Games represent what may be the most potent example of a media that was established with excellent intentions as an art form and scientific innovation, but has over the last couple decades garnered an ill name as a purveyor of sophomoric violence, wasting the time and minds of our youths across the worlds. Of course, gaming is not the only entertainment media that has achieved the reputation of being a form less relevant, artistic or mature as the likes of literature (books) or film. Animation and comics are both substantial forms of media that have established as an innovative, and often times adult media, that has since supposedly turned into the stupid man’s, or children’s media. It is only within recent years that we begin to see the a wider appreciation for these media, as their popularity rises across all demographics and their content becomes recognized as not only relevant to children. I find this particularly true of games. Still to this day, most times I converse with a non gamer, or person not versed in the world of animation, I am met with scoffs and condescension indicative of the widespread view that gaming has never been, or never will be a worthwhile, intrinsically artistic media.
It is because of gaming’s defining characteristic, and it greatest strength as a fresh form of media that we can also blame for its almost universally bad rap. The characteristic that sets gaming apart from film is that it is an extremely immersive and interactive form of art. While you are playing a protagonist who almost always has a very limited destiny and narrative, it does not change the fact that you are no longer watching a character play the story; you are the story. It is because of this characteristic, and the fact that gaming is a new art form with not nearly as much recognition or supporters of other media such as film that games have come under fire from opponents who feel that despite much more realistic, graphic, and disturbing violence and sexual content that we see in movies and television, games can blamed for violence in youth. The high level of immersion can also be blamed for the stereotype of gamers as antisocial basement dwellers wasting their lives away, neglecting to contribute anything worthwhile to society.
I would argue however, that these negative views on gaming stem not from their potential to be tools of evil and antisocial tendencies, but are instead indication that games represent an often-heightened sense of potential in comparison to other forms of media. Large numbers of the population, across many different demographics are being exposed to a maturing art form, and are note simply witnessing the innovations and narratives or the media, but are instead participating in it. I can say from personal experience that myself and many of my friends hold some memories of games to be just as relevant as experiences we have had in our lives reading books, watching film, or even experiences in the natural world. It is because of the impacts that gaming has had in my life that I myself want to graduate later this year and find work within the gaming industry, to help create new worlds and experiences that would otherwise never be exposed to the world.
Whenever I enter into a dialogue about the relevance of gaming as a form of art, the most potent argument of gaming’s lack of, or waste in potential is that a majority of what we see produced in the gaming world a slew of repetitive sequels lacking in emotional content, brimming with nothing but violence, gray desaturated photorealistic environments, and brawny, bald space marines. When presented with this argument, I must put out the counterargument that within every art form, including music, film and literature, 90% of the content is simply terrible. Within gaming, this is also true. This is not so much concerned with the potential or talent of the developers, but instead due to the excess of money and talent put into the development of these games. Like most Hollywood films, a high budget game that will be exposed to millions of people across the world represents a very high amount of potential, both artistically, but also financially. As a result, these games represent a very high risk in the developers part, and more often than not, a safe, repetitious game which often supports the stereotype of gaming as nothing more then hedonistic violence will be developed solely for the fact that publisher’s know they will make a good return on their investment
While there is always exceptions this trends wherein a large studio will make a game that is truly innovative and furthers the medium, the obvious rebuttal is that the greatest potential within the world of game development lies within the indie game scene. I have played a relatively large volume of high budget games, most which were well designed, fun, and relatively clichés. I have recently gained a larger appreciation for smaller studios and developers who by and large are in the business not to make money, do not have a billion dollar publisher to censor their content, and are producing content sheerly for the love of it. I have played games that break every convention of the media, illicit emotional response, and remind me that gaming as an art form is just as relevant as painting, music and film. Several years ago I played a game where the gameplay is to walk across a low detail corridor, filled with minimal graphics and props. You walk for several minutes before you notice your character’s low poly model start to deteriorate and age. As an old man, your character begins to walk slower before you finally stop, and your character dies, replaced by a tombstone. I remember shedding a tear for the first time in playing a game, partially due to the surprising reminder of mortality, partially due to the idea that this was possible due to the limitations and characteristics of this new art form.
Shifting gears to talk about gaming as literature, I find myself looking at gaming in a completely new light. As the only defining characteristic is that it is an interactive, often digital experience, the possibilities in presentation are limitless, expanding greatly every year as graphical potential increases. We have seen games such as Heavy Rain and LA Noire tell stories through cutting edge animation and facial motion capture technology, telling stories not as a book would, but more as an interactive film. On the other side, we have also seen text based adventure games tell stories more as traditional literature; a word based experience that unfolds as you interact with the game.
To me though, the most interesting aspect of games regarding their relevance as literature is not what the story is, or even how it is told, but instead the absence or presence of any story whatsoever. Most of the games I have played have had a storyline to the extent that a porno does; the narrative is their only to get you as quickly as possible to the content that you purchased the game for, in most cases the chance to shoot/explode/ninja up aliens/gangsters/nazis/nazi zombies. Over this last year however I have been playing the game minecraft, which represents to me a departure from this convention. The game’s graphics are not particularly aesthetically pleasing, particularly by today’s standards. Literally everything in the world exists on a grid that expands infinitely in the 4 cardinal directions (or along the x and z axis) and 64 units up, and 64 units down (on the y axis). Most elements in the game are cubes; all elements are comprised of blocks lacking in polygon counts that would allow for the illusion of smoothness. You start the game born in a random location, in a completely new, randomly generated world. Not only do you exist in a game lacking in any sort of narrative context, but the random generation of the world deprives the player of any sort of placeholder that would allow for a story to be established. The only story that exists in the game is what the player chooses to do in the world.
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