The game that made you realize that a good game IS ART

[Veldt Falsetto]

portal..................but let me ask you something..........WHY DO ANOTHER FUCKING GAMES AS ART POST!!!!!

Let me ask you something......did you happen to notice the date on which I joined this forum? I'm not going to go through all the pages of back-logged discussions to make sure I'm not retreading something that has been discussed already. If you think it's redundant, then do yourself the favor and skip over the discussion altogether.

sorry, im just tired of these threads. plus this whole thing started because SOME movie critic doesn't think much of video games, or indeed the gamers themselves. i think of video games as a form of art, but i'd like people to forget about it and move on.

Well to begin with I didn't make this discussion in any response to "Some Movie Critic" (Who happens to be the most respected movie critic of all time), but instead just a place to chat about games that moved us as players.

I could care less if people think games are art or a wasteland devoid of creativity.

On a petty note however...I don't understand why anyone would give weight to a man who HATED Boondock Saints I and II.

Also in response to Mr Ebert...jokes on him cause he gave Final Fantasy The Spirits Within a good review, yes Final Fantasy that video game series (in which every fan slammed the film)

 

[PixieFace]

The Longest Journey.

That truly was a beautiful game. I can't come close to describing the catharsis I felt when I reached the ending. It left me thinking about the story for a long time afterward.

The first Bioshock, to some extent. The story wasn't nearly as thought provoking as TLJ, but the art direction was phenomenal. There were also a few surprisingly intelligent motifs that wove through the game.

 

[Sarge7777]

Manhunt


Seriously, Manhunt
Okay, maybe, I don't know. I can not think of any games I have played that made me think that, But I do think Games are Art.

 

[Andantil]

Shadow of the Colossus

 

[Super Toast]

No surprise here from me, it would have to be Majoras Mask.

With that aside, the last game I played that was good enough for me to consider art would have been ME2.

Weigh in !

Good thread idea, I have to say.
OT: Jak 2. I laughed, I cried, I nearly went batshit insane during that level in Baron Praxis' Castle after I died for the 28th time...

 

[vanalla]

surprised noone has said mass effect yet.those games were where I realized all of the different themes, depth, and creativity that goes into games. increased my ME2 experience a 100 fold

 

[Nazulu]

Super Metroid back when I was 10 years old, second console game I have ever played, still one of the most amazing games I have ever played. Everything in it is great and I recommend you should all give it a go.

 

[Tanto-chan]

I think deep down I always knew (grew up with the things) but the two to really open my eyes were FF9 and Soul Reaver. I say two since I don't remember which I played/watched first.

 

[A random person]

This is largely through thinking back on it (I played it when I was 10 or 11), but Windwaker. It made me realize the power and merit of good art direction and action-adventure gaming.

 

[Mercurio128]

First half of Fahrenheit.

It all started so well, a novel start, multiple perspectives on the same story. Intuitive controls that mimic the task you're doing.

then....

The Devs apparently went on a massive acid trip, they fired in a hundred QTE's, almost eliminated the little interactions that were so much fun, killed the main character and had him return as a zombie, made the bad guy TEH INTERNETS!?!? and added a horrifyingly poor stealth section.

That game was like eating an awesome subway sandwich only to discover halfway in that someone added a turd.

 

[freakonaleash]

It has to be said, Shadow of the Colossus. Great game, and really was beautiful.

EDIT: Ninja'd.

Shadow of the Colossus.

I just love the landscape, the feeling of being alone, and the fact that it tells such an amazing story without barely telling any story.

As a game I hate it, as a work of art I respect it.

 

[dodo1331]

All Valve games. Civilization.

 

[SoranMBane]

While I didn't outright dismiss the idea that games were art beforehand, playing Half-Life 2 and Portal is what made me officially take the "games are art" stance, and then Call of Duty 4 came along to solidify that stance to diamond-hardness by being the first game to actually make me cry.

 

[Rauten]

First one, was Killer7. The art design, the pacing, the characters, dialogues, story, everything about that game is meant to shock you, it's like the game is screaming several messages in your face, and wants you to make sense out of it all. It's just...

sensory overload. Can't think of another way to describe it.

Also:

The Longest Journey.

It was at that point, when I had finished it, that I realised I had been affected by it as much as or even more than any film, book or artwork I had seen.

Had I played it before Killer7, this one would have been it. The story is worth several books, the characters are all unique and special, and it's one of the few, if not the only one, to successfully integrate science fiction and medieval fiction in the same game, and make it look not just good, but PERFECT. Fitting. There just can NOT be another way. Truly mindblowing, and thought provoking.

 

[JohnDoey]

psychonauts and bioshock

 

[natster43]

Bloody mother-trucking Okami!

*Ahem*

Yes, Okami, both its music and style are art in games at its finest.

I agree, this and Shadow of the colossus.

 

[Alon Shechter]

Never experienced such a thing.
i see a video game as a game just like riding a bike or playing football with a friend (except ArmA1 which is a big pile of bugs and ArmA2 which a little smaller big pile of bugs)
Oh yeah , someone mentioned little big adventure 2 i think.
It was the best game i have ever played and if i ever see a video game as true art that is my first choice.
no game has reached its awesome way of thinking and storytelling even when its 13 years old already.

 

[Kyuubi Fanatic]

Well I've always thought of gaming as an art form but if I had to pen it down to a single game it'd be...Sonic 2, I guess >_>

Been so long I can't even remember.

 

[Tdc2182]

Shadow of the Colossus.

I just love the landscape, the feeling of being alone, and the fact that it tells such an amazing story without barely telling any story.

I think this one takes the cake. I havent played it, but it is one game that makes it hard to view as a game.

Edit: I have the feeling you are going to be quoted a crapload