Dhruin
SasqWatch
It's been a long time since we had a Side Quest editorial piece. Jacob Way, producer on the indie zombie RPG I Shall Remain recently covered offered to write some articles. At some point, we hope Jacob will delve into the design of his game but for this first piece, Jacob looks at the "games as art" debate. A sample:
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Read it here - and thanks to Jake for participating.In my first article, I'm going to revisit an ongoing debate on whether or not video game design can be called an art form. I think those in the RPG realm who seek carefully written stories in their games can quickly say 'yes', but it's important to know why we say yes. I'm going to open up the floor with a quote by Roger Ebert. Immediately, I expect everyone on this website to balk at what he says. But what he said needs to be carefully considered.
“I am prepared to believe that video games can be elegant, subtle, sophisticated, challenging and visually wonderful. But I believe the nature of the medium prevents it from moving beyond craftsmanship to the stature of art. To my knowledge, no one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers. That a game can aspire to artistic importance as a visual experience, I accept. But for most gamers, video games represent a loss of those precious hours we have available to make ourselves more cultured, civilized and empathetic.”
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