The premise of the piece is the psychological thresholds one passes through when engaging in a video/computer game. At first there is the seduction or enticement to play when the player becomes engaged there is immersion in the event structure and finally there is the end of game or what is more likely losing the game.
Shooter focuses on the issue of violence from the microcosmic level of gaming to the macrocosm of war, especially information war. It is an antiwar piece. It addresses the propensity for violence and the education of youth with cartoon surrogate violence. In this 21st century combat troops are being trained using all sorts of computer-generated simulators. This is an escalation of the standard practice of dehumanizing the enemy. In the 21st century warfare is simply a live reenactment of a video game. Make no mistake the will to hatred and moral certitude is deeply embedded in the human psyche. The artists have discussed these parameters and attempted to load them into the work. It starts when you are a child and their parents tell you good boy/ bad girl or bad boy/ good girl. You learn these lessons first and they shape your world-view. They enable you to hate. They give you the moral certitude to justify any otherwise despicable action under the guise of righteousness. What is chilling is the escalation into an abstracted gaming reality. “ I'm killing people but it doesn't matter because it’s only a game.” Or vice versa;” I enjoy killing people because it’s just like my favorite video game. “ The technology of hate and war is constantly being refined around the globe. The promise of global mass media and the global village envisioned by Marshal McCluhan has turned into an Orwellian nightmare of newspeak and doublethink. The neutral technological instruments of mass media and telecommunication are being used to induce a will to war. Think about the endless Al Jazeera newscasts of Palestinians beset upon by Israeli troops under the guise of impartial reporting. This is having an effect just as the 24 hour news cycle in the US depends upon keeping fear of terrorist attacks a front and center way to garner audience for commercial television. Information technology has unloosed the dark daemon of human paranoia and xenophobia worldwide and turned it into a gaming interface.