an installation-type gaming experience thus reworking some of my previous and current portfolio for that. That means that the games I released earlier are now unavailable and getting major overhauls. I apologize for this, and will make up for it in due time. This is all for the better and is closer to what I originally saw these games as.
All in all, I consider myself a very determined but curious artist today with a clearer mindset now than when I originally registered. I wish you the best, and we will probably see each other more from now on. It is an honor being among you.
