Modern Computer Games and their artistic merit

[Alatar]

Ok, I'll rephrase this. You seem to be focussing on games that are puzzles, or stories or combat etc. where the puzzle, or game is paramount and the art direction is merely how pretty it all looks. I'm talking about games that are designed to elicit a response, to trigger emotion, to make the user feel disoriented, or uneasy, or scared, or awed, or sad. There are many games of this type, where the emotion triggered is the entire point of the game and everything else (including the game mechanics) are merely tools to help elicit that response. How is that any different to the pigments and canvas in a painting, or the materials in a sculpture. The fact that the materials in a game are more dynamic and more interactive makes them BETTER materials for eliciting a response, in the right hands. And those hands are the hands of an artist.

[yovargas]

PtB above made a comment on the lovely giraffe segment in Last of Us. I rewatched it and it is indeed beautiful. It's poetic and poignant and provocative and moving. It's art. And I experienced all those emotions while watching the clip, essentially watching a short movie, not while playing the game. Meaning the "game" part was not, in this particular case, a significant part of what made that moment "art". I suspect could watch a good Let's Play video of Last of Us and get just about as much of the "artful" part of the experience as the player. Possibly more, since I wouldn't be distracted by all the inevatible "gamey" parts that add nothing to the art.

[Alatar]

Play Journey, then come back and talk to me. You can't experience games through youtube.

[Impenitent]

I know my son and my daughter have waxed lyrical about The Last of Us.

[Alatar]

Yes, thats a perfect example of a game that is both art and also artistically beautiful. The act of playing the game is emotional in a way that watching a movie can't be. You're simply more invested, because you've "lived" the story, not observed it.

[Impenitent]

I can't relate to much of this because I don't play that kind of roleplay game (on the other hand, I've invested huge amounts of time and emotion in collaborative roleplay storytelling, and I play a mean tetris), but I know my son described himself as "devastated" at the end of The Last Of Us because of the emotional journey, and he spoke often about the artistic merit of that game world.

[yovargas]

But I bet he didn't wax lyrical about how you need to collect 4 scissors to make a one-time-use shiv.

[Alatar]

Can't remember the last time someone spoke about the brushes DaVinci used either.

[Inanna]

The only mmorpg I have played is LOTRO. And I loved the artistic scenes created in it. Rivendell was gorgeous. That's art, imo

[Alatar]

SO I just played Last of Us Part 2, and it is definitely art in every way that matters. Sorry for dredging up an old thread...

[Voronwë the Faithful]

Personally, I like it when people dredge up old threads!

[Alatar]

Unfortunately, very few of the participants in this thread still post here.

[Voronwë the Faithful]

I agree that is unfortunate!