Prescribed BLOG TASK B
ARE VIDEO GAMES ART
I consider games art I consider them more artistic than some movies I have seen it is more on an interactive level we get to enjoy the art design and characters made in the game so yes I think Games are ART.
What constitutes art?
Art constitutes the expression and or application of the human creative skill with imagination, normally in a visual medium such as painting or sculpture, then producing said works of art to be enjoyed and appreciated by all for their beauty or emotional impact and power.
The various branches of creative activity, such as painting, music, literature, and dance.
“the visual arts”
“Solarski 2013 stated” Video games rely on the very same design principles — perspective, form, value, etc. — which classical artists employed to create the illusion that the television (or canvas) is a window into an imagined world.
What makes good art?
A strong emotional impact on the viewer or in this case the player is a viewer that interacts with the game environment.
A long-lasting unforgettable impression, in this case, the aesthetics of the game and the way it grabs you when walking around in the environment.
What are the various factors that should be considered when making this value judgement?
Aesthetics
Visual aesthetics, levels, maps, gameplay, etc. etc.
Emotional connection
Emotional attachment to characters in the story of the game could be one reason, the story line that sucks you into the game.
“Julia ayumi, livia j. Muller, Lena Fanya Aeschbach, Klaus Opwis, Elisa D. Mekler” Stated that engaging game characters are often key to a positive and emotionally rich player experience.
“Julia ayumi, livia j. Muller, Lena Fanya Aeschbach, Klaus Opwis, Elisa D. Mekler” also stated that we identify seven distinct forms of emotional attachment, ranging from feeling excited about the characters’ gameplay competency, admiring them as role models, to deep concern for characters’ well-being. Our findings highlight the emotional range that players experience towards game characters,
Setting
The use of the M D A Mechanics-Aesthetics-Dynamics framework
In game design, the mechanic-dynamic-aesthetics (MDA) framework is a tool used to analyse games it formalizes the consumption of games by breaking them down into three components Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics.
Games have all aspects of all things T.V, Movies, and ideas from books making their own setting set in their own environment in their own way to depict a creative art piece in the Gamer-sphere.
With these tools being used it makes it easier to pull apart a game and see how it was built but this is only one thing of many that can be used to judge a game.
So by my definition, are video games art?
Yes, they are an art form they hire artists, 3D Riggers, lighting designers and modellers and then UV mapping artists for textures but at the moment they are making a transition from LOW art to HIGH art it has been a slow process,
Even though game design uses many of the same software packages that are used for film and T.V they are still yet to have games hit high art.
But with that being said
Games are now becoming high art
“Chris Melissinos 2015 states” that computer games include many forms of traditional artistic expression—sculpture in the form of 3D modelling, illustration, narrative arcs, and dynamic music—that combine to create something that transcends any one type.
If how do we appreciate and value them as art?
By interacting and watching the stories unfold like a playable movie some people are just so close-minded when it comes to games in general, pick one up and start playing I say.
The emotional impact some games create, whether it be from stress caused in the game from multiplayer gameplay to emotional connection as you try beating bosses and completing quests in games. All games have something different to offer than just one picture hung on a wall in a museum
And what differentiates a good game, that’s a game with a significant aesthetic value from those games that we might simply describe as BAD?
Marketing word of mouth
This is the most important part of the game being good or bad poor marketing makes for a bad release, but word of mouth is the most powerful weapon in the video game era, without this the games would not take off or become popular.
“Fabricatore 1999 states” According to traditional marketing wisdom, players’ preferences are a core issue in creating successful products, and the game design process is crucial for guaranteeing players’ satisfaction.
Gameplay
Games get ranked on playability and popularity this is a list of the top20 PC games in 2022
Picture from https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-20-pc-games
Story character connection
“SYNZER 2013” states It is important to note that a good plot and world are not the only things needed for a good story. Our connection to the characters might in fact be the most important
Art design and graphics
“Ford, R 2017” states in there Arguably, yes, but we strongly believe that art style is far more important than graphics, when designing a game, in terms of the player’s viewing pleasure and overall gameplay experience. Having no art style is far worse than not paying attention to graphics in a game.
Game Design Document with and agile approach
Having a good (GDD) game design document and mixing it with and AGILE development approach for the game can help to have a great game built and released this can help with not having something that is lacking areas.
A GDD usually includes:
- Executive summary(game concept, genre, target audience, project scope, etc.)
- Gameplay(objectives, game progressions, in-game GUI, etc.)
- Mechanics(rules, combat, physics, etc.)
- Game elements(world-building, story, characters, locations, level-design, etc.)
- Assets(music, sound effects, 2D/3D models, etc.)
”Nuclino 2022” states So rather than doing away with game design documents altogether, the documentation process can be adapted to support the creative, iterative, and collaborative process of game development. Using an agile approach
References
Melissinos, C. (2015, September 22). Video games are one of the most important art forms in history. Time. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://time.com/collection-post/4038820/chris-melissinos-are-video-games-art/
Fabricatore, C. (1999), Playability in Action Videogames: a Theoretical Design Reference, Ph. D.
Catholic University of Chile.
Fabricatore, C., Nussbaum, M. and Rosas, R. (2002), “Playability in Action Videogames: A
Qualitative Design Model”, Human-Computer Interaction, 17 (4).
Most popular PC games – global. Newzoo. (2022, September 5). Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://newzoo.com/insights/rankings/top-20-pc-games
Synzer. (2013, December 6). Is story important in video games? it is not that simple. Game Skinny. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.gameskinny.com/1h058/is-story-important-in-video-games-it-is-not-that-simple
Ford, R. (2017, November 24). Why art style is more important than graphics in game design. MLC. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://magnaludumcreatives.com/art-style-vs-graphics-game-design/
Game Design Document Template and examples. Game Design Document Template. (n.d.). Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.nuclino.com/articles/game-design-document-template
Chris SolarskiBloggerJanuary 30, 2013. (2013, January 30). The aesthetics of Game Art and game design. Game Developer. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://www.gamedeveloper.com/design/the-aesthetics-of-game-art-and-game-design
Julia Ayumi Bopp University of Basel, Bopp, J. A., Basel, U. of, Livia J. Müller University of Basel, Müller, L. J., Lena Fanya Aeschbach University of Basel, Aeschbach, L. F., Basel, K. O. U. of, Opwis, K., University, E. D. M. A., Mekler, E. D., University, A., Catalunya, U. O. de, Waterloo, U. of, Leuven, K. U., University, N. M. S., & Metrics, O. M. V. A. (2019, October 1). Exploring emotional attachment to game characters: Proceedings of the annual symposium on Computer-Human Interaction in play. ACM Conferences. Retrieved October 21, 2022, from https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3311350.3347169