Cybernetics and Simulacra: The Hyperreality of Augmented Reality Games.

The paper explores and critically interrogates the proliferation of online games as showcased in the rise of augmented reality (AR) games such as Harry Potter: Wizards Unite and the like using the concepts of "cybernetics" and "simulacra." These are two powerful notions evident in contemporary times that when combined can be used to unmask the inner workings of AR games and to critique 21st century's overdependency on and overdetermination of technology. The first task of the paper is to analytically decode AR game using the idea of cybernetics and John Cormack's creative ecosystem. Side by side this immanent exposition is the unmasking of such creative ecosystem that brings to light Jean Baudrillard's idea of hyperreality. The second task is to critically examine the philosophical underpinnings of AR that reiterates a transcendent critique by showing its implications and significations towards understanding the heterogeneity of human and machine interplay within the context of digital capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]