The title of this post is both a quote and collection of essays by one of my favorite authors, George Orwell. My interpretation of the quote is that in both obvious and subtle ways, art can direct our emotions into action, or at least change our thoughts in a measurable way. Obvious examples are Guernica or Goya's The Third of May 1808, where the viewer can't help but be horrified and enraged at the events occurring in the painting. Even if it's a "good" cause objectively speaking, art nevertheless relies on emotions and feelings to convince the viewer of the artist's stance: yup, propaganda.
Now I'm going to be talking about video games, in particular the BioShock series. Don't leave; this will be painless.
Despite its downright pedestrian title and standard "shoot 'em up" mechanics, BioShock creates a convincing dystopia in two separate games: the first game focuses on an Ayn Randian underwater city called Rapture where the inhabitants are free to genetically modify themselves, and live off whatever they can produce without any sort of government entity (the prescience of this game to predate the Tea Party movement by a full year should be noted), while the second game returns to Rapture years later where a collectivist cult has spawned a dictator that must be stopped. Amidst it all, the player takes an active role in destroying this world gone mad. The player can act benevolently and risk being shot in the back, or be ruthless to a culture that would dare base its principles in anti-civilization. Of course, for me this is a moment of serious thinking while being entertained. For Orwell, dangerous nation-building was a reality, and so important to him that he fought in a war for a country not his own!
It's only recently that I have begun to think about how video games get closer and closer to a legitimate art form. So, knowing this, it makes me next worry about preserving them. Thankfully Wikipedia is a great resource to at least keep some metadata and information about the game itself (as opposed to just commercial listings for purchase at Amazon or Gamestop), and enterprising YouTube users capture what they can. The unique form of video games presents many problems if one wanted to place it in a, say, digital library. It's clearly a heavily visual form of art, so some sort of video clip would be imperative in my opinion. Yet every "playthrough" is different, and can potentially take 2 to 100+ hours. Trailers for games are notorious for looking nothing like the actual game (because of CGI), and containing irrelevant information. Would you simply house the entire piece of software itself, or would that be necessary? Would you be able to use emulators, or does this violate copyright? Games are usually tied to operating systems, further complicating matters. I must admit part of me wouldn't mind being one of a coterie that would only know certain obscure games that have almost no record.
If nothing else, you should at least look into the works of George Orwell, even though I have forever tainted his legacy by mixing in video games and general nerdiness.
Good use of BioShock as an example. On my first playthrough of that, I would have people just watching me play because they were so immersed in the world.
ReplyDeleteAlright, on to the good stuff.
Preserving the actual games in an entirely digital format isn't actually that far away. SONY's PSPgo relies entirely on digital distribution for its games. Microsoft's Xbox 360 arcade not only allows the users to download independent games that are exclusively available through digital distribution, but also older titles from the previous Xbox console (and I believe the 360 as well). I'm unfamiliar with the Playstation Network, so I don't know if that is the same.
In a library format, I'm sure some sort of renting restrictions could be created, such as a time-out on the download, or trials that have limited content.
In my opinion, videogames have reached the point of being a legitimate art form, it's just that not everything produced is "art". The same could be said for film, graphic novels/comic books, music, even literal art.
Games like Limbo, from Playdead studies, are an excellent way to support this.
If anyone reads this and has never heard of Limbo, check out this trailer.
I agree, since I too(?) think games are more than games. All contain art and writing, and while most suffer in comparison to good books, they shouldn't be written off as a whole.
ReplyDeleteThere are such things as terrible books, and great, thought-provoking games. Not just through a written message in the game, but the interactive experience which can put the player in his own moral dilemmas, social insights, etc.
In one example, I made a mission in ArmA II (military simulator) that involved ethnic cleansing as an objective alongside more standard fare such as "blow their base up", to see if other players would actually carry out the orders, as players tend to blithely do.
I'm curious about how morality translates into the virtual world, and why so many games (as you probably know) contain flimsy excuses to simulate violence.
e.g., the enemies are inevitably nazis, terrorists, zombies, other non-sentients etc.
Digital distribution is the only way I buy games today (which can be rare), off Steam. I am surprised that digital distribution hasn't had more penetration, but I do know people who have to have a physical copy of the game and an instruction manual they will never use. Sort of like some people have to have a hardcover or paperback to feel they are "reading."
ReplyDeleteIt gets even more complicated when we agree video games are art. Some people want it to become more literary, more intellectually mature. I admire the effort, but I think the medium itself has limits on that sort of thing. I generally see games like Limbo, that are so stylized and aesthetically impressive as to become unmistakable pieces of art. Or to create environments that are living, beautiful, and dangerous like BioShock does.
I completely forgot about Steam (probably because I'm constantly uninstalling it as it freezes up on my PC consistently).
ReplyDeleteTo chip in again, one of the problems with the videogames as art argument is that the wrong examples are often brought up in the community.
The Metal Gear Solid is often used as the pinnacle of storytelling in games. While I am huge fan of the series (to the point of having figures all over my room) and could discuss the nuances of the plot to the point of death (and sometimes do), I would not hold it up as art (it barely has literary merit).
I wonder: When considering games as art, how much are mechanics and the technical aspects considered? Aesthetics and story are obviously looked at (I'm sure if Limbo looked differently it wouldn't have gotten the initial attention it did), but certainly a game that creates a unique way player interaction should receive points for it.
That's true. A novel game mechanic, or "hiding" an old game mechanic within aesthetically or intellectually pleasing media should definitely be part of what separates game art from traditional art.
ReplyDeleteHave you heard of the "International Center for the History of Electronic Games"?(http://www.icheg.org/) It's in Rochester and sounds pretty amazing. I am all for keeping old systems and games around - I still have my (working!!) NES and a handful of games :-).
ReplyDeleteAs for aesthetics, I think every medium has a question about what is art. A lot of people don't like Pollock because they think, 'this alcoholic dude just splattered a bunch of paint on a canvas. I could have done that. Why is that art?' (Pollock is one of my favorite artists, for the record!)
As for aesthetics and technology, have you heard of the game 'Dwarf Fortress' (http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/features.html)? My little brother introduced me to it - it's basically a game created on the premise that in an alternate universe, technology put an emphasis on getting the fastest processors, but little emphasis on graphics. So this game has primitive graphics, but it has a lot of other strengths in the mechanics of the game. It's a really difficult game to play (especially without any mods or skins). Also, bonus, it's free.
So I think what I'm trying to get at is there are a lot of different manifestations of the video game medium. There are more and more independent developers who are pushing the limits of what a game can be. And just like traditional mediums, this field is going to continue to evolve.