http://www.lrb.co.uk/v31/n01/lanc01_.html
My brother sent me the above article. Its author John Lanchesters view on Video Games as an artform. I should simply be happy that artists outside that of my field are beginning to look at video games seriously.
It was interesting to read from a gamers viewpoint, as the man is obviously not studied in games. Its nice that he believes games will be art, or at least have some rare instances of art, even if he doesn’t think the entire medium is an artform. The reason for this is his definitions of art still mostly revolve around the common conventions of experienced art – not interactive art (though lots of experienced art has interaction, such as theater, or the audience experience, etc). And also, like many crafstman, he looks at it through the lense of his own particular craft. So he concentrates on how video games CAN grow more sophisticated in relation to the narratives he is used to.
He mentions Miyamoto as a genius, then that the Wii and its games are more toys. As he says, he is not being insulting. But I fail to see how those are not art, and its easy to understand how he does not. In fact, most statues or painting - many great works of art are no more than representations or abstractions of our world. Games are the same. They do not need to be Bioshock and outright discuss Ayn Rand to be art. They have to evoke base human emotions, pleasures, and create a memorable experience. If its pure whimsy fun like in Mario Galaxy, that is not a toy. It as much art as the beautiful paintings of Sun Flowers by Van Goh (however you spell it).
The key difference between a toy and any game is toys are something you play with. Games are something you play. There is a very key difference. A toy is a tool of play. It in of itself does not elicit play. It does not create play. It is an object of which play can happen. The art of crafting digital toys with in narratives in order to create a specific or designed play experience is the art of video game design.
Its one of my big gripes about the “art” of games right now; that putting a great story in a game makes it art. I disagree. It CAN, but what games have that other mediums do not is interaction, and the possibly to explore alternate events. A game that simulates epic space battles between empires – Sins of a Solar Empire – has essentially no story beyond a simple mythology you find in the manual (much to the dislike of some critics). Yet it is a more significant work of Art in my mind than GTA4. It is a beautiful designed game that evokes an awe inspiring sense of scale, forces the player to comtemplate economics, diplomacy, and strategy. It is ART of war combined with stunning visuals, UI and music. It all is artistically designed around a theme to evoke certain emotions. When I have sweat on my forehead from my 4th straight hour, and my finger is twitching as I try to decide if striking the planet of an enemy now is going to destroy my empire or make me a ruler of a galaxy – the game has made me understand what it is to be a ruler on a more personal level than that of many great literary works dealing with such things. It is not a merry accident. These emotions occur because the designers understand how to evoke senses and manipulate my emotions.
Long ago the game academia revoked the idea that its merely rule sets and interface that make games fun. The same game with lesser visuals, music, or lack of a coherent theme is less pleasurable. The combination of these that SERVE the rule set is the art of games.
Again. Its interesting to me, especially hearing about how non-gamers find interfaces and controls arbitrary. That is definitely a concern now, and part of the reason of the success of the Wii. But I am not sure how much longer it will feel arbitrary as any kid over the age of 5 is now being raised learning the language of games. But I do agree with making games easier in many ways, and have liked the approach both Alone in the Dark and Prince of Persia took. But that is a different topic. But the real key is to create dynamic difficulty that matches the player, to keep the player in the FLOW CHANNEL. But that is a completely different topic for another day.
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