Hey everyone. I'm new to the community. I have been coming here reading articles and watching videos for a while. but never became a member. I just want to get ppls takes on some artsy games and what those games maybe. I personally am a fan of "Shadow of colossus" I found the design of the colossi to be very beautiful and well thought up. For a PS2 game the graphics were amazing and so was the designs of the enemies your character was facing. Having these larger than life creatures wasent sullied by having the seemingly endless rabble of smaller more easily defeated enemies. This game in my opinion was truly art. What do you think?
Artsy games
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Any game can be considered art, whether you take it for it's graphics, storytelling, gameplay mechanics, even it's marketing. Even mainstream games like CoD or Halo, effectively trendsetters of online competition (at least for consoles) could be said to be artistic in their nature of handling worldwide play. I think it's all a question of perspective.
Silent Hill 2. For the reason that it's very well thought out, has lots of depth, great writing, stays true to its genre but most importantly, is something that is dependent on its medium. I don't really like the whole idea that art is determined by simply how we see it because then that kind of devalues the greater works. Using that logic, this ikea catalogue next to me is just as good as the Mona Lisa. Between extremes, it has a very poor basis to stand on. Instead, I'd like to say that it's dependent on both the intention and the interpretation. If the creator says it's art, and the audience can tell its art without being told, then I'd say it's art.
Whether Silent Hill 2 had the intention of getting itself in a museum is arguable, it certainly has the quality and the finesse to be something greater than a regular video game.
Whether Silent Hill 2 had the intention of getting itself in a museum is arguable, it certainly has the quality and the finesse to be something greater than a regular video game.
Shadow of the Colossus and Silent Hill 2 are pretty much universally considered as art by many gamers, though. Let's say I considered Black Ops a masterpiece, a veritable work of art (which I don't). I don't see how that would devalue anything, that's my opinion, and a large number of people still consider those two aforementioned games as art. The majority really decides which games are considered as art or not, while individual opinions are still valid, but definitely not widely accepted.Fanta Grape said:
Planescape: Torment is the standout for me. Although I think a game trying to be artsy can sometimes detract from it. Take The Path - the goal was to make a work of art, and the result was crappy art. That game is basically what would happen if the books from Braid knocked up a Hot Topic store, and the Hot Topic drank heavily while pregnant.
Frankly, there is no such thing, objectively speaking, as "art".
"Art" is such a wholly subjective notion that you can get a hundred people together, ask them what they think "art" IS, and within seconds of talking about it you'd have a hundred completely different and mutually exclusive answers. In science, when something is THAT impossible to quantify, it's typically called "pseudoscience" or "bullshit".
Using the most basic, definition of "art" (your Mona Lisas, your Michelangelo's David, et all) objectively one could argue that "art" is another word for "something we find aesthetically pleasing or interesting to look at". Or in other words, something pretty.
But if you put a gun to my head and made me answer what is "art" in gaming, I'd say something like the Modern Warfare or Mass Effect series which manage to emulate in a very real and total way popular action movies and science fiction books, respectively, tend to play out. This is no mean feat despite what the COD-hating game-snobs will tell you (I'm looking at you Bob Chipman), since these are very big and very expansive genres. Mass Effect more than anything else captures the feel of a sci-fi novel of the likes of the Lensman series, Revelation Space or the Culture series...something which, if you'd asked me a few years ago was possible with an interactive game, I would tell you was all but impossible.
So yeah...TL;DR version, "art" can be anything but typically it revolves around personal aesthetics and what we find appealing and-or fascinating.
"Art" is such a wholly subjective notion that you can get a hundred people together, ask them what they think "art" IS, and within seconds of talking about it you'd have a hundred completely different and mutually exclusive answers. In science, when something is THAT impossible to quantify, it's typically called "pseudoscience" or "bullshit".
Using the most basic, definition of "art" (your Mona Lisas, your Michelangelo's David, et all) objectively one could argue that "art" is another word for "something we find aesthetically pleasing or interesting to look at". Or in other words, something pretty.
But if you put a gun to my head and made me answer what is "art" in gaming, I'd say something like the Modern Warfare or Mass Effect series which manage to emulate in a very real and total way popular action movies and science fiction books, respectively, tend to play out. This is no mean feat despite what the COD-hating game-snobs will tell you (I'm looking at you Bob Chipman), since these are very big and very expansive genres. Mass Effect more than anything else captures the feel of a sci-fi novel of the likes of the Lensman series, Revelation Space or the Culture series...something which, if you'd asked me a few years ago was possible with an interactive game, I would tell you was all but impossible.
So yeah...TL;DR version, "art" can be anything but typically it revolves around personal aesthetics and what we find appealing and-or fascinating.
you'll go around in circles with the whole art debate.. why do these discussions always get bogged down like this? :-(
i wrote in a recent blog why i think shadow of the colossus is important. if you're interested, see it here:
http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion/30/storytelling-in-video-games/503815/
and i don't think i wrote 'art' once!
i wrote in a recent blog why i think shadow of the colossus is important. if you're interested, see it here:
http://www.giantbomb.com/forums/general-discussion/30/storytelling-in-video-games/503815/
and i don't think i wrote 'art' once!
Yeah Mirrors edge does look rather nicethis isnt my name said:Enslaved looks amazing
So does mirrors edge
For me I just think of art = nice visuals and atmosphere. Allthough they have to be entertaining, CoD is shiney and all that, but I find it dull, so it wouldnt spring to my head when people say art. A game like Bioshock infinite would though. And it dosent have to be all colour, I find games like fllout 3 and fallout NV as art, it was great in NV, for the first time, seeing Vegas lit up in the distance, the complete opposite of where I was at the time. Shame I cant find a screenshot that does it justice. But yeah I dont really know what art is, but there are some games (more I have listed) that just, stand out, dont know why, just something about them.
I agree Shadow of the Colossus is a work of art. If you ever had a chanc to play Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean or CastleVania Lament of Innocence, those games show some prime examples of art games.
CastleVania more so. The feeling of being alone and fully unaware of the dangers that are ahead of your character. Look for a loved one who was kiddnapped by a beast (Dracula)
CastleVania more so. The feeling of being alone and fully unaware of the dangers that are ahead of your character. Look for a loved one who was kiddnapped by a beast (Dracula)
Thats funny because Castlevania is one of those games that never really comes to mind when you think of a "Artsy" Game but then a again its not totally unbelieveable.jacobythehedgehog said:
I would say it is most of the best examples. Look at the Character Hector from Curse of Darkness. The whole story is told Similar to Hamlet I believe. Hector is a very poetic, somewhat depressed human who feels killing Isacc is the only way for Hector to feel whole again from the murder of his wife, who was accused of being a which. Hector has countless chances to kill Isacc but doesn't take them. Much like Hamlet in that regard. But ofcourse unlike the endings which differ alot from shakespears classic, Hector not only kills Isacc but kills Dracula. But read some of these quotes Hector says.boondoggler23 said:
"Hector: Wait! Isaac! Damn him. So be it. I must descend into darkness and reclaim that accursed power once more...Heed my words. I will hunt you down like the beast you are! I will have my revenge.
"Hector: Why did you unleash your hatred upon the humans? When you began slaughtering them indiscriminately, I had no choice but to disobey you"
Farther more you would have to play the game to understand.
That is open to free interpriation. Look at what you find art. Maybe it is a classic Fairy Tale, maybe it is a tragity. Either way those same elements can be expressed in games through the interactive medium they create. Look at Lord of the Rings. The big epic fantasy story from Tolkien. If you find that art, look at a game like Dragon Age Origins. A big epic quest. To some that would be art.SageRuffin said: