Games vs. R-Rated Movies

[James]

The problem with "games as art" is that I play a game for entertainment, not deep thoughts. The story in a game shouldn't be art, it's just there to provide motivation for the action of the player. The look of a game, though artistic, is once again there to serve the action. About the closest parallel I can think of is dance, which is human action as art, but the real trick with a game is to make the player the dancer.

James

[Revoltor]

Well, we already have game snobs.

[James]

It's kind of like calling cooking art. It's artistic, and requires a ton of creativity, but I don't think I'll be considering the infinite permutations of the human spirit when I chow on a burger.

James

[Cowdisease]

The problem with "games as art" is that I play a game for entertainment, not deep thoughts. The story in a game shouldn't be art, it's just there to provide motivation for the action of the player. The look of a game, though artistic, is once again there to serve the action. About the closest parallel I can think of is dance, which is human action as art, but the real trick with a game is to make the player the dancer.

I disagree with the notion that games cannot be considered art, considering that creating a video game requires the amalgamation of several art forms. Character and level designs are created by 2-D and 3-D artists, soundtracks are developed by composers and musicians, and the story and dialouge are penned by several screenwriters.

Even if they were there to "provide motivation for the action of the player", I don't see how combining those artistic efforts invalidates the videogame from being art.

[The_Meach]

I'm of the opinion that if photos of naked poop-smeared college students can be widely accepted as art, a lot of videogames should definitely be accepted as such.

Awesome. So you've validated the sophomoric expressions of artistic failures to...validate your chosen art form? Poop shouldn't be considered art. Videogames are definitely not art. The only difference is that society accepts poop as art (this is a fundamental threshold that must be met for games to eventually become art).

The problem with "games as art" is that I play a game for entertainment, not deep thoughts. The story in a game shouldn't be art, it's just there to provide motivation for the action of the player. The look of a game, though artistic, is once again there to serve the action.

Exhibit A for why games are not art.

I disagree with the notion that games cannot be considered art, considering that creating a video game requires the amalgamation of several art forms.

So does porn.

James is right, the intent is the thing.

[Mikey]

The 1970s might have been a good time for American films, but not for films in general. The French, British, Japanese and Italian films of the 50s and 60s are the root of American films of the 70s. Any of those 70s filmmakers will tell you that. But those films you remember from the 70s weren't the biggest back then, and some are still undiscovered. At the time the cinemas were still plagued with disaster movies.

And why do people still think that films and games can even be compared, anyway? I thought we'd realized that the idea of an "interactive movie" was an oxymoron. Games are not films. Films are not games. Video games are like darts or whack-a-mole played on a screen.

[The_Meach]

Some perspective on how influential M-rated games have become.

[Revoltor]

There's a difference between Mario jumping on a goomba and seeing it flatten and Mario jumping on a goomba and seeing it's innards squish out.

[James]

In fact, if not for the incredible success of Halo 2 and GTA: San Andreas the industry would have suffered a 21% sales decline in November. These two M-rated titles alone accounted for almost 30% of all sales during November and were responsible for more than $245 million dollars in revenue.

Right, the M rating sold the games and not the incredibly high level of quality. Got it.

James

[George]

What you all seem to think is that art lies in the creative process, and that it needs to be inherently a human endeavor. Nobody thinks nature is art?

'Art' as we know it is more in perceiving it rather than creating it. Art is something that engages the human imagination, but stays just far away enough from total human comprehension that it KEEPS them wondering. One never comes to fully understand what they see and experience. Art being "understood" or mastered in any way defeats its purpose utterly. Truly, the greatest pieces of art, those that have withstood the test of time, are that way because they continue to engage the human imagination. Were it ever to be understood, interest in it would have dropped long ago.

Video games still have a ways to go in that sense. The very nature of these games is for you to master them, understand them so you can take advantage of your knowledge to complete them.