Games as art (WAS Re: Video Games at Public Libraries?)

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4 total messages Started by ted... tedb512 Sat, 17 Nov 2001 03:57

#66035

Author: ted... tedb512
Date: Sat, 17 Nov 2001 03:57

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Old debate, I know. But I never thought video games were an artform
myself. Sure, the music could be great or the art could be moving, but
in those cases, it was the musical track or the onscreen picture that
was art, not the game.

I wouldn't say that my opinion has necessarily changed, but I've
definitely been less sure since I played Zelda: Majora's Mask. Various
components of the game (the simple little race with the ghost general,
for instance) um, moved me. There was an artistic reality furthered by
that scene. The follow-up -- the recognition and salute that came as
the scene closes -- was just undeniably powerful in some way, and the
interactive nature of what came before it both enhanced its
significance and was mandated if the importance of that was to shine
through.

I don't know if games can be art, but if they are, Majora's Mask is.
Wonderful, wonderful game that maybe people would do well to check out
of a library two or three decades down the line, hardware difficulties
inherent to that idea aside. I wouldn't criticize a library for
carrying it, anyway.

Re: Games as art (WAS Re: Video Games at Public Libraries?)

#66036

Author: how... Sean Howard
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 16:44

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tedb512 (ted...@hotmail.com) wrote:
: Old debate, I know. But I never thought video games were an artform
: myself. Sure, the music could be great or the art could be moving, but
: in those cases, it was the musical track or the onscreen picture that
: was art, not the game.

Surely, you jest. Of course games are art.  Art is any creative act that
furthers neither of man's two basic needs: survival and reproduction. I
could crumple up a piece of paper, spray paint it gold, and then leave it
in a toilet, and it would be art.  You might not get it, but it's art.
Heck, there doesn't even need to be something to "get" for it to be art.

If artistic value is how deeply it affects us, then videogames have a long
and powerful history.  Remember Pacman Fever or the wait for Super Mario
Bros 3? How many people are hopelessly addicted to FreeCell and Tetris?
How many billions of dollars are spent on buying games every year? At last
count, more children around the world recognized Mario than Mickey Mouse.
Some people even fear videogames because they believe that videogames can
cause normal kids to go completely bitch evil overnight (controversy is
almost a given in the early lifespans of most media).

Videogames are definitely art, but like movies and radio before them, it
will take a while before people realize it. They have always been art,
but until the public is ready for that eventuality, they won't be
acknowledged as art. Remember, just because it is fun doesn't mean it
is a waste of time.

@@
Sean Howard

Re: Games as art (WAS Re: Video Games at Public Libraries?)

#66037

Author: Andrew Plotkin
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 16:53

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In rec.games.video.sony Sean Howard <how...@mailer.fsu.edu> wrote:

> Surely, you jest. Of course games are art.  Art is any creative act that
> furthers neither of man's two basic needs: survival and reproduction. I
> could crumple up a piece of paper, spray paint it gold, and then leave it
> in a toilet, and it would be art.  You might not get it, but it's art.
> Heck, there doesn't even need to be something to "get" for it to be art.

It is terribly important to remember: it doesn't have to be *good* for
it to be art.

--Z

"And Aholibamah bare Jeush, and Jaalam, and Korah: these were the borogoves..."
*
* Make your vote count. Get your vote counted.

Re: Games as art (WAS Re: Video Games at Public Libraries?)

#66038

Author: Gene Poole
Date: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 18:08

47 lines
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Sean Howard wrote:
> 
> tedb512 (ted...@hotmail.com) wrote:
> : Old debate, I know. But I never thought video games were an artform
> : myself. Sure, the music could be great or the art could be moving, but
> : in those cases, it was the musical track or the onscreen picture that
> : was art, not the game.
> 
> Surely, you jest. Of course games are art.  Art is any creative act that
> furthers neither of man's two basic needs: survival and reproduction. I
> could crumple up a piece of paper, spray paint it gold, and then leave it
> in a toilet, and it would be art.  You might not get it, but it's art.
> Heck, there doesn't even need to be something to "get" for it to be art.
> 
> If artistic value is how deeply it affects us, then videogames have a long
> and powerful history.  Remember Pacman Fever or the wait for Super Mario
> Bros 3? How many people are hopelessly addicted to FreeCell and Tetris?
> How many billions of dollars are spent on buying games every year? At last
> count, more children around the world recognized Mario than Mickey Mouse.
> Some people even fear videogames because they believe that videogames can
> cause normal kids to go completely bitch evil overnight (controversy is
> almost a given in the early lifespans of most media).
> 
> Videogames are definitely art, but like movies and radio before them, it
> will take a while before people realize it. They have always been art,
> but until the public is ready for that eventuality, they won't be
> acknowledged as art. Remember, just because it is fun doesn't mean it
> is a waste of time.
> 
> @@
> Sean Howard

*applauding* 

O Captain my captain.

...don't make me stand on a chair, please.
-- 

Gene Poole ³

We are merely tenants, with nothing to brag about, while boasting of the
World eating out of our hands. Never looking down at our blood and mud
caked fingers and the cracked smiles on our masks.

-Lunar
"Mud Face"

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