An interesting take on the role of procedural rherotic (Gaming)

by Leviathan , Hotel Zanzibar, Monday, November 04, 2013, 10:28 (4040 days ago) @ Cody Miller

There is a difference between simple ideas, and expressing ideas simply.

Indeed. I think both of those things are worthwhile and have their place.

Did you see Exit Through the Gift Shop? Great film. Banksy essentially fools the art community into praising and literally spending millions of dollars on crap art by putting an unknown guy on a pedestal as his protege. The guy is called "Mr. Brainwash", which they take to be an attack on the popular establishment, when in fact the irony was that THEY were the ones being brainwashed.

Good film, yes. But that's doesn't mean everyone involved with modern fine art is brainwashed, just like it doesn't mean everyone who believe video games are art are brainwashed as well. There are exceptions to every rule somebody has made up.

The games as art crowd does the same thing: they convince themselves that these things are good, when any normal person would play it for two seconds and get bored. It doesn't matter what your game says: if nobody can stand playing it, they won't get your message.

I believe games are art, by my own definitions. I've experienced emotions, stories, and worlds in unique ways that only video games could do. You apparently haven't, and will diminish my views with your own logic, grouping me in with other people I don't know, or perhaps claim that I'm brainwashed. And furthermore, I think "any normal person" is one of the most terrifying phrases in existence. You're generalizing and stereotyping to fit what you believe is an 'objective' opinion, a method that leaves me frustrated and disinterested in discussing anything further with you.

When I was in art school there was an overwhelming amount of high-concept professors and students, and they often thought highly of their mediums and lowly of others, like digital art, comic books and video games - the things I was, and still am, in love with. These things did not fit their language and worldview; I found my mediums had been stereotyped long ago by "cheating", "spandex", and "Mario", respectively. Some of these people's opinions could not be moved at all; new examples I might lay in front of them could not even be seen due to the amount of predetermined judgements filling up their eyes.

At the time, it made me want to rebel against everything they taught, but now, a few years away, I can appreciate a lot of things I learned from them about art, as well as realize there were a number of sincere individuals who didn't get caught up in their medium's popular opinions, or didn't let themselves be defined with a group at all. That's why I try not to group people and art together; it's too easy to make trite what they are and miss what they have to offer. It's especially easy to do with someone or something you disagree with, but you'll only make your life simpler and smaller. I'm no longer angry or worried about those particular people's opinions of my focus, because I don't want to be like them - I don't want to sideline all that they gave me just because I disagreed with them. I don't want to overlook a person or an artwork because of some ingrained popular viewpoints, like they did.

When you fall into those traps, something new can walk right in front of you and you won't notice it because you've made your world black and white. An amazing experience could be had in the shape of something you've done before, but you won't feel it because you're going in with an opinion ready to fire. A closed mind like this will make the world look like whatever you want it to look like. A self-fulfilling prophecy.