Video Game As Art Class: What Would You Like to See/Talk About?

[Sturmfalke]

Alright, so this is somewhat of a cop out on my part. Brain's a bit fried and I'm somewhat at an impasse for ideas. Friends and I are teaching a class about Video Games this semester at Cal, mainly drawing parallels between VG and other forms of art, how it imitates traditional media and also how it breaks the mold. It's an attempt to get gamers and non-gamers to think about video games as more than just pixels on a screen, introduce some new perspectives, and even if they don't agree with us, hell, at least it'll be a chance to verbalize their criticism and defend it.

But with just us amateur gamers making up the lesson plans, it does feel like we're possibly neglecting a good chunk of ideas. So here's the question I'm proposing to you guys. If you had to run a class on Video Games as Art, or were attending such a class - which games would you like to talk about, any producers or developers that you feel must be mentioned in this context? Or hell, any topic of discussion that should be addressed? Figured this would be the right forum for asking such things. Incidentally, here's a link to the current course syllabus and some of the things we've come up with. http://www.decal.org/1054

 

[WayOutThere]

The only must plays I know of are Portal and Psychonauts. I doubt either and these games need any introduction to you.

Some honorable mentions......

F.E.A.R. I'd say had some artistic merits. The game wasn't as scary as it could be but I loved its more subtle horror. The grand thing about it was its excellent mix of story and gameplay; it told the story the horror sequences, radio messages, and phone recordings. The game was really on the right track but didn't hit as hard as it could have.

Mass Effect deserves attention for its interactive story. The game wasn't that emotionally powerful but the ability to have interactive story is a major step towards games as art.

Call of Duty 4 actually has artistic merits for the way it put you in the moment. The biggest praise I have for the game is a stealth mission which was particularly immersive. Another example would be a segment near the start of the game where you are a prisoner witnessing all the brutality around you and the segment ends with you being shot to death. That's not something you see often in games.

So yeah......

 

[F17]

I wouldn't be able to help with art in terms of art, but I'm interested in video games as art in terms of literature. Video games are definitely relevant in the classroom, if only to show asides and intertextuality. I used GTA IV's story of Niko being drawn into a life of crime and killing to help outline an essay I was writing on the impossibility of the American Dream due to human nature. It's great when you can draw parallels between video games and established, classical and accepted texts.

 

[Evil Tim]

Mass Effect deserves attention for its interactive story. The game wasn't that emotionally powerful but the ability to have interactive story is a major step towards games as art.

A multiple choice test is hardly an interactive story; in fact, realistically it's a step backward if anything. Look at an older game like, say, Castlevania. You find the plot could only really be explained as a series of actions, somewhat like an old saga which would describe a story as a sequence of mighty deeds; in Castlevania, for example, we learn Simon Belmont fights Medusa because the player goes and does it. This sort of thing is perfect for the medium, as the player is writing the storyline as they go along, without the need for additional information to be delivered.

Modern games seem to have almost stepped backwards, co-opting the tropes of film in an attempt to be more 'respectable;' by embracing overly complicated narratives, they often find themselves forced into using non-interactive narrative sequences to fill in the gaps. Metal Gear Solid 4 could probably be used as a demonstration of the logical conclusion of this; the player's actions are at best slightly relevant to the overall plotline, but really the player is simply navigating between points in an overblown and silly narrative, with their actions not affecting how it progresses. This seems to waste the interactive nature of videogames as does the Half-Life 2 style where wads of exposition are delivered while the player is locked in a room, unable to take meaningful actions. One would hope that one day it will be recognised that both approaches ignore the defining feature of the medium, the interaction of player and game, and that seeking to make games more like something they're not like is counter-productive.

Call of Duty 4 actually has artistic merits for the way it put you in the moment. The biggest praise I have for the game is stealth mission which was particularly immersive. Another example would be a segment near the start of the game where you are a prisoner witnessing all the brutality around you and the segment ends with you being shot to death. That's not something you see often in games.

But the first section is a completely linear sequence of obstacles, one of which has a totally illogical solution which can only be discovered by trial and error [figuring out where the gap is in the group of men walking across the field]. Errors are punished in stupid and illogical ways [screw up the shot by the pond and some guys randomly jump out of a nearby shipping container where they were hiding for absolutely no good reason], and really if it weren't for the admittedly well-realised setting, the whole sequence would look like what it is; an utterly manufactured and artificial obstacle course.

In the second case, there's no game to the section; the most you can do is move your point of view, and the section is designed so there's rarely more than one thing to look at. The sequence might as well be a cutscene for all the interactivity it actually posesses.

It seems that a common issue with people trying to define 'games as art' is they try to establish games which have film-like qualities, not things like fluid level structure, meshing of how the player acts versus how the game reacts, logical and intuitive design and so on. This is rather like evaluating movies on the basis of how the edges of the TV frame the screen and how the lighting of the room affects it; a movie, in the end, is not a painting, and it is a bad goal for a videogame to try to be a movie.

 

[lostclause]

Bioshock. You could write essays on that game, there are some quite good messages (I know it's based on Atlas shrugged but I don't care). Also Assassin's Creed, another story heavy game. It would be the equivilant of Jane Eyre for me, something that's hard to get through but has a fair bit there to look at.
As for developers and stuff, I'm at a loss (although the guys who did bioshock were the same ones who did System shock 2 so they might be worth a mention. I'm talking about the designers not the developers).

 

[high_castle]

Mass Effect deserves attention for its interactive story. The game wasn't that emotionally powerful but the ability to have interactive story is a major step towards games as art.

Not emotionally powerful? I spent at least ten minutes agonizing over a couple of the decisions. This game needs to be on the list because it's the first game in which your moral choices are actually a bit grayer than most games, and the first in which your choices matter. Also, they all carry over to the second game. Which, even though it hasn't been released yet, is likely to break down some major barriers.

Moving on. I think the games that need to be discussed are those who place the most emphasis on story. Nearly everyone I know is willing to forgive some bad gameplay decisions if the story is great. Compare it to a film. Quentin Tarantino's first flick, Reservoir Dogs, was very low budget and rather looked it. But the story and characters were so gripping, you can still watch it today and not take your eyes off the screen. I feel that way about Psychonauts and Baldur's Gate as games. Today, they're graphically inferior to modern games, but the stories they tell are so compelling, I find I don't care.

EDIT:

I don't think of video games as an art, and therefor, I can't think of any assignments. You picked probably the hardest class to teach, my friend. I never truly thought of video games as an art, but then again, how can you think when your being chased by zombies, aliens, or the like. It's not really something you think of when you have the thought of death and restarting while you play. [Feel free to quote that if you want.]

And there are people for the longest time who didn't think of films as art. Or music. But the fact is, there are people out there who use video games as cultural commentary and to get a message across. Look at the game Portal, which did a superb job in its portrayal of a shifting reality and very human artificial intelligence. It plays like a Philip K. Dick novel come to life. How is that not artistic expression?

To the OP, if you want good assignments, you're going to have to analyze some games you've played. Just like with literature and film, look for symbolism and deeper meanings. You'd be surprised with what you find.

 

[Chaosut]

Definately; Deus Ex, Killer 7, Dreamfall - The Longst Journey, Okami, KOTOR, Syberia 1 + 2, Dreamfall, American Mcgee's Alice, Anachronox, The Experiment (aka Experience 112), Shadow of Destiny, Zelda Majora's Mask.

 

[Remleiz]

Flower, Fl0w, Linger in Shadows, Noby Noby boy

 

[TheCameraman]

Braid for the style and the puzzles, also for plot twists.

Psychonauts and Grim Fandango for humour(Or just go and get Tim Schafer).

Megaman 2 for music

 

[Evil Tim]

Not emotionally powerful? I spent at least ten minutes agonizing over a couple of the decisions. This game needs to be on the list because it's the first game in which your moral choices are actually a bit grayer than most games, and the first in which your choices matter.

This is not even slightly true, there were moral choices that mattered throughout, say, Deus Ex. Don't think 'only one I know of' means 'first.'

 

[DarkRyter]

It would work better as a film class, but yeah.

Pokemon: A deep analysis of Mudkip.

 

[Mother Yeti]

Not emotionally powerful? I spent at least ten minutes agonizing over a couple of the decisions. This game needs to be on the list because it's the first game in which your moral choices are actually a bit grayer than most games, and the first in which your choices matter.

This is not even slightly true, there were moral choices that mattered throughout, say, Deus Ex. Don't think 'only one I know of' means 'first.'

I haven't played Deux Ex, but "moral choices that are a bit grayer" is not the same thing as "moral choices that matter."

 

[Evil Tim]

I haven't played Deux Ex, but "moral choices that are a bit grayer" is not the same thing as "moral choices that matter."

I just woke up. Same applies, though, they're much more than the usual 'pet and love the kitten forever' / 'toss the kitten into the woodchipper' choices in games.

 

[Jumplion]

OMG OMG OMG OMG OMG!!!!

Look at this thread [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.132293], specifically this post [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.132293#2948200]. I say make them play Shadow of the Collosus of ICO and have them analyze all the imagery and stuff, how the game makes them feel, the relationship between Yorda and Ico/Wander, Argo, and Mono ect...

Though that's just standard stuff, I don't know exactly how the class would all play down, but I hope you're successful.

 

[Mother Yeti]

I wouldn't be able to help with art in terms of art, but I'm interested in video games as art in terms of literature. Video games are definitely relevant in the classroom, if only to show asides and intertextuality. I used GTA IV's story of Niko being drawn into a life of crime and killing to help outline an essay I was writing on the impossibility of the American Dream due to human nature. It's great when you can draw parallels between video games and established, classical and accepted texts.

I've heard lots of people (including Seth Schiesel in The New York Times) argue that Niko represents a new generation of flawed, three-dimensional video game protagonists and that GTAIV is essentially the story of the immigrant experience in America ... and I just don't buy it. The story isn't that deep. Just like all the previous GTA protagonists, Niko is a criminal who succeeds by killing and stealing his way to the top. He might be more angsty about it than Tommy Vercetti, but he never fundamentally changes as a character.

 

[jh322]

Alright, so this is somewhat of a cop out on my part. Brain's a bit fried and I'm somewhat at an impasse for ideas. Friends and I are teaching a class about Video Games this semester at Cal, mainly drawing parallels between VG and other forms of art, how it imitates traditional media and also how it breaks the mold. It's an attempt to get gamers and non-gamers to think about video games as more than just pixels on a screen, introduce some new perspectives, and even if they don't agree with us, hell, at least it'll be a chance to verbalize their criticism and defend it.

But with just us amateur gamers making up the lesson plans, it does feel like we're possibly neglecting a good chunk of ideas. So here's the question I'm proposing to you guys. If you had to run a class on Video Games as Art, or were attending such a class - which games would you like to talk about, any producers or developers that you feel must be mentioned in this context? Or hell, any topic of discussion that should be addressed? Figured this would be the right forum for asking such things. Incidentally, here's a link to the current course syllabus and some of the things we've come up with. http://www.decal.org/1054

Welcome to the escapist. Important title that should be part of this: Mirror's Edge. If you don't know it look it up. Not nominating it for it's gameplay in any regard, but the stylistics of the colouring and ultra-bright lighting make this one a really really interesting perspective in any debate about the art in videogames.

 

[Bobtowna]

I would say games like Doom or Diablo to contrast religion into games

 

[Uilleand]

Fellow at our local university talks about the same stuff - he's cross appointed between computing science and philosophy. He says we need to create a language for discussing video games as art, the same way we've developed a vocabulary for literature and cinema.

"The thing that makes human works different on the computer is their interactivity. The author of the book does not think about how you're going to interact with the book. The author probably doesn't even talk to the person who designed the page layout. But the author of a multimedia work has to think about how that interaction happens, and that is especially true of games"

Whole article here: http://www.expressnews.ualberta.ca/print.cfm?id=9674