Video Games As An Art

Since I have arrived at Champlain College, eagerly enrolled in the Game Art and Animation program here, I have heard this same question quite a few times: “Are video games art?” Well I don't want to force my opinion on anyone, and while I do believe it is pretty factual, I will leave it open, and state my reasons for believing so.

Let's look at what a video game is made up of. It usually begins with an idea of a game mechanic (these days, it is likely it must be unique). A game designer passes in this idea to the higher-ups, and if it gets approved, different fields of workers are pulled into the job. We have more designers, artists, and programmers (and producers, etc.).

So, designers – what do they do? Well, a VERY BASIC explanation would be that some write stories and some design levels (among the ones that work on mechanics, which were already mentioned).

Literature. It's something we consider art, isn't it? Stories and the like? Well, we have our designers writing narratives so that our video games have plots. So we have our plots and stories in our game. There may even be some character development. A story, whether it is in a video game or not, is art. And level design is an art in that the designer is almost an architect, placing themselves in the shoes of a game player, deciding what would not only function in the game the best, but what would be aesthetically pleasing also.

Artists' place in this debate is almost self explanatory, but here we go anyway. Typical “big name” video games have a vast department of many, many artists. Lead artists decide the overall look of the game, and instruct their department. Big video games have can have their departments divided up so much that some artists work strictly on animating water (like in Bioshock).

"We've hired a water programmer and water artist, just for this game, and they're kicking ass and you've never seen water like this." - Ken Levine, Designer of Bioshock

Have a look!

As Anthony DeLuca says in the interview, everything in Bioshock has to work together, simultaneously, as one living, breathing thing. It's the designers', artists' and programmers' job to get this done effectively, so that the player is immersed and has fun.

If you consider cooking, or culinary arts, a true form of art, this may be a stretch of a relationship, but please follow. Culinary art is another thing I'm into. It requires A LOT of thought. You might be thinking, “What's the big deal, it's just cooking and it looks nice.” Cooking is a science. Chefs add certain ingredients and have certain techniques to have effects like add to flavour, or to add texture, etc. For example, if you mix muffin dough too much, your muffins will come out dense, instead of light and fluffy. Here is a video from The Food Network Challenge – a show that has a lot of great examples of cooking as a science and an art:

See a sugar and chocolate sculpture!

With all of that said, I think video games are the same. They are a combination of science and art. Science, because a lot of thought must go into the psychological reactions of the player, relating to the aesthetic of the game, and the story of the game, and because of the programming aspect of the creative process. I think the science aspect is an argument people could use against video games being an art. Science does not overshadow art. It, in fact, works quite harmoniously with it.

Another reason I think people would argue against video games being art is that the point of video games does not get across to them. Someone who does not like a video game is probably less likely to consider it as much of an art form as oil paintings or marble sculptures. This might be behind the theory that a lot of people think video games are a lot of “KILL KILL KILL” action. My entire family pokes fun at me while I'm playing video games with questions like, “What are you killing today,” and statements like, “DIE DIE DIE DIE DIE!” While a lot of video games require destruction, that is not always the point of the game. Most games I play are more for the social aspects. Yes, it is in our human nature to have fun destroying things in a world that is not ours, but that doesn't mean that's all we (game players) are about.

I admire game artists more than any other artists because of their ability to create worlds, usually completely from imagination, write it, sketch it, sculpt it, and make it “real” so that a player can interact with their world. The reason why you've ever become immersed in a video game is because of the art. If the art was not what it was, it would have been much more difficult. So, this art, to me, is the greatest form of art.

Works Cited:

1. “Bioshock Water Effects and Enemies Interview”. Perf. Anthony DeLuca. 23 September 2010. YouTube. 6 October 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ixqJ1ff5mdw

2. “Exteme Candy Carnival – Food Network”. Perf. Tracy DeWitt. 21 July 2009. YouTube. 6 October 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SofWyy0MrEA

For Your Convenience

Technology has come a long way. A really, really impressive and fascinatingly long way. And it's growing exponentially. The production of bigger (and in some cases, smaller), better things is becoming faster. I mean, how often do you hear someone joking about how often new generations of iPods are coming out? Because they really do come out so often, it's ridiculous.

There is one thing all technology has in common. It all caters to us. It's all for our convenience. Back in the early days, when hunters invented tools and weapons to catch their meal for the day - that was for convenience. In the old-timey days when we used horse and buggies to get around instead of walking - convenience. Pasta strainers - convenient. Toilets, beds, radios, cafeteria trays, winter coats, bulldozers, 2-in-1 cans of primer paint... We're constantly, rapidly, pushing out ideas to make things for the human race more convenient. Why?

Ever heard you or someone else saying that there just isn't enough time in one day (to get everything you wanted to done)? Well, with all of these little improvements, maybe you can. Maybe you can finally get everything you wanted done. I mean, instead of walking to your destination, you can have a car. That could save you a half an hour of trouble. Even little improvements like those laundry sheets with the detergent and a dryer sheet built into the same thing. Saves you a minute or two of pouring the detergent into the washing machine and pulling a dryer sheet out of the box, doesn't it?

But it's not going to stop here. We're never going to stop trying to save ourselves time. And as a result, I think we are sucking some of the flavour out of life. Not literally, because a lot of people are preferring to stop at a fast food restaurant after work, or soccer practice, or school, or just pop chicken nuggets loaded with preservatives into the microwave, in lieu of cooking a meal. And, I'm not saying I don't do these things, nor am I saying you can't ever do these things. It's delicious! But what's easy and fast isn't always better.

Going along with this food theme, check out these infomercial:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wRYd5H3koA

I like 1:16, when the woman says she is enjoying cooking. I think she means she enjoys putting food into a machine that does most of the work for her so she can go do other things. I also like 1:44, because it's a perfect example of how infomercials use really weird tricks to try and get you to buy things, like enhancing the voice for "SERVE, SEAL, & STORE".

I love cooking... I'm not very good at it, but I find it fun. It's relaxing for me. It's something I like to learn about, and read about, and I'm excited to make dinner and dessert at the end of the day. Let's say, years and years from now, machines do all of the work for you. They chop your ingredients, put some in a skillet, your marinated steak in the oven, and you're free to sit on the couch and play Final Fantasy's eighty-second installment. You've never cooked your whole life. No one in your generation has. That's one less hobby you could have. Worse, that's one less hobby anyone could have. WORSE, that's one less career choice.

What if everything becomes like that? How many jobs is the world going to lose? This sounds like it's turning into a robots-are-taking-over-the-world-ohemgee blog post. In a way it is, I guess. I'm worried we're going to lose our individuality to convenience. I mean, what's one of the first questions people tend to ask you these days? "What major are you in?" The adult version of this is, "What do you do for a living?" It's a big definition of who you are as a person. I told my orthodontist a couple weeks ago, "Game Art and Animation." He laughed, beaming, and exclaimed, "Oh, you're a computer geek!" I proudly smiled back. "Yeah, I am!"

A good summary of what I am trying to say here, would be the movie Idiocracy. Here's the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0yQunhOaU0

The main character ends up in the far future, a time during which technology has come such a far way that machines do everything for humans. So humans are able to be... not very smart.

Another example of convenience having a negative effect, in movie form, would be Wall-E. I can't find a clip of Wall-E walking around the spaceship, Axiom, but there is a scene in which Wall-E is among the citizens of the Axiom, all in their electric hover armchairs, with holographic screens in front of them, talking to their friends, or watching TV. And they are all enormous, gelatinous blobs, due to never having to walk in their lifetimes. The scenery is also made up of huge screens with commercials about a mock WalMart company called Buy n Large, which owns the ship and everything on it. Hopefully most of you have seen Wall-E, because I'm not an expert with film summary. But I did find a blog written by Josh Golin about the statement against commercialism in Wall-E, which you can read here: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/articles/featured/trashingwalle.htm A bit unrelated, but there is a bridge between convenience and commercialism.

Anyway, wrapping this up, I'm not saying convenience is terrible. It's good to have some extra time in the day. But it's when we begin to ignore parts of our lives that we shouldn't ignore for the sake of convenience, that I worry about. We tend to take the easy way out. If any of you have "read" a book on sparknotes.com, instead of reading the actual book, for school, there's your example. We're sacrificing quality for convenience. Hanging out with friends and family for texting; hiking and exploring for video games; hobbies for time. And I guess that's what I mean by convenience making life a little less flavourful.

Citations:

1. "Ninja Master Prep Blender and Food Processor @ Bed Bath & Beyond" 13 November 2009.

YouTube. 5 September 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wRYd5H3koA

2. "Idiocracy - Trailer" Dir. Mike Judge. Perf. Luke Wilson. 12 December 2007. YouTube. 5 September 2010. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L0yQunhOaU0

3. Golin, Josh. "Trashing Wall-E". Commercialfreechildhood.org. n.d. Web. 5 September 2010.