January 6, 2006
The Aesthetics of Video Games in a Postmodern World
Hayward noted that the end result of photorealism is the "sensation of a lucid dream." I feel some degree of photorealism is required to make the player more a part of the game. However, I feel that surrealistic qualities in a game can be just as effective. Further, I would like to put a lesser emphasis on "form" and a greater emphasis on "content," especially content that adds to one powerful effect. When--according to Allison Hetter--"everything's been done already," we need to push the envelope even further to explore new possibilities for game design and art in general.
-Marcel Duchamp
In the quote above, Duchamp makes a statement to greatly advance the conception of what is considered "art." He credits the audience as being part of the creative process. This has significant parallel to video games as art because the games make the player part of this creative process. With out an audience to view a piece, there would be no art--just like there would be no sound if no one was around the tree falling.
Duchamp challenged our notion of aesthetic in the artistic sense. I feel we must do the same for video games. That would be the major change that Wong desired: creating and constructing mindbending worlds. There is a finite amount of things to capture on Earth, but with the imagination, the possibilities are endless.
(What is he talking about?!)
-updated: 1/8/06 9:34pm-
Posted by EvanReynolds at January 6, 2006 3:06 PM
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Comments
Yeah, I remember reading some articles in which critics argued that VR-stuff presents some negative issues… One of which was the fact that gamers won’t want to have to actually act things out for their games, since they like to laze about on the couch while playing rather than be active.
Perhaps these new developments will simply shift the audience of gamers from one type of people to another type.
Posted by: ChrisU at January 9, 2006 10:32 PM
Actually, we have been assigned some articles that look into that development, although on a negative view. Check out this article about the (potential) fall of the video game industry. It mentions how VR equipment has failed before:
Posted by: Evan at January 8, 2006 8:33 PM
I agree that innovation is becoming increasingly important in game design. It has and always will be important, but especially now, when the fountain of creative ideas is starting to stagnate.
Has your class taken a look at any of the recent innovations taking place in gaming? Take a look at Nintendo’s prototype for the new controller for their next gaming platform, if not… It combines the traditional button-‘n-joystick based control of the old world of gaming with the concept of motion-sensing technology, which I think will completely change the way that developers design games. Already, there is talk about first-person shooting games where all you have to do is swing the controller (which looks like a wand, of sorts) in the direction you want to aim, press a button, and fire; sports games, like baseball, where you will actually have to swing the controller like a bat in order to hit the ball; adventure games where you will use the controller to manipulate objects almost like you were touching them (which is the big concept for Nintendo’s current gem, the DS or Dual Screen handheld).
Posted by: ChrisU at January 7, 2006 10:07 PM