AdviceToolbox
Jenova’s
Witness
With such acclaimed, poetic
games as Flower and Journey
behind him, designer Jenova
Chen undoubtedly approaches
the medium from an artistic
angle. And unsurprisingly,
he has some thoughts on
what games can do as an art
form. “I think ‘artistic’ simply
means there’s more of the
creator in the thing,” Chen told
Interviewwithanartist.net.
“Whether it’s a painting or song
or movie or game, the creator
puts more of themselves
into the piece, so when the
audience sees them, they
feel something real, they feel
something human, they feel
something that’s like a person.
So to me, art is essentially a
way to make people connect
with another human being. In
many ways, art is the better
part of the artist who created
them, because every human
is flawed. But when they
create something, they put the
best part of their humanity in
those pieces.”Sometimes our games are so profound, they
end up inspiring attention and responses way
beyond the video gaming scene. It may be lovely
or ugly, but it creates something that goes far
beyond the console and enters the realm of
social awareness or cultural significance.
Pac-Man is universally identifiable – it has
significant meaning to people who don’t even
play games. Pong is so iconic, it’s practically code
for the 1970s. Some games don’t just come and
go, they occupy the social discourse for periods
longer than their shelf life.ALL CHANGE
The Mass Effect series generated tremendous
attention for redefining how games approached
storytelling and world-building. Grand Theft
Auto 3 redefined how much parents can
complain about the moral turpitude to which
their children may be subjected when playing
games. Concept games
like Rez, Flower, and Portal
redefined our sense of
what a game is, and what
objectives of play might
be. And WoW is just... wow!
It’s created entire financial markets for in-game
currency, items, and accolades.
For decades now, we’ve all enjoyed the
relatively new profession of video game
developer. But now there are also professional
video game players. That is a societal change,
brought about by a few select games which have
been able to manufacture both the venue and
the desire for people to generate income by
using their gaming skills. I believe games which
lead to modifications in resource flow within
the economy are achieving a level of artistry in
their craft.
Picasso’s insight is interesting here. We learn
about the world and ourselves by playing games.
I wonder what truths they reveal to you? Do
you approach your games as a craft? Does your
game development aspire to artistic heights?
One thing’s for sure: games are not truth; games
are a lie, crafted by artists.experience, the more recognisable it becomes.
Art is the process of putting new faces on
old truths.
There are various levels on which art
may succeed or fail. For starters, there’s
first impressions. The piece needs to draw
an audience. It must be cool enough for
people to want to engage with it in some
way. Then there’s the fact that the message
embodied within the communication has to
be both clear and relevant. This will make the
message recognisable.
The truth is, a lot of art becomes dated after a
while, because the truth it expresses is current
and transient. This is pop art. The truth of one
era is not necessarily the truth of all time. But
great art forms take it to the
ultimate level: timelessness.
Fundamental truths
about our relationships
or our world transcend
time and geography; they
remain true across generations and cultures.
Many say the plays of Shakespeare rise to
this level. They never seem to go out of style
because they reveal our humanity so honestly.
That’s why great art continues to appreciate,
whereas pop art winds up in close-out sales and
nostalgia fests.
A NEW CANVAS
That’s all well and good, Howard, but how do
video games fit into this jaunty bit of whimsy?
A fair question. Video games represent
another medium. As developers, the video game
is our craft. A new canvas, a new opportunity
for art... or crap. We have a process for
conceiving, designing, and implementing our
games. The results vary from effort to effort.
Sometimes they’re fun, sometimes they’re great,
and sometimes they’re flat-out garbage. But
sometimes they rise to the level of art.
wfmag.cc \ 29“No medium is art,
but any medium
can host art” Journey: We didn’t blub when
we got to the end. Honest.
Nobody can prove a thing. Whether you regard it as art or
not, there’s no denying Portal’s
design ingenuity or sheer
impact on the industry.