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Not merely a Diversion? Games: serious artistic statements?

#1 User is offline   Reader Icon

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Posted 01 July 2004 - 06:37 PM

I'd say it's definately not out of the realm of possibilty to consider video games as an 'art'. So far there hasn't been anything that will truly convert skeptics, but just for the fun of it let's post some games we've all played that you'd consider a precursor to games potentail as 'art'.

Some of the following i might consider:

Out of the World
VF4
Shenmue (i haven't played it yet, but from what i've heard, it seems like it belongs here)
Final Fantasy Tactics
Rez

I know there should be more old-school games in there, but my mind just isn't working. So list yours, if you have any.

*please excuse the feeble intro and lack of explanations for my choices. i have a severe case of the dumbening these days and i have to leave in 5 minutes...*
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Posted 01 July 2004 - 08:21 PM

You're completely right, Read. To me, art is just somebody's creative project, maybe it carries a message, maybe it means something personally to the creator, but either way. There are a lot of games that can be considered art.
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#3 User is offline   Helena Icon

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Posted 02 July 2004 - 09:16 AM

I see no reason why video games should not be considered 'art', any less than films. These days, some of them have better plots, dialogue and characters than many recent movies.

I've played a lot of adventure games which could easily fit into the 'art' category - the Myst series, The Last Express and Syberia for example. Deus Ex is one of the deepest games I've ever played (although the plot is arguably somewhat convoluted and over-the-top). And then of course there's Knights of the Old Republic, which puts the most recent Star Wars movies to shame.
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The sandpeople had women and children. We know this because Anakin killed them how could he tell? The children might be smaller but I never saw a sandperson with breasts. Did they hike their skirts and show him some leg or something?

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Also, I can see the point of wanting to kidnap a human and use her as a slave, but they didn't. They tied her to a flimsy easel for a month. It's assumed they had to feed and give her water. What for? Was she purely ornamental? I can understand them wanting the droids, you can sell those for a lot of money, but a chick who's only skills are finding non-existand mushrooms and getting randomly pregnant, you're not going to get much.

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Posted 02 July 2004 - 09:30 AM

Have to point out Baldurs Gate 2. Excellent series. And my favourite game, Eternal Darkness: Sanitys Requiem.
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#5 User is offline   looktothesky Icon

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Posted 02 July 2004 - 10:35 AM

I agree with this too, a lot of recent and new games now follow along the lines of a movie or short series. some games do have philisopical elements, to get you thinking, you know? I haven't played a game in so long where "score" is a strong factor like games used to be (a la Atari).

The only beef I have though, are the game spinoffs of movies. Some of them are pretty decent, but others -- Why try?!
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Posted 02 July 2004 - 10:38 AM

To cash in on the fanboy/girlism, a la Enter the Matrix.
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Posted 02 July 2004 - 11:20 AM

QUOTE (looktothesky @ Jul 2 2004, 04:35 PM)
The only beef I have though, are the game spinoffs of movies. Some of them are pretty decent, but others -- Why try?!

One word: Money. The designers know they can cash in on the movie and sell millions of copies without even trying, so they don't try.
QUOTE
The sandpeople had women and children. We know this because Anakin killed them how could he tell? The children might be smaller but I never saw a sandperson with breasts. Did they hike their skirts and show him some leg or something?

QUOTE
Also, I can see the point of wanting to kidnap a human and use her as a slave, but they didn't. They tied her to a flimsy easel for a month. It's assumed they had to feed and give her water. What for? Was she purely ornamental? I can understand them wanting the droids, you can sell those for a lot of money, but a chick who's only skills are finding non-existand mushrooms and getting randomly pregnant, you're not going to get much.

- J m HofMarN on the Sand People
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Posted 03 July 2004 - 12:07 PM

But its nice to see when one such budget game gets voted the 'best game of all time'. Namely, Goldeneye 007. This was taken from a reader poll of Australia's Hyper>> Magazine last year. They excepted votes from every game ever created, judging gameplay, graphics, and sound in terms of the time of release, and put in the top 100.
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