Videogames can become more than entertainment, and you can ensure that it happens.

Pupil · 2008-10-07T03:03:34

(If you'd rather not read all of this, skip down to the last paragraph. It gives the point I'm trying to explain). I see art as creative exspression that can invoke emotions, intrigue us, inspire us, and may change the way we think about the world. I'm sure most of those that come to these forums agree that videogames should be seen as an art,they do put all the arts into one package, they should be seen more than a childish form of entertainment. Nintendo has managed to make the average person become interested into videogames with the Wii and DS, destroying the idea that videogames are for kids. The way they are doing it however, is games for pure entertainment. I do not think this is wrong, videogames were built as entertainment and should continue to be. However, just as games can be purely entertainment, they can also be dramtic tales in a new world the player can become attachted to, like fictional literature and cinema. I do not believe all videogames should be considered an art, games like Tetris and Pacman should remain as interactive entertainment, something to strictly pass the time. There are other games though, that should be seen as an art, something that evokes emotion and inspiration into a player. I consider few games fall into this catergory. The only game I can think of that made me care of the characters, that invoked the emotions books and film can do, is Metal Gear Solid. I'm sure other titles could be named but the list would be small compared to the lists of movies and books that can. This is the problem I present. Videogames need to be more than just a thing to play , and can be. Some videogames should be remembered for the fun you had, and others for the story they told. In my opinion, the industry is very slolwy starting to see this. I think the way some videogames can invoke the emotions true art does, is by learning more from literature and cinema. Videogames already incorperate most the arts(Architecture, Drawings, Painting, Literature, Music, and Theatre)into one , yet they still do not garner the respect that those arts do. The industry has already learned the artisitc side,by creating vast and imaginative worlds, but these worlds, are often bare of the things that stir passion into a player's heart. Turning to Literature and Film can teach the industry and new&upcoming developers(You) to create a world that people can care deeply for. Like the lands of Middle-Earth, the galaxies of Star Wars, the magic of Hogwarts and the realm of Narnia. By learning the lessons of books and film can videogames become as memorable of the lands listed above. In order for videogames to become regarded as art, they must invoke passions and emotions into the player, as any artform should. As stated before, the industry is great at creating beautiful area's to play in, but are often bare of emotion. To give these lands a deep reason the player should care about, is to make these worlds seem real, more than with amazing phsyics, eye popping graphics and realstic sounds in them. Give them an engrossing story with interesting , 3-dimensional characters. Great stories and characters will always give passion from a person. The story is where I believe emotion will be invoked, and it should be obvious, it is the way film and fiction do it. But videogames should not only be focused on story, they are still something people interact with, something people seek enjoyment from. Videogames trying to become art must have fun gameplay that fits the story. Otherwise the game will be a flop. So, what do I think can make videogames more than a shallow experience, made soley for the purpose of entertainment? I think the industry needs more writers to craft a plot a player can care for. Craft, 3-dimensional characters that have strong-points and flaws, and when they die, it will cause grief in a players heart. Craft an intriguing back story the game is based upon. The way videogames will become more than a childs-toy, more than eye candy, more than code, is when it has a great story AND great gameplay. Not all videogames need to be more than entertainment but if a developer wants to have their game seen as art, it must be art. So what do you think? Do you agree that this is the only way videogames can reach art status? Do you think it even matters?

Writing for Games Game Design

Started by Pupil July 18, 2008 11:08 PM

22 comments, last by stimarco 16 years, 3 months ago

stimarco

1,071

October 05, 2008 10:34 AM

Quote: Original post by Pupil

I see art as creative exspression that can invoke emotions, intrigue us, inspire us, and may change the way we think about the world.

You've just defined good teaching.

This pretty much sums up my opinion of Story and Play: that they're essentially key components in the ongoing learning process we are all following throughout during our lives. The reason we find these "fun" is simply because our brains have evolved to produce chemical rewards when we learn something new. The greater the epiphany, the better the reward.

"Art" -- the sense we see it today -- is an industry, just like games, movies and car manufacturing. It is a bastardisation of craftsmanship. Sculptors and painters began as interior decorators, producing those pretty bits that adorned buildings in the past. They were literally the collectible gewgaws in their day, the fashionable flocked wallpaper and Dulux paint. Michelangelo and his contemporaries never considered themselves "Artists" in the modern sense, but they did consider themselves to be damned good painters and sculptors.

They were craftsmen. End of story.

Fuck "Art", I say! This emperor has no clothes.

Sean Timarco Baggaley (Est. 1971.)Warning: May contain bollocks.

Uedder

122

October 06, 2008 12:02 PM

I do agree that videogames can (and will, think about the oncoming Fallout, with 500+ of possible endings) become more than pure entertainment.

For sure an hc gamer won't even care about the plot, the charachter design etc... A game like UT is more than everything this kind of audience would ever want to play. In this sentence I show the greater respect for UT, which stole me entire days of life.

Anyway, talking about money, that's what matters:

a) a gamer will always play videogames for the rest of his life.

b) the world of gamers must enlarge itself.

point b is crucial for the developing of the market: you must assume that not everybody's interested in fragging people around, most of people wants to get away from the real world, that's what videogames are ment for.

It's an entertaining industry, soon it will collision with the Cinema, they will probably fuse and become one.

SO the "gamer" must fuse with "audience", turning it into a first-person actor that moves in a world created by the author and determines its developing, creates the plot.That's the future.Doing this without eliminating the amusement of hc gamers is the real challenge for game designers in next years.

Calling it art anyway, is long way to go for me...

Two more points are crucial for me:

1 is online gaming, turning itself into a community.Now there are 2 kinds of "gaming-like" communities: one is second life, the other is World of Warcraft. In next years I do believe these realities will fuse themselves too. We will see something like a huge online community, to which every online game will relate itself: a common world with different "areas of gaming". E.g. there's a stadium in the city.non-playing persons will be going there and see people challenging themselves on any sports game.this also will rise the pro gaming activity.

2 involves more the concept of "game" which is, in nature, ment to learn. Nowadays there are few examples of games used in the learning process (not talking strictly about edu-games), like Sim City being used in managing schools.
It would be natural for games to evolve into this: just like every other medium.

I guess we will wait and see, for sure a great future awaits Videogames, being, combined with Internet, the most powerful media humanity as ever seen.

Thanks for reading (if you did) Bye

graji

122

October 07, 2008 01:43 AM

Quote: Original post by stimarco

"Art" -- the sense we see it today -- is an industry, just like games, movies and car manufacturing. It is a bastardisation of craftsmanship. Sculptors and painters began as interior decorators, producing those pretty bits that adorned buildings in the past. They were literally the collectible gewgaws in their day, the fashionable flocked wallpaper and Dulux paint. Michelangelo and his contemporaries never considered themselves "Artists" in the modern sense, but they did consider themselves to be damned good painters and sculptors.

They were craftsmen. End of story.

what is the difference between an artist and a craftsman?

stimarco

1,071

October 07, 2008 03:03 AM

Quote: Original post by graji

what is the difference between an artist and a craftsman?

There is no difference.

Sean Timarco Baggaley (Est. 1971.)Warning: May contain bollocks.

Videogames can become more than entertainment, and you can ensure that it happens.

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Videogames can become more than entertainment, and you can ensure that it happens.

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