Robert Yang () is an academic, artist, and

indie video game An indie game, short for independent video game, is a video game typically created by individuals or smaller development teams without the financial and technical support of a large game publisher, in contrast to most "AAA" (triple-A) games. ...

developer, whose work often explores

gay subculture Sexuality and gender identity-based cultures are subcultures and communities composed of people who have shared experiences, backgrounds, or interests due to common sexual or gender identities. Among the first to argue that members of sexual min ...

and the boundary between video games and art. His work focuses particularly on sociologically deviant and sometimes illegal sexual behavior. His projects include Borges adaptation ''Intimate, Infinite'' and ''The Tearoom'', a game that involves soliciting sex in a public toilet. He is a former member of faculty at NYU

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

's Game Center and curated their annual indie game exhibition in 2015. Yang was also featured in the 2018 documentary ''Unforeseen Consequences: A Half-Life Documentary'', created by Noclip, due to his work on the popular

Half-Life Half-life (symbol ) is the time required for a quantity (of substance) to reduce to half of its initial value. The term is commonly used in nuclear physics to describe how quickly unstable atoms undergo radioactive decay or how long stable ato ...

Source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

remake, Black Mesa.

Selected works

''Intimate, Infinite''

''Intimate, Infinite'' is an

art game An art game (or arthouse game) is a work of interactive new media digital software art as well as a member of the "art game" subgenre of the serious video game. The term "art game" was first used academically in 2002 and it has come to be un ...

adaptation of

Jorge Luis Borges Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known bo ...

's story "The Garden of Forking Paths", which itself played with genre. The game comprises three subgames which explore themes of repetition, infinity, and sudden endings, taken from the story.

''Cobra Club''

''Cobra Club'' is a photo studio game that involves the player taking pictures of their character's penis. The player can interact with different NPCs and trade "

dick pic A dick pic is an image or photograph of a penis, usually erect, sent electronically (e.g. on the internet, by SMS, or by close-range file sharing). The term ''dick pic'' is derived from ''dick'', slang for penis, and '' pic'', a shortening of t ...

s" with each other. The game was banned by the live-streaming platform

Twitch Twitch may refer to: Biology * Muscle contraction ** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation ** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction ** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...

for its overly sexualized content.

''Hurt Me Plenty''

''Hurt Me Plenty'' is a sexually-explicit game based on

BDSM BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged ...

subculture and explored the issue of negotiating consent.

''Rinse and Repeat''

''Rinse and Repeat'' was released in 2015. It takes place at a public shower room. The player has to rub down other men. The game was widely banned on

for its extensive nudity.

''The Tearoom''

''The Tearoom'' (2017) alludes to the gay sexual practice of

cottaging Cottaging is a gay slang term, originating from the United Kingdom, referring to anonymous sex between men in a public lavatory (a "cottage", "tea-room"Andre "tearoom; t-room ''noun'' a public toilet. From an era when a great deal of homosexual c ...

. Players must stand at a

urinal A urinal (, ) is a sanitary plumbing fixture for urination only. Urinals are often provided in public toilets for male users in Western countries (less so in Muslim countries). They are usually used in a standing position. Urinals can be with ...

and make eye contact with a neighbor until a power bar fills up and

oral sex Oral sex, sometimes referred to as oral intercourse, is sexual activity involving the stimulation of the genitalia of a person by another person using the mouth (including the lips, tongue, or teeth) and the throat. Cunnilingus is oral sex per ...

begins. Players must also avoid being spotted by police officers. Instead of penises, it shows guns. The game parodies or critiques aspects of other games: the presence of non-functioning toilets in other video games; the way games normally allow you to look at everything without being penalised; and the different attitudes of the video game industry to sex (largely prohibited) and violence (almost omni-present).

Other games

Yang's shorter games include ''Succulent'', a game that allows you to have oral sex with an unknown orange object, possibly a corndog or a popsicle; ''Stick Shift'' (2015), a short driving game about pleasuring a gay car; and ''No Stars, Only Constellations'', a stargazing game about relationship breakups and alien life. A few of Yang's games were released on

Steam Steam is a substance containing water in the gas phase, and sometimes also an aerosol of liquid water droplets, or air. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization ...

in a collection called ''Radiator 2''. Yang has recently created 'We Dwel in Possibility' a free online experience.

References

External links

Yang's personal website / portfolioYang's page at NYU Game Center
{{DEFAULTSORT:Yang, Robert Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Tisch School of the Arts faculty Art games Indie video game developers