Games As Art

I don’t think there’s going to be an answer in my lifetime, but I still think it’s worth considering. Since people now acknowledge that movies and comic books can aspire to Art, why is it that games are still in the cultural ghetto?

The thing that confuses me about this even more is that most people acknowledge that one of art’s greatest strengths is it’s ability to influence people. If you go by that reckoning, games obviously have an enormous influence as America struggles to control the violence and sexual content found in the more adult oriented games. Why then, do people refuse to think of video games as anything other than a “toy” and yet at the same time, regard it as one of the most dangerous influences in modern society? When someone goes and kills another person because they read Catcher In The Rye or watched Taxi Driver people usually talk about how weak-minded the individual who did it was, and marvel at the power of art. When someone shoots a bunch of people because they claim Grand Theft Auto or Doom gave them the idea, people talk about how games warp people’s minds as if somehow video games have an ability to steal the decision process in people and manipulate them, whereas “regular” influences like literature and film merely tap into built-in psychological deficits.

I really wish someone would definitively and rationally explain to me exactly why games are not art when everyone thinks they have more power and influence than any art currently in existence. Or at least, that’s what America seems to believe, anyway…

The Breather

Whee, quiet.

I guess it must be because Christmas is looming. While there is some work to be done, none of it is particularly pressing, so it’s one of those days where things can be a little more free n’ easy.

Dragon Quest VIII has been finished. Sort of. I mean, I leveled up to 50, and I killed off the final boss, but of course, that’s the not the REAL ending, since once you beat it, the game goes into a pseudo “New Game +” mode where it creates a save file just before you fight the final boss and now opens up some new dungeons so that you can really go to town and get the absolute best stuff in the game.

I also still have a bunch of comics to read. Normally, this would be a happy, or at least pleasant affair, but it is for work and I find it closer to slogging than recreation. I am of course, talking about the comic based on an MMORPG that is based on comics. I’m talking about City of Heroes. The artwork is passable, in a 6 out of 10 sort of way, and the writing… I almost get the sense that the writers are, in fact, not too bad. But they are hamstrung by the limitations forced on them by the material. Try to imagine Franz Kafka or Salman Rushdie being forced to right an episode of Full House under the watchful gaze of the network and you begin to understand what I’m getting at. There are some occasional moments of promise. Of almost good lines, or almost interesting characterization… but it gets pummeled by the need to keep the story recoginizably “City of Heroes-ish.” And the problem with that, is it’s a game where all the players are super heroes, and what’s more, they can’t die. When they get badly injured, they end up instantly teleporting to a hospital. Because the city isn’t one seamless environment like GTA, they have to hide the loading into other areas by forcing players to take the train.

All these signature features appear in the comic, and it makes for some pretty odd reading. And not in that Grant Morrison, Holy-Hell-Did-That-Really-Just-Happen sort of way.

Neil-O Makes His Presence Known Once More

Though not in the way I expected.

I was trolling through his blog as usual, envying him and wishing I was Neil-O instead of just plain ol’ me, when I noticed that one of his posts was from Singapore. Apparently while he was here back in July, he also paid a visit to the Cat Welfare society and they got him to sign some shirts. Those shirts are now up for auction. After going through the links, I was pleasantly surprised to encounter this:




























The reason the shirt took me by surprise is because the illustration on it is done by none other than The Wife. When I showed it to her, we both kind of freaked out in a good way. Looks like she can now say she’s gotten two things signed by Neil-O…

The Quick Sunday Night Post

Lazy Sunday, nearly finished with my news article, it should be off by tomorrow afternoon. Also mucked around a bit with From Russia With Love, a game I’d reviewed earlier. It still holds up to my initial review and I stand by it; it’s a puff piece. No depth, some mild, shallow fun, but nothing as engaging as Grand Theft Auto or a juicy RPG like Dragon Quest or Final Fantasy.

I also got around to watchin Final Cut a movie with Robin Williams in it about a new kind of fictional death ritual called “Rememories” where people had implants put into them before birth that recorded every single moment of their lives. When the person with the implant died, the implant was retrieved and given to a person called a cutter (The Williams character) who was half mortician, half film editor, using a souped up non-linear digital video editor to piece together a feature length presentation of the highlights of the person’s life, conveniently deleting anything that would prove uncomfortable or disturbing to the living.

It reminded a little in pace, and visuals to Gattaca. Both of the films presented a central conceit, and then ran with it for the length of the story, as most good Science Fiction or Fantasy will do. However, where the theme of Gattaca managed to weave in nicely with the plot, to present an intriguing idea, with interesting characters and an engaging story, Final Cut drops the ball, by having a very, VERY interesting idea, some interesting characters to hang the theme on, and an extremely problematic story that falls apart in the last quarter. I won’t say too much about it, except that the personal story of the Williams character and the main plot about a conspiracy to get a hold of footage he has in his possession ends on an entirely unsatisfactory and completely tacked on note. It’s not a happy ending. And I didn’t need it to be. To be honest, I’d rather it not be a happy ending, especially with subject matter as thoughtful as this. However, I do demand that it emotionally, it do justice to the characters, that it follow the natural rhythm of the story, rather than simply drop the axe down because you know you’re getting to the 90 minute mark.

Oh well. Bed time…

More Domestic Stuff

Aside from finishing up Gun (Still haven’t finished the review, though I’ve started it) the only other thing done this weekend was our first Christmas shopping trip as a married couple, which was consummately weird, because all of a sudden I had to consider things like shopping for the in-laws, and it looks like we’re going to be hosting our first Christmas party in the new apartment. Well, it’s not actually a Christmas party since I hate the damn things, but more like a dinner party, as in only a few close friends are going to be showing up, and presents will be exchanged and all that stuff. I’ve always been really bad for getting presents for people (Which is why I’m never too fussy about not getting presents in return; anything else would be pure hypocrisy) but it would seem that as a married couple, with other friends who are also married couples, suddenly it seems to be more imperative to actually go ahead and do this.

Also finally got around to watching Kingdom of Heaven the most recent Ridley Scott epic. All the usual Scott trademarks are there; not terrific story, some nice acting moments, but my GOD can that man put a shot together. I sat there with my mouth open over how “painterly” some of the shots were, like the ships leaving Messina for Jerusalem, or the Lord of the Rings scale battle towards end of the Muslim siege of Jerusalem. It was a badly, badly paced film with all kinds of questionable cuts made to the characterization and plot in order to move to the next amazing battle, but the battles were indeed amazing. The thing that really freaked me out about the scale of the battles was the very reality of them. I mean, it’s one thing to see Orcs assaulting a gorgeous and obviously fantasy city like Minas Tirith, but to see 200, 000 Muslim soldiers storming Jerusalam with siege towers and fireballs and knowing this actually happened at some point in human history was mindboggling. Maybe it’s better, maybe it’s worse, but you just don’t have battles of that scale anymore in the push-button, full-auto with night vision wars we conduct these days in which heavily armed strike groups have replaced the traditional formation wars of centuries past.

Then again, I’m not a military historian, but it sure was damn impressive looking…

The Somewhat Busy But Not In Any Interesting Way Friday

Which is to say, played Gun for a good portion of the afternoon. I have come to the conclusion that I like this game, it’s quite good, but not quite great. Still, I see a lot of potential what Neversoft has already done here with their Grand Theft Cowboy style game, and this could definitely benefit from a sequel.

Also had a meeting with one of the Nanoboy guys, just to go over the changes to the latest script, and there was nothing unusual about that. Now the only thing we have to worry about is a sick cat. It would seem that an anti-shedding vitamin supplement we picked up recently has had a really, REALLY bad reaction with our cat, Uno. I guess we should have taken the hint when she showed an almost total lack of enthusiasm for eating after we poured some of it on her food, but now she’s not even able to digest it, throwing up several hours after eating. We wanted her to lose weight, but this is a bit drastic. I’m feeling incredibly sorry for her right now. It was pretty clear from the way she threw up that none of her food went down.

Have Gun, Will Shoot Anything That Moves

Much like the wild west itself, the game Gun tends to be beautiful, and empty, occasionally punctuated by some old fashioned action. I like it, though it’s a slower paced compared to the likes of Doom 3 and the rest of the FPS ilk. It borrows heavily from the GTA style open world concept, in that you can break away from the main story anytime you like and just do side missions, or wander out on the massive landscape.

Still putting thoughts together for the full the review that I’m going to write tomorrow.

Lawyers & Cowpokes

Lawyer game is still not done, but I think I’ve just about got it licked. I’m pretty sure I’m on the last case anyway. Considering how much of a stickler for detail they’re requiring me to be now, and adding onto that the kind of twisted–but still intriguing–logic they leap on sometimes to show contradictions and inconsistencies, it sure feels like the last case.

Next up, Cowboys. With, of all things, a WESTERN video game that goes by the single word, Gun.

But it’s got Kris Kristofferson, Tom Skerrit, Brad Dourif, Ron Perlman Lance Henrikson doing voice work, with a nice soundtrack composed by TV and game composer Christopher Lennertz, so at least the production values are there…

Legal Overload

Was up all night and nearly all day today playing the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

Man, that is pathetic…

I’m An Amoral, Scum Sucking Lawyer

Or at least, thanks to the Nintendo Dual Screen, I can play one on the go.

Even though I don’t have to review it, I still managed to get a hold–courtesy of GameAxis–of a copy of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney.

Yep, that’s right, a video game about lawyers.

You play the eponymous lawyer in question (who is of course, the rookie) as he wrangles his way through the labyrinth of courtroom drama, and by God, the game really is dramatic. The way to success is to psychologically assault witnesses on the stand, studying your court documents and evidence, and using it pick apart testimony. IE, a witness claims they must have heard something on the victim’s television, and you present evidence showing that the building was having a power blackout, thus showing a discrepancy in the statement and giving you more ammunition to badger the witness with.

It’s the kind of game you can only play once since once you know the story, and you know the arguments to present and key pieces of evidence to bring out, and the contradictions in testimony to pick on, there’s not much surprise or added content to muck around with. I mean, unless you just LIKE going through courtrooms badgering witnesses…

I gotta’ say though, it’s an interesting premise and it definitely appeals to one personality aspect that video games have thus far ignored. If you are the kind of person that either feels a compulsion–or just enjoys–winning arguments, then this is a quick fix that will allow you to indulge in embarrassing people with their own contradictions without actually having to lose friends or sleep on the couch.

‘Course, you gotta’ have a Nintendo Dual Screen to play it. And if you’re feeling really brave, you can use the microphone function and actually say “Objection!” or “Take that!” to pick your fights. But really, only a super confident, completely unself-conscious individual would have the guts to do that on a train, plane or bus…