Art and Games, can the two be used in the same sentence ?...

Oct 14, 2013 by

The question posed in Ian Bogost’s article, “How to do things with videogames” is asking whether video games can be considered art or not. In my personal opinion it can, whether it’s through visual, audio, or even comedy, I think video games can certainly fit those criteria’s. Whether or not video games can be universally accepted as art by everyone is a battle that may never come to an end. When it comes to art, everyone argues about everything relating to art, so to try and stick the “this is art” label on video-games will likely never happen just because of the nature of people and their acceptance of new art forms. But it certainly can be accepted as art by the audience and what they decide is or isn’t art. The art-game “The...

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Video Games as Art

Oct 14, 2013 by

The definition of art can be thrown around, stretched, pushed and prodded. I had never considered video games to be art. Upon first playing The Marriage I was extremely confused because every time I clicked or pressed an arrow the game restarted. I read the rules and played again, having more success than the first couple times. After reading the meaning of the game, written by the maker, the game made much more sense. Each square represents one half of the marriage, which was pretty obvious. The size of the squares represents their egos and the circles are outside elements that could affect a relationship. The player is trying to make the marriage work or last a long time. Each square, or person in the couple, has different rules which makes the game is...

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Games and Art? huh

Oct 14, 2013 by

Games and Art? huh

The Marriage was probably the weirdest game I have ever played. Like every stereotypical male, I decided it was a good idea to start the game without reading the instructions. That sure did not help because the game kept on restarting. Then I found out you were not suppose to click anything. Moral of story…..READ THE INSTRUCTIONS! Back to the game, it took me awhile to understand why this game might be classify as “art”. At first, I thought it was the colors and shapes that made it art, but after playing it over a couple of times I realized why it might be classify as one. The game is so simple, yet so complex at the same time as how the game might be for the audience to develop their own story through...

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Art + Video Games = Yes

Oct 14, 2013 by

Art + Video Games = Yes

Interpretation of art is always something that has frustrated me.  I used to -and usually still do- greatly enjoy poetry, but some poems I quite enjoyed were ruined for me through constant breakdown and discussion of meaning.  I feel that interpretation should be up to the person reading.  Sure some poets or authors have specific meanings in mind, but from experience and hearing the words actually come from the author/poet’s mouths, others create with no intention of meaning. So with that being said, it is always somewhat difficult for me to discuss meanings of things.  Simply because I know what they mean to me, and even after discussion as to their “proper” meaning or interpretation, they will rarely change meaning.  It’s also difficult for me as an avid gamer not to see video games...

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Art and Videogames

Oct 14, 2013 by

Art and Videogames

Ask a person on the street about art and the answers you’ll get will probably be along the lines of the Mona Lisa, Greek sculptures,, and maybe Monet. Ask this person to define art and the words you get would probably be something along the lines of beautiful, classical, extraordinary, and something that can be displayed in a museum. However, if we we only to define art by these criteria, videogames wouldn’t even be worth considering. On the other hand though, no one would dispute that Warhol’s soup cans are art, ordinary and odd as the focus of the painting is. Then wouldn’t this mean that art is something more than the definition given before? The modern definition has expanded to encompass works that are thought provoking and open to interpretation and not necessarily...

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Artgames and Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw...

Oct 14, 2013 by

Artgames and Deviant: The Possession of Christian Shaw

Christian Shaw: 1696. The 11 year old girl was supposedly possessed by witches. She would shake uncontrollably, her body contorting to impossible angles. Her body was covered in bruises, supposedly inflicted upon he by an invisible witch. She pulled bones, straw, hair, coal, and other weird shit out of her mouth, supposedly put there by, again, an invisible witch. Also supposedly reported: she appeared deaf, blind, or dead for periods of time, her eyes sunk into her head, she could fly. Got it. In Ian Bogost’s “How to Do Things with Videogames,” he claims that the gaming world  needs to further develop a genre he calls “procedural rhetoric” in order to be considered “art.” According to Bogost, procedural rhetoric is a way of expression through a medium which adheres to a set of rules,...

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