Just read this article and found it spot-on. On another level, I think it's why I champion avant-garde games. I totally understand I am a pretentious piece of shit with my love of artsy fartsy games. I know it's pretty insufferable, and I do try to keep my blathering about it to a minimum. But the article resonates with me and links in with how I love experimental games.
I truly believe games can be art, just like films or music. I don't think many of them are, but they have the ability to cross over into that designation. I consider Tale of Tales to have made games that are art. There needs to be intention there - the devs need to consciously route their game toward art rather than simply entertainment. I'll also risk pissing off both the art community and the gaming community by suggesting that even some mainstream games like Spec Ops: The Line can at least dip a toe into the 'art' category.
I think that art, generally, needs to be an expression or reflection of the artist's mind or soul. Reading interviews with game developers, that criteria is sometimes very much met. And it's why I'll checkmark Spec Ops, but not BioShock. Both have 'deeper' messages and both take you on an emotional journey, but the former was a deliberate expression of the creator's beliefs, and the latter was just very cool storytelling. Not all of Tale of Tales' games send a message (The Path certainly does though), but all of them showcase the creator's self in some regard.
And so I get super excited when a game that revolves around sitting and waiting for your dinner date to arrive is released; not because I think it will be amazing, or fun, but because it's another attempt to make a game as a legitimate piece of art. The devs even suggest a specific wine to drink while you play the game. I love that. And I realize that makes me a sorta gamer beatnik and that's so obnoxious, but I can't help it.
You certainly feel less guilty supporting indie games, knowing the developers are the ones who get your money, not a greedy suit who is killing the industry. In a world where games are costing more and more money to make, and where a game has to sell 50 million copies to be successful, indies are the future. AAA games will die. Publishers will collapse. All that will be left is the guy making games because he loves doing so, instead of a bunch of corporations beholden to rapacious shareholders.
ReplyDeleteI would get just as excited if a major developer tried to make a game as a work of art, though. It's less to do with supporting indie games, more to support a new direction for games themselves.
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