god

7.

7 days, 7 levels, 8 Bit – An Animated History of Creation

By In Art, Blog, Culture0 Comments

SUPERNATURAL CREATOR 2 on Vimeo.

This simple, minimalistic and therefore even more impressive animation was created by Mareike Ottrand during a workshop with only 3 days for conception and realisation at the F2F International conference.

The animation is based on the “ex nihilo” version of the creation myth, known from Genesis I in the Bible in Judaism and Christianity, and from the Koran’s Sura VII in Islam. The funny and creative idea was to match the seven days of the creation week with seven levels of a video game called “Supernatural Creator 2”:

  • 1st day / Level 1: “Let there be light!” The light is divided from the darkness, and “day” and “night” are named.
  • 2nd day / Level 2: “Let a firmament be…!” God creates a firmament to divide the waters above from the waters below. The firmament is named “skies”.
  • 3rd day / Level 3: God commands the waters below to be gathered together in one place, and dry land to appear. God commands the earth to bring forth grass, plants, and fruit-bearing trees (the fourth command).
  • 4th day / Level 4: God creates lights in the firmament to separate light from darkness and to mark days, seasons and years. Two great lights are made, and the stars.
  • 5th day / Level 5: God commands the sea to “teem with living creatures”, and birds to fly across the heavens. He creates birds and sea creatures, and commands them to be fruitful and multiply.
  • 6th day / Level 6: God commands the land to bring forth living creatures. He makes wild beasts, livestock and reptiles. He then creates humanity in His “image” and “likeness”. They are told to “be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it.” The totality of creation is described by God as “very good.”
  • 7th day / Level 7: God, having completed the heavens and the earth, rests from His work, and blesses and sanctifies the seventh day.

A particularily strong moment arrives, when the creator is asked the common video game question “Try again?” and chooses: “No!” before taking a rest in Level 7.

Nice idea, minimalitic graphics and sounds, great work!