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Games

Video Games Through the Lens of Art

Mark Essen skips the special effects in favor of lo-fi fun.

At 22, creator Mark Essen is the youngest artist of the 50 the New Museum picked for their “The Generational: Younger Than Jesus,” international show. He also designs video games that are superfun to play. However, despite the total playability of his creations, it’s no surprise that Essen is poised to take the art world by storm. He approaches the games he designs the way modern artists approached their canvases – rather than trying to use the tricks of his trade to create the illusion of reality, Essen focuses on making the field between the four corners of his computer screen as interesting and pleasing to the eye as possible. In many of the games the point is not to win or lose, only the quality of the experience you have interacting with the work as you travel through it. And what an experience it is. To watch more video trailers of his games go to Essen’s creator page. Then we recommend you try playing them for yourself. Get the links to download all of his one and two-player games here. Be careful, they’re addictive.

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