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Forums - Gaming Discussion - Another case and point for video games as Art

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SvennoJ on 04 May 2013
echoesfromthepast said:

Either we're talking about the same thing and have a communication problem or I very well might be a minority when it comes to deep reflections on my experiences - something I never considered before. I would define art as any aesthetic that is life-changing or enriching. Every single video game that I keep in my collection has either changed my life (Kid Icarus Uprising, Passage, Braid) or has enriched it (Zelda, Metroid Prime, Mario Bros.) through gameplay alone. I have one final example if you're willing to watch it (it's only like 7 min long).

http://www.penny-arcade.com/patv/episode/narrative-mechanics

(sorry I don't know how to imbed a video but I put the link there)

I would also like to add that just because a game has rules and boundaries does not mean you have no choice in how to play. Let's say someone created a universe with rules and put you in it with the intention of having you live a particular experience. Does that necessarily remove your free-will to live the experience the way you want? As long as it's within the boundaries of the rules, no. The same thing holds true for video games.

I never looked at missile command that way, as Albicant said that is purely a risk management game for me.
I get your point though with a game like Civilization. That taught me a lot about the world and how I would want to rule a country, and at which point I would sacrifice democracy to get rid of an annoying threat. Yet I don't see decision making as part of the art. It's no different then playing a complex board game.
One game in particular has completely changed my life, caused me to move to another continent and marry the girl I met in game. The game mechanics made that possible, yet I don't credit that towards the art of the game.

I guess we have different definitions of what art is.



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echoesfromthepast on 05 May 2013
Gnac said:

Sounds like loldeep overthinking shit because it's not enough that the people who make games get a wage, we need to masturbate their egos too.


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Games can and should tell stories and share ideas through their mechanics. This is the intrinsic element of the medium and this is how experiences should be crafted in video games. No company does this as well as Nintendo and their echoes from the past.
  Aurum Ring  Delano7  Ocarinahero032

dobby985 on 06 May 2013

I think Jim Sterling nails the whole "games as art" discussion.



SvennoJ on 06 May 2013
dobby985 said:

I think Jim Sterling nails the whole "games as art" discussion.

It's hard to take that guy seriously but it's easy to answer his question why gamers are looking for approval for games. That's the essence of games, the sticker for your work reward from kindergarten, high scores, unlockables, gamerscore, games are all about approval. Same as art really. Bunch of paintings on the wall, literature in the bookcase, classic movies on the shelf, now which games fit in with that.



ironmanDX on 06 May 2013
echoesfromthepast said:
Gnac said:

Sounds like loldeep overthinking shit because it's not enough that the people who make games get a wage, we need to masturbate their egos too.


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It isn't a bad point. Art had to be considered art by others who aren't making it before it became art.

I think I said art to many times in a line, woops said art again....

Art.



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dobby985 on 06 May 2013
SvennoJ said:

It's hard to take that guy seriously but it's easy to answer his question why gamers are looking for approval for games. That's the essence of games, the sticker for your work reward from kindergarten, high scores, unlockables, gamerscore, games are all about approval. Same as art really. Bunch of paintings on the wall, literature in the bookcase, classic movies on the shelf, now which games fit in with that.


Approval from who? That's the point.

People wanted Roger Ebert to play Braid. Gamers have an inferiority complex with movies and that needs to stop.