Computer/video games as art

Not that he played games, but Andy Warhol had some interesting things to say about computers and art: http://ubumexico.centro.org.mx/text/Warhol-Andy_On-Amiga_Amiga-World_Jan-Feb-1986.pdf

Originally posted by NoEarthlyReason
I scoffed at this idea for a long time, having stopped playing games around age 16-18 after spending a good chunk of my childhood playing them. What pretentious, puffed-up twaddle, I thought. Gaming culture as I saw it then was irresponsible, dominated by spoilt, increasingly yobbish boys and a groupd of older, somewhat dodgy chancers, with a thin-li ...[text shortened]... the term art should only be applied to 'traditional' artistic endeavours (whatever they may be)?

I played Bioshock and Portal 2, both good games. But for some reason I lost interest in gaming after that. I played Arkham Asylum (Batman) and Red Dead Redemption, both highly acclaimed games, but was utterly bored with them. I just don't care anymore. Maybe it's because I'm getting older.

As far as other gamers online, that wouldn't stop me. The internet is full of douchebags, whether it's online gamers or not. Just something we sadly have to get used to.

few people can define art. also, i don't believe anyone could define it completely, because once you do, what is left to discover.

i believe that art should move people.
art should inspire.
art should be original.

if we take the above into account, then definitely a game like Planescape torment can be art. If people can label a blue square with a white line in the middle as art, then a great story can also be labeled as such, even more so for being put into a medium that allows so much freedom in expression.


Not all games can be art, in the same way that not every doodle can be a masterpiece painting. One must keep an open mind.

Originally posted by NoEarthlyReason
I've only just begun with Half Life, but it's regarded as possibly the best game ever so I'm sure I'll get a lot out of it. I bought the whole box set for some very low price. What about non-first person/third person 3D-world games? I think that general category maybe dominates too much, stifling wider innovation.

half-life was great game, looking very dated now though.

as for games i consider 'art' id say fez, minecraft, shadow of the colossus and ico would be good places to start.

Previously I stated that The last of us was the hardest game I had ever played. I scoff at that remark now. I've been playing an awesome game called Dark Souls, and never has a game been more ruthlessly difficult than this one. It's a hack-and-slash RPG and it's available on PC (not well ported, I believe), PS3 and Xbox.

I highly recommend it but please understand that it is so difficult and unfair that you will have multiple ragequits.

Am I evil for refusing to buy Diablo 3 and still playing Diablo 2?

Originally posted by Great King Rat
Previously I stated that The last of us was the hardest game I had ever played. I scoff at that remark now. I've been playing an awesome game called Dark Souls, and never has a game been more ruthlessly difficult than this one. It's a hack-and-slash RPG and it's available on PC (not well ported, I believe), PS3 and Xbox.

I highly recommend it but please understand that it is so difficult and unfair that you will have multiple ragequits.

Heck, I had multiple ragequits over EverQuest and World of Warcraft.

Dark Souls would probably finish me off.

For me this was the first time that I've played a game of this kind. I've never played WoW or Elder Scrolls. A colleague of mine who lured me into playing this game has said that games such as Elder Scrolls all feel "cheap" (shoddy gameplay, way too easy) compared to Dark Souls.

If you can find it for a couple of bucks I would really recommend it. You truly feel like a hero every time you see "Victory achieved" on your screen.

The great thing is, Dark Souls 2 is coming out in about a month, and from I've heard that game is still just as relentless as the first game. The fear among fans was that the publisher would make the game easier because it has gained popularity and thus they would want to appeal to the masses. A thousand kudos to them for not buckling. They deserve my money.

Has anyone heard anything about Ubisoft's new game "Watch Dogs"?

I heard it was announced at E3 in 2013, but since then it's been up in the air, including rumors that Ubisoft abandoned the patent for the name "Watch Dogs". Last I heard, they set a release date of May 27th, but I've heard nada since then. The videos they showed of it at E3 were stunning.

Originally posted by Suzianne
Has anyone heard anything about Ubisoft's new game "Watch Dogs"?

I heard it was announced at E3 in 2013, but since then it's been up in the air, including rumors that Ubisoft abandoned the patent for the name "Watch Dogs". Last I heard, they set a release date of May 27th, but I've heard nada since then. The videos they showed of it at E3 were stunning.

Just watched a video, very slick indeed. Not really my type of game, I think, but it's easy to say that and then find yourself wrapped up in it. I'm a bit behind the times hardware-wise though so could never run that on my old iMac, even in Windows 7 Bootcamp. I pick up older games with high Metascores in Steam sales, like Another World, World of Goo, Portal, Half-Life etc.. I've probably got more hours of gaming stored up than I'll ever have time for.

Originally posted by Great King Rat
Playing "The Last Of Us" right now. Storywise not terribly original (apocalyptic earth/zombies (sort of)) but in terms of character development one of the best games ever. It's the first time I've ever felt an emotional connection to a game character and the first time that some of the things that happen to the characters have effected me emotionally. ...[text shortened]... died an extraordinary amount of times. I dread to think what hard or let alone survivor is like.

The Last Of Us is the best game I've ever played, and I've been gaming since the 1980s. Emotionally it was better than most films I've watched over the last few years. Nevermind the plot or the game itself, the connection between the characters and us is amazing. It genuinely brought tears to my eyes on a couple of occasions.

Nice to see Papers Please won a BAFTA too.

The last of us will also come to the ps4 this summer.

Probably going to have to buy the game again then.

Oh, and a ps4 of course.

I recently discovered www.twitch.tv (about three years too late...).

If you're interested in what kind of game Dark Souls 2 is, I would invite you to watch one of the many live streams. It's really great fun to see fellow players painstakingly make their way through the game. And watching pvp matches is also very nice. Most of those people are much, much better players than I am.

Assassin's Creed II was jaw-dropping when it came out, both the grand scope of the work & it's visual implementation are simply stunning.