Creative Technology

Project Description

MaxMotives follows the life of 7 alter-egos and an unwanted “non-resident alien” newborn. The series is filmed and produced in The Sims 2 video game with minor manipulation in post-production. 

Referencing the format of reality TV and the strategies of mainstream storytelling, the piece explores a strange marriage between the familiar and unfamiliar and couples it with humor to create a world in which even mundane actions become uncanny spectacles. The first season focuses on issues concerning fear of the "other" as well as the conservative and stereotypical expectations of what it means to be a “good mother".

The narrative of MaxMotives unfolds as the characters investigate potential conspiracies behind the legitimacy and birth of the non-resident alien newborn. In the U.S. immigration laws non-citizen visa holders are referred to as “non-resident alien”. Taking the word literally and out of context, “alien” references pop culture fantasies of extraterrestrial life while the term “non-resident alien” provokes questions outside of fantasy and science fiction, examining modes of Xenophobia and the extent to which it can be pushed.