Please Try Again
Website and card game, 2023
Please Try Again is a satirical two-player game that explores the (un)written rules governing online platforms, revealing the subjective nature of content moderation and validation criteria. Please Try Again takes the form of a hybrid website and card game.
The game involves two players: the CONTENT PROVIDER and the CONTENT MODERATOR. The CONTENT PROVIDER submits content based on a given prompt displayed on the website, while the CONTENT MODERATOR evaluates and either accepts or rejects it based on a secret rule displayed on a rule card. If the content doesn't meet the criteria, it's rejected.
Importantly, the CONTENT PROVIDER isn't informed of the rule. With each rejection, the CONTENT MODERATOR can provide a hint without revealing it explicitly. The goal for the CONTENT PROVIDER is to get their content accepted in as few attempts as possible, navigating through arbitrary and often humorous rules.
For instance, a prompt might ask for the amount of money in a fictional jackpot, with the rule stipulating that the answer must end in three zeros. Another prompt could ask for the description of a dream, with the rule requiring that at least one word in the response must be misspelled.
The rules governing each prompt are deliberately arbitrary and whimsical, playfully critiquing real-world online norms. Drawing on form constraints from platforms like Instagram (initially allowing only square posts) and Twitter (with its character count limit), as well as online forms marking certain names as invalid or offensive, the game explores how these underlying rules shape interactions, influence self-presentation, and determine access to digital spaces.
Made in collaboration with Michelle Li
Please Try Again (installation view, This Design is Very Human, 32 Edgewood Gallery, New Haven), 2023
Please Try Again (installation view, This Design is Very Human, 32 Edgewood Gallery, New Haven), 2023
Please Try Again (installation view, This Design is Very Human, 32 Edgewood Gallery, New Haven), 2023
Please Try Again (installation video, This Design is Very Human, 32 Edgewood Gallery, New Haven), 2023