Our new Indie Games subforum is now open for business in G&T. Go and check it out, you might land a code for a free game. If you're developing an indie game and want to post about it, follow these directions. If you don't, he'll break your legs! Hahaha! Seriously though.
Our rules have been updated and given their own forum. Go and look at them! They are nice, and there may be new ones that you didn't know about! Hooray for rules! Hooray for The System! Hooray for Conforming!
Allez la France! Video Games: Officially Art, In Europe
darleysam
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
A Gamasutra report I was just reading:
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3523/video_games_officially_art_in_.php
Now I'm not necessarily looking to stir up the regular, heated debate on games as art, where people list games that they consider to be pretty-looking, and others say they can't be art. If we can be civil about it, then I guess that's a valid discussion to have, but it rarely ends well.
What I do really like here though, is that games are getting some cultural recognition, which should hopefully make them both more credible alongside other forms of media, as well as hopefully allowing developers to be creative with their storytelling, without the fear of heavy-handed censorship that wouldn't necessarily be applied to other mediums.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3523/video_games_officially_art_in_.php
The French government and European Commission have agreed in principle to fund tax credits for video games, due to their cultural importance
But, behind the financial and political issues which, after all, only truly concern the professionals. (Here's an example -- next to France, should other European countries have access to tax credits?)
What really matters for everybody related to video games is that, in Europe, starting now, video game has the official stature of a "cultural activity" -- a cultural expression where art and artists are attached to video games as they are to music and movies.
Suddenly the French government agrees with us -- video games are nothing to be ashamed of working on, or playing with.
Now I'm not necessarily looking to stir up the regular, heated debate on games as art, where people list games that they consider to be pretty-looking, and others say they can't be art. If we can be civil about it, then I guess that's a valid discussion to have, but it rarely ends well.
What I do really like here though, is that games are getting some cultural recognition, which should hopefully make them both more credible alongside other forms of media, as well as hopefully allowing developers to be creative with their storytelling, without the fear of heavy-handed censorship that wouldn't necessarily be applied to other mediums.
darleysam on
Posts
Personally, I do think the games can be used to convey messages and meaning, but are hindered by the simple fact that people are playing them to be entertained, to play a game, rather than to be educated in any way. You can have the best story or message, but if the game isn't fun to play, you're going to lose a large volume of sales as a result. I would honestly like to see more games that actually try and make the story a more integral part of the gameplay, rather than have to leave it as something more cursory out of fear of players getting stuck. Obviously these choices have to be made with a mind to sales and profitability at the moment, but I'd like to see games able to be made with less consideration to sales.
AJ2 soundtrack: NAME YOUR PRICE ON BANDCAMP! Album: BANDCAMP! iTunes Spotify Amazon UK
If you disagree play ICO, Passage and/or Portal. If you still disagree, you either have no soul, or are playing them wrong.
White FC: 0819 3350 1787
I think all artistic medium is "potentially" art.
i mean, there is some music that is not "art" on the same level that, say, UT3 isn't art. Same with movies and pictures/visual art.
What I'm trying to say is that I think that "potentially" is unnecessary, since the medium can convey art, it is an artistic medium.
Khavall's Beginner's Guide to Music Everything(Theory Blog)
AJ2 soundtrack: NAME YOUR PRICE ON BANDCAMP! Album: BANDCAMP! iTunes Spotify Amazon UK
Yeah, I meant 'Games' referring to individual games, not the medium. I agree.
Ok. I know a lot of times I see that and people seem to forget that not all music is "Terrain".
Khavall's Beginner's Guide to Music Everything(Theory Blog)
I don't know if I agree with that personally; to me, art has to be something beautiful or worthy in some way, but I understand most people don't agree with that.
If you do ascribe to the above quote, and if a dada can sign a toilet and call it art, then yeah, games are pretty much indisputably art.
Nintendo Network ID: unclesporky
They awarded the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres to Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo), Michel Ancel (Ubisoft) and Frederick Raynal (Infogrames) in 2006.
When I first heard about Dada, I just filed it under "stupid" and put it aside. After having to study various Dada movements at uni, while I still wouldn't exactly say I liked a lot of what it produced, I'd certainly consider it artistic in its expression.
AJ2 soundtrack: NAME YOUR PRICE ON BANDCAMP! Album: BANDCAMP! iTunes Spotify Amazon UK
You know the problem I have with most postmodern movements in art is that they seem still burdened by wanting to be considered "Real art" by academics, but they're also going against the modernists who they're trying to get on their side. It's like, if you want to shit all over the modernists, you're going to have to be ok when they don't like what you've done.
Khavall's Beginner's Guide to Music Everything(Theory Blog)