quote:Original post by Kylotan Why is this even worth discussing? What difference does it make? Are you going to stop making games unless someone agrees to call it art? Are you going to start making games if they do? Do you get some sort of government funding if you can get a certain number of people to call it ''art''? I really don''t see any merit in this line of thinking. To some, it''s an art form, and to others, it''s just a way of making some money. Who cares.
I totally agree that labeling games as art is pointless, but to discuss such matters helps us (at least me) to look at games in a different light. Some games "feel" like art. They move you in some way or they grip you and keep you coming back for more. As game designers, this is an important aspect to study. I couldn''t care less whether someone calls me an artist for creating a game but I want the audience in my grip.
Keep one thing in mind: art is an abstract concept. You really can''t define what it is and to do so is anti-artistic. To me, art is when you''ve opened your soul and touched someone elses in doing so. I''ve never considered calling a baseball player an artist... and I still don''t. He may play a badass game but he hasn''t opened himself in anyway. But damn if I''m not entertained! =) Mike Tyson unleashed his anger on his opponents/victims (hehe). Perhaps, this makes for artful boxing? I dunno and don''t really care either.
I think the issue that everyone seems to have with loftyideals is that hes confusing art with skill. Like I said, I won''t try to define art. Some art requires skill and some skills seem to be art. I''ll leave it at that.
My main interest is what it is that gels a game into an artful piece (seemingly =b). Games certainly contain art but programming is purely a skill (my opinion as a programmer). What is it that brings it all together?
Kylotan: much the way a painter would paint whether people liked his work or not- so a game developer will probably continue to develop games.
why this discussion? to give credit where credit is due... most people see game design/development as another ''computer'' job, when its a bit more elegant than that...
i guess it''s a discussion of symantics.. but that''s not really the point.
from spanish dictionary, poorly transalted with itranslator.bowneglobal.com :
art (l.) 1 amb. Group of procedures to produce certain result (in opposition to science, considered as pure independent knowledge of all application, and to nature, considered as power that he/she takes place without reflection): ~ mechanics, that in that mainly is needed the manual work or the use of the machine; Liberal arts, group of university studies of the Half Age that understood the trivium and the cuatrivium; those that pralte. they require the exercise of the understanding. 2 ability, dexterity to make certain things: the ~ of living. 3 caution, knack, cunning: to make use of bad arts. 4 human work that expresses symbolically, by means of different matters, an aspect of the reality understood aesthetically: ~ conceptual, artistic manifestation of the decade of the seventy that propugnaba the displacement of the artistic work as object toward the concept, the idea or, at least, the conception of the work; ~ I sum up, it works based on the abstract concept of the geometric thing; ~ polemic, the one that has for object to present a trial or critical analysis, either denouncing a reality, or ironizando on her; ~ minimum, American artistic movement, born in 1966 as reaction against the exuberant vitality of the pop art; Fine arts, those that have for object the expression of the beauty; seventh ~, the cinema.
Geez, I just looked up art in the dictionary. Rubbin'' one out could be considered an art by definition. Check it out:
1 : skill acquired by experience, study, or observation <the art of making friends> 2 a : a branch of learning: (1) : one of the humanities (2) plural : LIBERAL ARTS b archaic : LEARNING, SCHOLARSHIP 3 : an occupation requiring knowledge or skill <the art of organ building> 4 a : the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced b (1) : FINE ARTS (2) : one of the fine arts (3) : a graphic art 5 a archaic : a skillful plan b : the quality or state of being artful 6 : decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter synonyms ART, SKILL, CUNNING, ARTIFICE, CRAFT mean the faculty of executing well what one has devised. ART implies a personal, unanalyzable creative power <the art of choosing the right word>. SKILL stresses technical knowledge and proficiency <the skill of a glassblower>. CUNNING suggests ingenuity and subtlety in devising, inventing, or executing . ARTIFICE suggests technical skill especially in imitating things in nature . CRAFT may imply expertness in workmanship <the craft of a master goldsmith>.
