Editorial: Videogames as Art

So, I've heard this question tossed around: Are videogames art?

Short answer: Yes

Long answer:

I always think that someone is asking the wrong question when they ask if something "is art." If it's trying to send you a message or invoke an emotion, it's art. I think the question they mean to ask is "Is this good art? Is it quality art?" The quality of art is an opinion, but there are some qualities that most people expect from art. Whether something is art or not is much more factual. The first rule being, if you care enough to argue whether it is or isn't art, it probably is.

So let's assume now that art encompasses videogames in the same way it encompasses television commercials, carpet patterns, and crudely drawn anatomy on the walls of restrooms. Let's asses whether videogames are high art, quality art, and art worthy of respect.

Some videogames are no simpler than television commercials. Burger King released a series of XBox games specifically as a commercial. Are these quality art? Hardly. It does take time and effort to produce games like this. Graphics artists, sound producers, and programmers have to collaborate in an overall effort certainly more impressive than the boobs drawn in the Men's room. The games lack a certain finesse though. It needs to tell people more than "Kids have fun at Burger King" and strike more of an emotion than a lust for less expensive car insurance.

But some games are worthy of respect as artwork. Games are mixed media productions and so there are several facets of art that games employ.

Graphics - Actual artists actually draw graphics for videogames.

Animation - A well made cinema event can be as good as a clip from a Hollywood movie

Music - Many respected composers and musicians create pieces used in games that are even sometimes sold next to regular music

Literature - Some games, especially RPGs can have prose or scripts that stir emotions and tackle deep philosophical thought

Gameplay - Even gameplay can be well crafted and if you don't think gameplay can stir emotion then you should watch a bunch of frat guys huddled around Madden.

I'd like to list some, not all, of the games I consider to be of the highest quality of artwork. These are games that blended several aspects of art together in a way that sychronized smoothly:

Chrono Trigger
Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
Final Fantasy VII
Shadow of the Colossus
Super Metroid
Earthbound (Very abstract art)
Halo, campaign mode
Legend of Zelda: Windwaker
Pac-Man
Final Fantasy Tactics
Saga Frontier II (Water color actually)

In conclusion, are videogames art? Definitely. Are they good art? Sometimes. Can they be bad art? Of course. The same can be said of paintings, symphonies, and sculpture. You get the picture.

A little snapshot of today. I still haven't gotten one of my textbooks. The bookstore has been swearing it'll be here soon for the last three weeks. My patience is wearing thin with them and I'm about to ask for my money back. My brother has caught bacterial bronchitis and the rest of the family aren't feeling that hot either. I'll continue to be praying for them. I've been hooked on Harvest Moon lately, farming game. I have it emulated on my PC and whenever I feel like playing a game I get sucked into playing it. So, I played some Harvest Moon.

And then...

I went to the local Greyhound station. Most people don't know that they actually offer rides to other galaxies as well. Bought a ticket to Reeva and boarded the bus. I had some down time now. Even though the bus travels at several thousand times the speed of light it still takes about four hours to reach Reeva from Earth.

I already told you that time does not pass relative to myself on the bus and myself on Reeva due to Special Pirate Relativity. So when will I arrive on Reeva? According to Adamsian physics, not only are you not certain when my other self should arrive on Reeva, but neither is the universe. The universe will therefore take an educated guess, which usually turns out to be both convient for the universe and me.

I sat next to some old dude with a backpack that looked liked it held all his belongings. He kept asking me questions.

"Where ya headed? Reeva? I been there, not as much the tourist spot as it used to be. What you going there for? You have to save the shellfish? Save yourself! Oh, got it. Is that some kinda metaphor? Oh you warped here, that makes sense. I don't warp anymore, bad for my lower back. What were you doing on Reeva? No, I don't suppose it's any of my business. I just wondered if you might be looking for the person who killed it."

At that, I stopped dead in my tracks. Ash had mentioned she knew who killed the people of Reeva. She sounded guilty too. The old man told me how Reeva and Kattox used to be good trading partners, but the Kattox Refractor Crystal Incorporated began using Reeva's dependence on their product to influence their political decisions. Reeva boycotted further crystal purchases in an attempt to get their political rights back. Kattox Refractors demanded their crystals be returned to them. When their demands were not met, they razed the planet to the ground. Only underground equipment remained operational and until the scrubbers had time to recover, the entire planet's atmosphere was unbreathable.

After that discussion and a few more on the fine art of macaroni sculpture. I arrived on Reeva. I ran to the facility, bolting towards my last known location. I arrived just in time. I watched as my previous self fell from the robot's blast. I saw myself make a dash towards the robot and slide under his short stubby legs. I quickly ran towards the robot as it spun around. I reached into the access panel that Ash had already opened and ripped the safety cord.

The robot grinded to a halt and my previous self warped to Earth, unaware of the robot's deactivation, as I had done. I was glad. Contrary to popular opinion, temporal paradoxes do not cause rifts in the space time contiuum nor are they impossible to commit. However, they can lead to severe emotional and psychological problems in later years.

Ash picked herself up and dusted off, despite the lack of dirt to dust off, and looked at me with a "I coulda done that look." I was thinking about more important things.

"Ash, I gotta ask you something."

Until next time fellow pirates.

Back from Dragon*Con

I have returned from DragonCon. It was incredibly fun, and there were at least 30,000 fellow con-goers there. I took over 50 pictures on some disposable cameras which I will have developed sometime this week. I will post them at that time.

I saw George Lowe, the voice of Space Ghost on Space Ghost Coast to Coast. I also saw George Krstic one of the creators of Megas XLR, an amazing show that ended too quickly. I also saw Richard Epcar, the English voice of Batou from the anime series Ghost in the Shell. There were more celebrities that I missed or didn't have time for at the con. I heard that Lenard Nimoy and a couple of the cast of Enterprise were at the con, but I didn't see them.

I competed in a Magic the Gathering card game tournament, but I didn't make it past the first round. The guy I went up against was very experienced. The whole thing felt kinda cheap, the judge was one of the contestants and made it at least to the third round as I recall. Most of the contest was kinda on your honor and there was a lot of room for people to cheat and no one would know. I didn't stick around to see who one, but I wouldn't doubt it if the judge himself won the tournament.

I noticed that there were dozens of game sessions for a game called Shadowrun that I had never heard of. I tried to sign up, but they all booked solid. Interested in why this game was so popular I decided to buy a copy from the Dealer's room, but the Shadowrun vendor had SOLD OUT of copies of the core rulebooks. At that point I gave up. I checked reviews of the game online and wasn't impressed and I still have no idea why the game was so popular.

I bought a t-shirt:



And a game called Dungeoneer.

The experience was definitely great overall, but there were some excruciating parts. We arrived at the con around 11 on Saturday, but it took us til 4 PM to register! We literally stood in line for FOUR HOURS. When I got through the line I understood why. They only had two cashiers taking credit cards and the data entry guy who put my registration info into the computer, COULDN'T TYPE! I have to ask, why would you sign up for Data Entry position if you Can't Type?

We got back from the con on Monday evening. It was definitely worth it. When I got back, I had caught a bug sometime during the weekend, but I'm feeling much better now. My mom and people also caught something on their camping trip, keep them in your prayers for getting well soon.

Today I've been drudging through class with a tissue. I got done doing some homework. I played some video games.

And then...

I played some more games.

You expected me to jump right back in front of that robot's blaster? No, I was going to be smart about this. I picked up my cell and called an old friend.

"Hey Chief, I need a new warp point. What? Yes. I know. Look, I know it doesn't just work like that. Yes, yes. Look, how 'bout you just tell me how much it's gonna cost. THAT much? Well, do you take Space Visa? I'm good for it, I swear! Look, I'm right on top of a refractor crystal. Yes, a Refractor Crystal. So we're cool, great. Can you come to Earth?"

Instantly Nauta, "Chief", warped into my living room. He quickly began rattling off a disclaimer.

"Okay, N.O. energy utilizes the two halves of the user's brain and therefore is not appropriate for everyone. Some risks are involved including but not limited to: dizzyness, headaches, spontaneous combustion, death, pregnancy regardless of gender, and eternal entrapment in an endless void. N.O. is known to cause cancer in the state of California, but only in the state of California."

Warp points move with you, but remain in the same place when you are not present. I have two, one located on Earth and another currently on Reeva. The first two cost a pretty penny, the third was costing me almost twice the original amount.

Nauta picked up his guitar. N.O. always comes with a guitar, I've got one too. He drew back and swung the thing directly at my head. I was knocked against the wall and my mind began spinning. The pain is intense, but at the same time it feels like all the secrets to the universe are being unlocked within you. I blacked out and woke up a moment later.

"Thought I was going to lose you for a second. Well, try it out."

I stood up and began to feel my third warp. It was located right across the room. I willed myself to jump there and I disappeared and reappeared instantly on the other side of the room.

"Good job Chief. I'll catch you later. Right now, I have to catch a bus to Reeva."

Until next time fellow pirates...