Are games an art form?
September 25th 2007 02:01
At the turn of the century, a new media experience was unleashed. Praised by some, critically savaged by the majority, it revolutionised the medium, regardless. The puritans claimed it glorified violence and criminals. It even was banned for some length of time.
I am talking about The Story of the Kelly Gang, one of the first Australian motion pictures, released in the very early 20th C. But my comments could equally apply to GTA San Andreas, released in late 2004. And they say times change.
When movies were first invented, it took a long time for them to be accepted as part of mainstream culture, alongside music and books. The same thing is happening with videogames. Despite being around for over 30 years now, the medium still has this stigma of being a kid’s plaything attached to it.
Not all videogames are intended for children. In fact, they haven’t been targeted towards children for quite some time now. The first generation of videogamers are now in their 30s, at least. Games were already an established part and parcel of life when I came onto the scene. I’ve grown up with them. Gamers have grown up, and so have their tastes.
Are games an art form? Well, it depends. Some games you play for a laugh, or just simply to have a fun time. Light entertainment pastimes. Nothing serious. But others, I would argue, are art. Metal Gear Solid delivers a cinematic experience to rival Hollywood movies. Half Life is an incredibly deep and rewarding gameplay experience.
This is much like any other medium. For every one high quality masterpiece that is released in cinemas (usually the arthouse cinemas), about 50 popcorn epics are released at the same time. For every well-scripted drama on TV, there are 100 trashy reality programmes. For every Dickens, there’s a thousand Mills and Boon romances.
I don’t know if games are truly doing enough to be considered worthy of artistic status. There is a distinct lack of imagination in much of today’s software. Yearly updates of The Sims, Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding, sports games; etc, dominate the sales charts. Why should companies invest time and money in developing ground-breaking, immersive, original properties when half-baked sequels sell ten times as many units? Nearly every new game that comes out is just the same old gameplay in a shiny new box, and with improved visuals. How many MMORPG’s and FPS’s are there these days? (I’ve never been a big MMO player. But I do enjoy first person shooters. There are two types of these. The colourful, over the top, action packed fragfests like Halo and Timesplitters; and the gritty, realistic, military type shooters like CounterStrike, Rainbow 6, and Call of Duty. I prefer the more realistic army shooters myself, but I do own and love Quake III Arena, which is a very fast-paced action shooter)
Games probably won’t be taken entirely seriously by the mainstream as long as they remain focused so much on combat and violence. War is a part of the human condition, true, but only one part. Where are all the love simulators and virtual courtroom procedural games? Violence, it seems, sells too well for these ever to be a practical consideration. Every so often, a brave developer comes along and tries something completely new. Guitar Hero is one of the most fun non-violent gaming experiences I’ve had for a long time. (Apparently, someone did try, a few years ago, to make a dating sim, but that idea seems a little geeky, doesn’t it? Living your love life through a game?)
Some games are even vaguely educational, so this tripe about them rotting away brains doesn’t hold water. The Age of Empires strategy games got me interested in learning more about history. As did the Medal of Honor games.
I think games will achieve respect one day. But it won’t be for a long time. They need to break out of their adolescent niche and start attracting adult gamers.
I am talking about The Story of the Kelly Gang, one of the first Australian motion pictures, released in the very early 20th C. But my comments could equally apply to GTA San Andreas, released in late 2004. And they say times change.
When movies were first invented, it took a long time for them to be accepted as part of mainstream culture, alongside music and books. The same thing is happening with videogames. Despite being around for over 30 years now, the medium still has this stigma of being a kid’s plaything attached to it.
Not all videogames are intended for children. In fact, they haven’t been targeted towards children for quite some time now. The first generation of videogamers are now in their 30s, at least. Games were already an established part and parcel of life when I came onto the scene. I’ve grown up with them. Gamers have grown up, and so have their tastes.
Are games an art form? Well, it depends. Some games you play for a laugh, or just simply to have a fun time. Light entertainment pastimes. Nothing serious. But others, I would argue, are art. Metal Gear Solid delivers a cinematic experience to rival Hollywood movies. Half Life is an incredibly deep and rewarding gameplay experience.
This is much like any other medium. For every one high quality masterpiece that is released in cinemas (usually the arthouse cinemas), about 50 popcorn epics are released at the same time. For every well-scripted drama on TV, there are 100 trashy reality programmes. For every Dickens, there’s a thousand Mills and Boon romances.
I don’t know if games are truly doing enough to be considered worthy of artistic status. There is a distinct lack of imagination in much of today’s software. Yearly updates of The Sims, Tony Hawk’s Skateboarding, sports games; etc, dominate the sales charts. Why should companies invest time and money in developing ground-breaking, immersive, original properties when half-baked sequels sell ten times as many units? Nearly every new game that comes out is just the same old gameplay in a shiny new box, and with improved visuals. How many MMORPG’s and FPS’s are there these days? (I’ve never been a big MMO player. But I do enjoy first person shooters. There are two types of these. The colourful, over the top, action packed fragfests like Halo and Timesplitters; and the gritty, realistic, military type shooters like CounterStrike, Rainbow 6, and Call of Duty. I prefer the more realistic army shooters myself, but I do own and love Quake III Arena, which is a very fast-paced action shooter)
Games probably won’t be taken entirely seriously by the mainstream as long as they remain focused so much on combat and violence. War is a part of the human condition, true, but only one part. Where are all the love simulators and virtual courtroom procedural games? Violence, it seems, sells too well for these ever to be a practical consideration. Every so often, a brave developer comes along and tries something completely new. Guitar Hero is one of the most fun non-violent gaming experiences I’ve had for a long time. (Apparently, someone did try, a few years ago, to make a dating sim, but that idea seems a little geeky, doesn’t it? Living your love life through a game?)
Some games are even vaguely educational, so this tripe about them rotting away brains doesn’t hold water. The Age of Empires strategy games got me interested in learning more about history. As did the Medal of Honor games.
I think games will achieve respect one day. But it won’t be for a long time. They need to break out of their adolescent niche and start attracting adult gamers.
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