Project conclusion

Gamers can deliberately and intentionally engage with fighting-games as a form of ethical self-cultivation that makes them into 'better' people.  This psychological and philosophical model is analogous to various ideological positions on the significance and meaning of the (Asian) martial arts.  The role of discipline, focus, and contemplation leading to self-transformation suggests that video-games might be considered martial arts in their own right.
concept: chris goto-jones, art: siku

Project outline

Phase I
The Virtual Ninja Project began with an international survey run via the respected gaming culture magazine, Edge.  This survey (the so-called Ninja Enlightenment Survey) went love on 29 September 2010.  The survey asked gamers a number of questions about their gaming habits and, in particular, about the ways in which they brought a sense of meaning to their play.
   
Phase II
​Studying the high quality and fascinating responses from the readers of Edge magazine, it became clear that gamers had a range of creative and innovative modes of engagement with games, especially fighting-gamers (a genre often considered to be rather low-brow).  Further investigation quickly revealed exciting ideas about self-cultivation and the martial arts.  Based on these insights, Chris Goto-Jones drew up a draft of the Virtual Ninja Manifesto, which was illustrated by Siku.  The VNM was launched at a public exhibition in The Hague on 5 December 2014.  A limited edition (100 copies) luxury print-run was made, and the VNM was also made available online for free.
   
Phase III
Following the launch of the VNM, a second survey invited gamers from around the world to respond to the Manifesto itself, asking a range of questions about whether its description (and prescription) of intentional self-transformation through fighting games resonated with gamers' practice or aspirations.  The findings resulted in the publication of a book: Chris Goto-Jones, 'The Virtual Ninja Manifesto: Fighting Games, Martial Arts, and Gamic Orientalism.' London & New York: Rowman & Littlefield International, 2016.

Phase IV
Subsequent to the release of the project's book in 2016, various presentations about the project and its conclusions have been made in Europe and North America.  During a meeting at UBC, Vancouver, in 2017, the idea of running a small-scale Street Fighter tournament in the spirit of the Virtual Ninja Manifesto was floated.  It was decided to run the first such tournament at the University of Victoria, BC, in January 2018.  Supported by Capcom Vancouver, the tournament combines an exhibition of the artwork from the Manifesto, a talk by Chris Goto-Jones, and a knockout tournament in the Digital Commons space in the McPherson Library.

Publications

Reviews of the project

The images used on this site were conceptualized by Chris Goto-Jones for various projects.  The character set (monk, zombie, ninja, hippie, scientist) was illustrated by Siku for the MOOC: Demystifying Mindfulness.  The Ninja Mindfulness and Virtual Ninja images were also illustrated by Siku.  The art for the Zombie Mindfulness project is by Ricardo Bessa.  The Jedi Mindfulness images are by Glen Mullaly.  The Mindfulness Philosophy images were drawn by Roxanne van Beek.  All images are copyright  MentalPraxis 2016 - they can be re-used for non-commercial purposes with proper acknowledgement.