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Matt Sainsbury: Before we start dividing games down those lines, I think it's important to get general society on board with the idea that games are art. While blockbusters like Call of Duty and little time wasters like Angry Birds are artful in their own right, the challenge lies in getting those outside the industry to recognize that the world of video games extends so much further, even if they never play anything but mainstream commercial successes.Think about the film industry: even people who don't really watch films know that alongside blockbusters like The Avengers there's a robust art-house scene. And everyone knows how important Citizen Kane is, but how many people have actually watched it? Not so many.That said, games can certainly be described like art is in other mediums. We have experimental post-modernist stuff, cult art-house hits, and local industries producing games almost exclusively for local audiences, similar to what Bollywood does in cinema. Some game directors play a similar role in this industry to Quentin Tarantino, Steven Spielberg, Jean-Luc Godard, or Antonin Artaud in film. It's all out there, and that's a basic fact.
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Games easily compete with any other form of entertainment and art in terms of sales, and that puts them in the public eye more than ever before. To continue having important discussions and debate about and through art, and for art to even maintain its relevance in society, we have to consider all dominant forms of creative expression, which includes video games.Film originally had a reputation as a mindless distraction. When novels were a new and innovative form of writing, critics of authors like Daniel Defoe harped on how inferior the novel was to the purity of poetry. Games are on the cusp of breaking away from that same reputation right now, and part of the reason I wrote this book was because I wanted to join that discussion.That's not to say we can't have our shooters and sports games, but even cinema would not be worth nearly as much as a creative outlet if all it offered was superhero movies. I think that for the games industry to develop further, everyone has to recognize that games are much more. Games are clearly a popular medium for creative expression, and fans of gaming can help the general public see this by encouraging popular culture, as a whole, to legitimize art-house games as it has art-house cinema.
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Well, obviously I think all of the games that appear in Game Art definitely illustrate that games are moving away from being toys and into offering a greater depth of meaning. Many of the games I featured are personal favorites, too.But there are three other games, outside of those that appear in Game Art, which led me to write this book.The first is Persona 4. It expresses and explores Japanese cultural values, but I think it also reaches deep into nihilist and existentialist philosophy. Persona 4 was perhaps the first game I played that convinced me that we can study game narratives as we would the likes of Shakespeare. That's not to say the writing rivals Shakespeare, of course, but it aspires to offer that kind of depth beyond the literal narrative.The second is Nier. This is a deeply emotive and intellectually engaging game, but it's one of those cult hits I touched on earlier. Mention it to someone outside of the games industry, and they won't know what you're on about. In fact, if you mention Nier to half the people who do play games, they'd probably have no idea what you're on about. But I've never quite managed to get it out of my mind since playing it.The third is the Mass Effect trilogy, so I'm cheating in listing it a bit, but I think it deserves recognition for offering the most comprehensive, intricate, and detailed science fiction narrative outside Star Wars. I also loved the strong environmentalist theme that I drew from its narrative, but other players drew their own themes from the game. That's generally a sign of a good work of art: when it has a powerful, but divergent, impact on individuals based on their own interpretation.
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You've spoken with many Western and Japanese developers. Did you notice any significant cultural differences when it came to how these creators were approaching their art? I think, in the West, we can perceive Japanese games as being, let's say, sometimes more risqué, but at the expense of contemporary appreciation of equal representation, feminism, and other values we're increasingly seeing in games made here. Does that stand up, in your experience? Or: Can bikini armor ever be art?"Labeling something as 'art' does not place it beyond criticism. Quite the opposite, actually: I think one major purpose of art is to generate discussion and debate." – Matt Sainsbury
This is a big can of worms, and I could easily write a book about it all by itself, but if I can make a couple of brief points here:Firstly, bikini armor can be part of a work of art—but labeling something as "art" does not place it beyond criticism. Quite the opposite, actually: I think one major purpose of art is to generate discussion and debate. Sexuality is a core part of many works of art, from pin-up photography to the work of Marquis de Sade to Dracula, through even Dead or Alive. These have all been criticized for their sexual aspects, but I tend to believe that in being criticized, they become more relevant as works of art, not less so.Regarding how the Japanese approach sexuality in art, I do think Japanese culture has a different view on sexuality and representation than Western culture. There are certainly issues with how women are treated in Japanese culture – for example, local feminists are fighting for representation and opportunity in the workplace and moving past the idea that women should raise children while men earn the income – but I don't think that necessarily leads to the kind of conservatism we see in Western cultures toward depictions of sexuality in games.
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SERENITY AND WONDER – AN EXCERPT FROM 'GAME ART'
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A Self-Paced Adventure
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The second time around, the game took form.It would be released as Tengami: a serene adventure game that invites players to explore the world in their own time, rather than being pushed through with no time to think. Its tranquil atmosphere also reflects the reverence that the Japanese have for origami, which Schneidereit worked hard to capture authentically in the gameplay. The powerful emotions and spirituality behind Japanese papercraft can be best summarized in the story of one little girl.When America bombed Hiroshima and Nagasaki to end World War II, the resulting nuclear radiation made many people sick, including Sadako Sasaki, who was two years old when the bombs fell. Sasaki was diagnosed with leukemia at age 12, and from her hospital bed, she was inspired by a legend. According to this legend, if you fold 1,000 origami cranes, thus exhibiting the loyalty and dedication that cranes are known for, you'll prove your worth of having a wish granted. And so Sasaki folded cranes—while praying for world peace.New on Motherboard: Inside NASA's Giant Flying Laboratory
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East Meets West
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Why Take a Risk?
Game Art is published in late September and pre-order links/more information is available at the No Starch Press website and Amazon.Follow Mike Diver and Matt Sainsbury on Twitter.