What is the "Citizen Kane" of Video Games?

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

Question: What is the "Citizen Kane" of video games?

I'm going to give a number of potential answers to this:

Optimistic answer: There isn't one yet but it's bound to happen in a few of years.
Pessimistic answer: There isn't one and probably won't ever be.
Realistic answer: There isn't one and it's going to take a long time for us to get there, largely because video gaming is a rather young entertainment medium.
"Closest thing" answer: Heavy Rain I guess. (Bearing in mind however that we still have to see it have any real affect on the industry and whether it will bring great change or just be a one-off)
Troll answer: Games suck and you suck for liking games and you have no friends fag.

 

[OniaPL]

There isn't one yet. As long as the industry will develop and won't be treated as a moneymachine only, we will see one. But will it take 2 years? 5 years? A decade? Nobody knows.

 

[OniaPL]

but you can't deny that it has changed the way first person shooters are designed

Yes, Halo has drastically affected FPS shooters, like Gears Of Wars have brought the cover system to every single 3rd person shooter. But still, if I had to convince someone that video games can be much more than toys for little kids, that they can handle tough subjects and affect the gamer like a book can affect the reader, I would hide Halo. Especially its multiplayer, mainly because of the people who play it (generalization, sorry).

Don't get me wrong, Halo is a good game and it is really entertaining, but it is only entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less.

Edit: by saying Halo is only entertaining, I mean that it is entertainment that doesn't try to do anything else than entertain.

 

[Ph33nix]

but you can't deny that it has changed the way first person shooters are designed

Yes, Halo has drastically affected FPS shooters, like Gears Of Wars have brought the cover system to every single 3rd person shooter. But still, if I had to convince someone that video games can be much more than toys for little kids, that they can handle tough subjects and affect the gamer like a book can affect the reader, I would hide Halo. Especially its multiplayer, mainly because of the people who play it (generalization, sorry).

Don't get me wrong, Halo is a good game and it is really entertaining, but it is only entertainment. Nothing more, nothing less.

Edit: by saying Halo is only entertaining, I mean that it is entertainment that doesn't try to do anything else than entertain.

if i was going to look at it from a narrative/art point of view i would have put an RPG up there but i was looking at it from how has it shaped the medium
mass effect 2 on its Narrative would be my choice for narrative and portal for its uniqueness is how i got many people into gaming but from the way i view citizen kane as a movie that set precedents for how movies are made even bad ones halo is the one i would equivocate it with

 

[Anarchemitis]

We don't have an equivalent yet. We have many contenders for what could be the Video Game equivalent of Orson Welles, but not his magnum opus.
Video Games I would contend compared to Film or Animation is simply too young.

 

[Guitarmasterx7]

I'm trying to think of a really fucking boring game that did something first and is universally hailed by snobby elitists and disliked by everyone else.

So far the only thing that comes to mind is half life 2, but it's a rather loose fit.

 

[OniaPL]

if i was going to look at it from a narrative/art point of view i would have put an RPG up there but i was looking at it from how has it shaped the medium
mass effect 2 on its Narrative would be my choice for narrative and portal for its uniqueness is how i got many people into gaming but from the way i view citizen kane as a movie that set precedents for how movies are made even bad ones halo is the one i would equivocate it with

Halo didn't exactly shape the medium, it only affected the gameplay of a single genre, first person shooters.

And if we think something as a Citizen Kane of games, it should affect the medium in almost every aspect, and not just in story or gameplay. Sadly, I haven't seen such a game yet.

 

[Treblaine]

but you can't deny that Halo has changed the way first person shooters are designed

Not from my position as a PC gamer. It's done a few new things new but no more than so many other game series.

You can't mistake a change in the mechanics of the competitiveness of a game for changes in game mechanics that increase the ARTISTIC significance of a game.

Think about a board game, one that adds more complexity to the rules or makes the game faster paced, it's still just plastic tokens moving around in a circle.

But change the tokens into money, change the squares into property and tell people to follow the same rules as they would in real life commerce... then you have Monopoly. And monopoly can be significant as ART as it says something, it says something about people when they are pitted against each other over wealth and ownership, and how in an unregulated economy, eventually one person ends up owning everything. And it told it via the game mechanics.

Changing combat mechanics, that's new but doesn't make you approach the competitiveness of combat in any other way, it's just new. I don't think online changes much either, online competitive shooters have been thriving long before Halo 2 came along.

How does a game affect you on more than primal satisfaction of combative competition; how about emotionally, intellectually, in terms of ideals and beliefs.

Halo series touches on this, but so lightly, it just doesn't go beyond a mere framing device, you learn so little about the Covenant that really changes your impression of them or of anything else, the series is just so static. It doesn't make you really think about the nature of anything.

I mean were you ever moved to tears at any point in the entire Halo series?

Question: What is the "Citizen Kane" of video games?

*paraphrased best answer: Heavy Rain*

Is it just me or does this forum forget that there were games made before 2004?

 

[McAster]

As others have stated, Citizen Kane was the best "technical" movie. The one to do it all so well that it stands out for film designers.
With that, I say simple Super Mario Bros. Not even the first game, though it's all done just as well, but the first part of world 1-1. Right from the start the speed, the controls, the iconic music, the information given in the HUD, it's done perfectly game wise. Then you get to actually playing the game and right away it teaches everything you need to know about the game with the first enemy, first boxes, first coins, first power-up. It is set up perfectly and beautifully on a game design level.

 

[Clockwork Scarecrow.]

Question: What is the "Citizen Kane" of video games?

*paraphrased best answer: Heavy Rain*

Is it just me or does this forum forget that there were games made before 2004?

Are you implying that I don't know my gaming history?

Granted I was only 14 at the time but I'm interested to know what you seem to think if you're so knowledgeable.

 

[Steppin Razor]

Is it just me or does this forum forget that there were games made before 2004?

Games only started being made after 2004. True story.

On topic: Eh, it's totally Big Rigs: Over The Road Racing. Trucks absolutely can reverse at 8x the speed of light.

 

[Chibz]

There really isn't one. Video games haven't evolved to having the same level of artistic merit as film yet.

 

[tthor]

For all of you who do not know, Citizen Kane is often regarded as the greatest film of all time and was one of the first films to be universally recognized as Art. Has their been a game like this? If so, what was the game and explain it's impact on Video Games as an art form.

You are asking for a game that truly shows itself as an art. Frankly, I don't think we've had any game that even comes close to that point. And tho i do theorize it will be possible to make a game worthy of art, I think it will be difficult as fuck for any game to get to that point- not just the first artworthy game, but every artworthy game to ever be attempted will be hell to create. to quote Roger Ebert,
<quote=Roger Ebert>There is a structural reason for that: Video games by their nature require player choices, which is the opposite of the strategy of serious film and literature, which requires authorial control.
Tho I believe there is a small possibility we'll someday create true videogame art, it won't be easy. But videogames as a medium are still in its infancy, so we likely have room to grow. When films as a medium were in their infancy in the early 20th century during the silent film era, and even part of the beginning of the era of sound in films, its fairly clear that they still had not yet mastered their medium. The films that came out in these periods were far from art, and quite immature in their true nature. And just as the early medium of film, video games are still at a very immature age. Game designers are still only just beginning to play with ideas of how to use the medium, and are still just beginning to grow in technique.

I think that years from now, the videogames of today will be viewed in the same light as how we view the early silent films today. I'm excited to see where this medium will take us once it has truly matured.

 

[Christopher Moore]

silent hill, scary stuff dark twisted and it made you feel really oppressed.
Emotional response beyond the basic entertainment, fun, frustration and fear are easy but to be so specific as oppressing is quite an achievement.

 

[Manji187]

There really isn't one. Video games haven't evolved to having the same level of artistic merit as film yet.

Exactly! When was the last time a videogame accurately portrayed any complex relation/ interaction (especially the male/ female one) with all the accompanying depth (psychological, emotional etc..)?

 

[Netface]

This discussion has already been settled. [http://abcnews.go.com/video/playerIndex?id=8765863]

 

[Atmos Duality]

Lets see, atmosphere, perspective, technical and applicable psychology...
Yeah, most games really don't fit that description, which is what made Citizen Kane so memorable.

The closest I can think of that hits that stride is probably Metroid Prime, which used the first person perspective primarily for atmospheric purposes (the game isn't that hard, but it's still damn good).

Someone else mentions Bioshock, and that's a game that takes what was learned about atmosphere and applies it. I agree with that choice, though I don't think it's on the same page as Citizen Kane in context.
What makes me question it? Because apart from that one infamous line and scene, I don't remember much about the game. I attribute this to it being dumbed down from its predecessor, but hey, accessibility was more important.

EDIT: ABC News agrees with me? Good grief, did someone divide by zero recently?

 

[tthor]

Has there been a game like Citizen Kane? Explain it's impact on Video Games as an art form.

Halo 1 based on how it changed first person shooters through its "golden triangle"

(Halo is a fun console shooter, an evolution over Goldeneye, but it is to Video Games as James Bond is to films: fun, popular and with some depth with nice presentation but ultimatley far too safe and predictable)

but you can't deny that it has changed the way first person shooters are designed

one could say that Halo changed gaming in the same way that Twilight changed film and tv; it was something quite popular, so everyone around tried to copy in hopes of an easy buck. Just because we now have a bunch of vampire lovestories doesn't mean Twilight was anything that special to film; they just did a good job of appealing to their target audience. But then again, I may not be very familiar with Halo, or its specific innovations. if you know some of the technical innovations in videogame design that Halo was first to utilized, feel free to share.

 

[Mullahgrrl]

The problem, as you've seen, is that Citizen Kane despite being an astounding movie, doesn't always rank as a number one film. It's basic premise, that of a valiant man torn down by his own hubris, has been repeated many many times; and CK itself is not without its gaping plot holes.

Spoiler

Who actually heard him say "Rosebud"? There was no-one around who could have.

I think the butler did it.

 

[Ironic Pirate]

Has there been a game like Citizen Kane? Explain it's impact on Video Games as an art form.

Halo 1 based on how it changed first person shooters through its "golden triangle"

(Halo is a fun console shooter, an evolution over Goldeneye, but it is to Video Games as James Bond is to films: fun, popular and with some depth with nice presentation but ultimatley far too safe and predictable)

The first Halo earned the moniker Combat Evolved. It was more about timing, cover, and choosing your weapons than most shooters at the time, when the genre was still in the "Give them as many guns as we can model by the release date, and scatter health-packs and aliens everywhere" phase.

Sure, the series has kind of stagnated, but there's nothing really wrong with that.