What Scene Made a Game Art?

[Alakaizer]

So I'm replaying inFamous 2 for the fourth or fifth time, and I get to this one part, and I realize that it's this scene that, to me, elevates this from a pretty good game to a work of art.So, fellow Escapists, what games are works of art to you, and what moment in the game defines it so?

EDIT: Fixed the title, makes sense now.

 

[Wayneguard]

Leaving Earth in Mass Effect 3 was very artfully done. In fact, that was probably the highlight of the game for me (besides bullshitting with Garrus).

 

[Scrustle]

This isn't the first point I would say I regarded games as art, but god damn if it doesn't prove something then nothing can. I present to you the ending scene of The Darkness:


Even though I haven't played the game in ages (let alone got to the ending) it still gives me a lump in my throat.

 

[Andy Shandy]

No matter how many times I play it, by god I always get emotional at the end of MGS3, so I'll say that.

 

[Aarowbeatsdragon]

The ending to arkham city was just so amazing dont know how to spoiler tag but everyone thats played it knows what im talking about!
Also, the ending to mass effect 3 *puts up flame shield*.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Surfing the sunken city in Journey.

Watch it and you'll understand why I love this game

 

[GTwander]

Token Silent Hill 2 pandering incoming;

The whole game was art... the art of fear. From monster design to various set pieces, but the clincher (for me) was the scene in the hotel room where he watches himself on VHS. My mouth hit the floor along with the controller. Took me like 10 minutes to gather my wits at the time and finish it up, my mind was just racing with "but... wha... how... zuh?!".

Waht a twist! /meme

 

[The_Lost_King]

The ending to arkham city was just so amazing dont know how to spoiler tag but everyone thats played it knows what im talking about!
Also, the ending to mass effect 3 *puts up flame shield*.

Please explain to me how the ending of mass effect is better than all the other parts

Spoiler: Parts of the game that were actually good and emotional

the joy you see in the Krogans' when you cure the Genophage, the sadness when Thane dies and prays for you and when Modin goes up into the tower knowing he will die, the horror you feel when you find out that Cerberus is testing on innocent refugees, The hopelessness you feel when you leave earth which is amplified when you see Palaven and Thessia, the rage you feel at Udina's betrayal.

All these beautiful moments and you pick the end? What was good about the end it turns mass effect into Battle Star Galcticca,"Oh no the machines will evolve and wage war on us so we must stop that by making machines that will wage war on us!!"

 

[Bobic]

The nuke scene from Cod4 was pretty damned impressive and artsy, though I did feel the playground was a bit OTT, like they were bashing you over the head with the message (nukes are bad mmmkay), but other than that, very cool.

The twist scene in Bioshock, Andrew Ryan is just goddamned amazing and any guy that

Spoiler

martyrs himself to prove a point about freedom is an A+ in my mind

Also, the intro speech was brilliant too, along with the reveal of rapture and it's wonderful sea view.

Also, not a scene, but the surrealist world of Zeno Clash was damned cool and artistic.

Edit: Oh, and reading that guy above's comment about Silent Hill 2 reminded me of another one. . . from Silent Hill 2.

Spoiler

When that woman, whose name escapes me, ascends the flaming stairs, that moment is just brilliant.

Edit 2: Wow, Spoiler tags are case sensitive. How random.

 

[Kal-Adam]

A man chooses, a slave obeys

 

[GTwander]

Edit: Oh, and reading that guy above's comment about Silent Hill 2 reminded me of another one. . . from Silent Hill 2.

Spoiler

When that woman, whose name escapes me, ascends the flaming stairs, that moment is just brilliant.

*swoon*

Another artsy aspect to that alone

Spoiler

is that if you examine the knife she leaves behind, it effects what ending you get.

That whole game was a labor of love, and you can tell.

 

[Irridium]

Shadow of the Colossus. First time you climb that tutorial hill, you see it walking. It's massive. You run towards it, maybe fire an arrow. It slowly turns towards you. It starts moving towards you. It then raises its giant mace, and strikes down, shaking the ground and toppling you to the ground with the sheer force of its strength. After getting back up, you then run to its feet, trying not to get stomped on. You grab onto the back of its ankle, and stab it. It wobbles. You stab again. It falls. While its down you then climb its waist, then as it's getting up you climb up its back. Its up, you reach its neck. You hold on for dear life while it tries to shake you off. Birds are circling. You make your way to the top of its head, and stab. And stab. And stab.

It falls. It dies.

You just toppled a giant. Not through a quick time event, not through a cutscene, but by actually dodging its attacks, climbing it, and killing it.

 

[him over there]

The last battle of Super Metroid before it was retroactively ruined by other M.The "Baby" metroid rushing in to give its life for you was heart breaking for me.

 

[Waffle_Man]

Would you ask what brush stroke makes a painting art? Would you ask which sentence makes a book art? Would you ask which camera angle makes a movie art?

That's not the point. I suppose the idea of this thread is more along the lines of "what is your favorite scene in a game?" and art largely lies in how it affects the audience, but could you honestly say that if literally all you could fondly remember or respect about a game was a single scene, you would call it art? Would any of those scenes be nearly as good if they weren't contextualized and contrasted by the rest of the game? It seems as though emphasizing a single point as the reason for a game being art misses the point of what makes something art.

Heh, perhaps I'm reading too much into the wording of the title. Still, I think it was worth writing.

 

[bullet_sandw1ch]

So I'm replaying inFamous 2 for the fourth or fifth time, and I get to this one part, and I realize that it's this scene that, to me, elevates this from a pretty good game to a work of art.So, fellow Escapists, what games are works of art to you, and what moment in the game defines it so?

EDIT: Fixed the title, makes sense now.

i dont get it though, if the condensation from the beer or the beer itself is a liquid, how is cole drinking it without hurting himself terribly?

 

[Ravinoff]

Hmm...I know a lot of people are going for the sheer "FUCK YEAH!" moments, so I can't deny the first two Mass Effect games on that front (haven't played 3 yet). Shepard's speech on taking control of the Normandy (the Paragon options, of course) is pretty great, as is the entire finale of ME2, with particular emphasis on the scene in the briefing room and the cutscene when you go through the Omega-4 relay. But on a level of true epicness and artistry? Either when you learn to sail in Wind Waker, or basically any point in Skyrim. Yeah, Sovngarde is great, but the moment that really made it for me was just roaming the world. Walking along the cliffs between Solitude and Winterhold in the dead of night. Looking out across the bay, watching the auroras and the amazing sky while the Night 2 theme plays...

Spoiler: Night Explore 2 Theme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHqrLp5WELo

 

[Riddle78]

I'm going to have to say...Nehrim: At Fate's Edge. All of it. In it's entirety. All encompassing. Seriously. The "game" is a total converison mod for Oblivion,and it's just...Beautiful. I love it to death,and I still play it. I just have to survive the nasties that populate the Northrealm's wilderness so I can level up enough to beat the damn game...

 

[Signa]

Pretty much any time Andrew Ryan starts talking. They could have written him to just say words, but they had him speak poetry.

 

[Alakaizer]

Would you ask what brush stroke makes a painting art? Would you ask which sentence makes a book art? Would you ask which camera angle makes a movie art?

That's not the point. I suppose the idea of this thread is more along the lines of "what is your favorite scene in a game?" and art largely lies in how it affects the audience, but could you honestly say that if literally all you could fondly remember or respect about a game was a single scene, you would call it art? Would any of those scenes be nearly as good if they weren't contextualized and contrasted by the rest of the game? It seems as though emphasizing a single point as the reason for a game being art misses the point of what makes something art.

Heh, perhaps I'm reading too much into the wording of the title. Still, I think it was worth writing.

The point I was trying to make was that the scene in inFamous 2 resonated really strongly with me and elevated the game from just another really fun game to a work of art. If they had done the scene differently, the game still would have been great.

Y'know what? Sometimes it is a single brush stroke or camera angle that can elevate a piece. If we can show that games can move us in the same way that other art can, we can better inform others of this fact, and spread the knowledge even better.

 

[Marik2]

In Katawa Shoujo, this scene was just breathtaking when I first saw it.

Lots of tears were shed

Spoiler