Video games, paintings, and alcoholism.

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I got an email from Google Alerts that somebody had mentioned Company on their blog, so I went over to check it out and thank them for mentioning the game.  They talked a little bit about how people view video games as an art form (or sometimes, not an art form at all).  It piqued my interest, and I ended up rambling on for a while in their comments about how I viewed the subject.  I figure it might be at least marginally interesting, so here’s the relevant stuff.

Part of the problem, I think, is that a lot of people don’t realize how broad the term “art” can be. It’s kind of like when people debate about whether or not alcoholism is a disease. It’s not an infection or a cancer or a virus, but diseases aren’t always infections and cancers and viruses. A disease can be anything involving your body that is out of the ordinary (and generally harmful). So, yes: alcoholism is a disease, and video games are art. Maybe a bit of a dark analogy, but a valid one, all the same.

Another element of it is that even if you ignore the semantics, a lot of people genuinely don’t believe that video games have the same potential as the more widely accepted art forms. Honestly, though, I think the opposite: The more you make the audience do, the more powerful the impact can become. The tradeoff is that it’s a hell of a lot harder to make a piece of art behave the way you want it to when you know, with absolute certainty, that the audience is going to interact with the work. It’s not like a painting where they can only see what you want them to see, and that’s all. When you make a video game, you know that it’s not going to sit behind a banister to be viewed from afar. They’re going to pick it up, examine it from all the angles they can find, and often, they’ll even spend time specifically trying to figure out how to break it. And even so, you have to make sure that the audience still sees what you want them to see.

You can check out the full blog post and other comments at Terminally Incoherent.

0 Responses

  1. High-Lord Vin

    anyone who does not think video games can be an art form should play Company

    in fact, Company was the first game to make me think of video games as an art (and it made me fall in love with “artsy” flash games like Company and the Majesty of Colors

    ow, and story telling is an art forum right? Several Video games = story which you interact with

  2. High-Lord Vin

    ow, and I just read your heading; XD

  3. ahhh the old video games as art debate, almost as old as the chicken and the egg 😉

    To be honest, why would we want to be labelled as art? Art is pretentious, and boring. I wouldnt label any of my favourite films as “art” (fight club, the dark knight, American beauty) but i would say they are incredible films which effected me deeply.

    Can we not just make incredible games, which effect people?

    Art Films, made by a tiny collective of people who are up their own asses claiming theyre doing something which is changing the world and hate on bigger hollywood productions, whilst theyre actually making films most people consider boring, with tons LESS direction and craft put into them. I respect people exploring interesting ideas within games, but when they claim theyre some higher power, and all the games with golden gameplay, stunning visuals: sucking up glee-filled hours of my life, it kinda leaves people with a bitter taste in their mouth.

  4. Actually, a lot of games art art, and a lot of art films I have seen have affected me. Games with wonderful artwork are good, and I absolutely adore games which have good, involving storylines, especially sad ones. 😛

    I don’t claim to have much experience with art, films, or games, as I am only 13 or so, but I do think that you understate the value of art and experimental games.

  5. High-Lord Vin

    Art is in the view of the beholder

  6. C4Vendetta

    Hey, I just played Company of Myself, and I just needed to thank the person that came up with this game, you.
    I wish more games like these would be made, because this is really not just a game, it is a piece of art.
    So thank you allot! And I hope to see allot more amazing cames from you!

  7. High-Lord Vin

    lot of new people around; did this game get released on a new site or something?

  8. I love alcoholism!

  9. udontneedtoknow

    tbh I think company was the only flash / platforming game that ever affected me at all. Usually after a few minutes I forget I ever played that game but Company kept me endlessly thinking about it for at least 2 weeks, and even now I can remember the storyline with clarity.

    Strangely enough, I found that Black Ops campaign affected me as well. Who ever would have guessed CoD would ever have an original storyline!?

    Alchoholism – Overrated
    Paintings – Painting made of splotches and splatters on a canvas is worth millions. WTF? I CAN MAKE DAT SHIT FOO’

  10. tbh I think company was the only flash / platforming game that ever affected me at all. Usually after a few minutes I forget I ever played that game but Company kept me endlessly thinking about it for at least 2 weeks, and even now I can remember the storyline with clarity.

    Strangely enough, I found that Black Ops campaign affected me as well. Who ever would have guessed CoD would ever have an original storyline!?

    Alchoholism – Overrated
    Paintings – Painting made of splotches and splatters on a canvas is worth millions. WTF? I CAN MAKE DAT SHIT FOO’

  11. Art is in the view of the beholder

  12. samabizzle

    High-Lord Vin :
    anyone who does not think video games can be an art form should play Company
    in fact, Company was the first game to make me think of video games as an art (and it made me fall in love with “artsy” flash games like Company and the Majesty of Colors
    ow, and story telling is an art forum right? Several Video games = story which you interact with

    I concure. The majesty of colours is also a great ‘artsy’ game.
    Although Company was one of the first to be an ‘artsy’ game, I also liked the stylings of the ‘Nevermore’ series. If I’m correct, that came out before Company, and I found those games very powerful and interesting.

    I agree that games can be an art because you can actually ‘pick them up’ as you put it, rather than just observing it like a painting. Some interesting ideas you have Mr Array.

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