Can Art Games and Fun Games coexist?

[kikon9]

I keep hearing on the Escapist about how gaming needs to change from an entertainment into an art form. But, at the same time I keep hearing from people on different sites that games need to be fun, first and foremost. Why is it we can't have both? Nobody seems to consider that Art-Games could become more prominent, and yet we could still keep the less mature, gameplay-focused part of the industry around.

So, my question is as follows: Do you think that Art-Based-Games and Gameplay-Based-Games could coexist?

 

[No_Remainders]

I'm still not sure why people (especially those here) MUST insist that games are a form of art.

Can't we just leave them as games? Why do they HAVE to be art? It really is just trying to be pretentious.

 

[Gahars]

Sure.

If films, books, music, paintings, and other media can have the dichotomy and survive, I see no reason as to why video games cannot.

 

[flamingjimmy]

Art is usually entertainment, they are not mutually exclusive.

 

[pyrosaw]

Katamari Damacy?

 

[The Wykydtron]

Yeah, games can be art but that doesn't mean that all games 100% MUST be art

I'm still not sure why people (especially those here) MUST insist that games are a form of art.

Can't we just leave them as games? Why do they HAVE to be art? It really is just trying to be pretentious.

Hehe all art is inheirently pretentious. Maybe your statement would back up the "games are art" crowd if you think about it?

 

[Ace of Spades]

They shouldn't just co-exist, they should overlap. We need both kinds of game to advance our medium.

I'm still not sure why people (especially those here) MUST insist that games are a form of art.

Can't we just leave them as games? Why do they HAVE to be art? It really is just trying to be pretentious.

And you're just being close-minded.

 

[katsumoto03]

Of course they can, don't be ridiculous. Shit, games can be fun and art. Just like movies, books, music and all other types of media.

After all, there are movies like Scott Pilgrim and Inglorious Basterds, so why not games like that?

 

[Dreiko_v1legacy]

Killer 7 says hell yeah...and then shoots you in the face while having sex with your mom's decapitated head.

 

[Sharalon]

I think that these art games are the best ones, if you by art games mean a game with good characters and story instead of a game full of violence and gore.

I already see every game as a peice of art, in the same way as i see a song, movie or painting. That doesn't mean that I like them or even care for them one bit, but I do think that they should be judged by the same standards.

Some immature developers try to sell games by showing how violent they are, and to me thats just a step in the wrong direction.

Jest because it's art and has a meaning of some kind doesn't mean that it's not fun.

 

[BreakfastMan]

Of course they can co-exist. They are often one and the same in fact. Of course, there is some question as to what people mean by an "art" game, but I believe that they can and do co-exist. Look at games like Bioshock, or ME2, or Persona 4, or Baldur's Gate 2, or DA:O, or killer7, or LoZ:MM, or Chrono Trigger, or Kingdom Hearts 2, or Xenosaga, or Warcraft 3, or Condemned 2: Bloodshot, or Silent Hill 2/3, or Halo, or COD4, or KOTOR 1/2, or TES III: Morrowind, or... I think you get my point by now.

 

[Realitycrash]

To whoever it was that scolded me in the last thread we had about this, only two days ago; I'm sorry. Point proven.

OT: Yes, they can. Go play Day of the Tentacle.

 

[Wondermint13]

Erm Yes.. They're still games.
Its the people that want to argue about everything and create wars that dont exsist that make the art and fun into some kind of rivallary.

We gamers need to sit back and just appreciate that we have a variety in games.

 

[mireko]

Yes.

Next question.

[sub]All games are art. We want compelling stories and characters as well as crazy fun and set pieces. This is the same as in cinema.[/sub]

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Art games that are no fun cannot compete equally with enjoyable games that don't have serious themes or claim to explain something deep about the meaning of everything. That is because the former are rubbish and not as many people want to play them.

 

[Manji187]

I'm still not sure why people (especially those here) MUST insist that games are a form of art.

Can't we just leave them as games? Why do they HAVE to be art? It really is just trying to be pretentious.

Aspiring to something greater is no sin. Videogaming is a development over time...a development going somewhere. Thank the heavens there are people that see potential in games and try to realise it. It has brought us such titles as Zelda, Metal Gear Solid and many others.

Or would you rather be at the arcades playing for a high score?

 

[Togs]

Not until the general population recognises the difference.

Until then any sins committed by 1 camp will tarnish the other..

 

[More Fun To Compute]

Aspiring to something greater is no sin. Videogaming is a development over time...a development going somewhere. Thank the heavens there are people that see potential in games and try to realise it. It has brought us such titles as Zelda, Metal Gear Solid and many others.

Or would you rather be at the arcades playing for a high score?

I would say that two of the deadly sins apply, pride and greed. The pride of thinking that one thing is better than another because you have taken ownership of it in some way and the greed in thinking that in the future you somehow deserve a lot more. But who cares about sin these days.

And game development isn't "going somewhere" as it just sort of lumbers on trying to come up with things that make money.

 

[Deskimus Prime]

Maybe, yes, and no. With games (as with any other medium), Sturgeon's Law is in full effect. That's the one that says that 90% of everything is shit, in case you were wondering. Think about movies: exactly how many movies in a year out of the umpteen dozen that come out would you consider "art"? How many would you consider "fun"? And how many are just terrible, or otherwise completely forgettable?

I know, understand, sympathize and most definitely agree with people when they want games to be better and take themselves more seriously, but lately it seems like it's an expectation, not a desire. You can't possibly expect every game that comes out to be either a Memento or a Scott Pilgrim (those are my "arty" and "fun" movies, respectively). You're gonna get a lot of Daddy Day Cares and Caddyshack 2s and trashy formulaic romantic comedies, the same way for every Braid or Silent Hill 2, you get your Halo ODST and your Silent Hill Homecomings. (which I found neither fun nor arty)

That's just the way things are. There will always be more bad than good, and more good than amazing. That's not to say things are fine the way they are; they aren't, but still. Methinks we have some awesome titles as it is in both the fun and the art categories. The thing about the art one is they generally aren't mainstream. But that's an entirely different hipster-flavoured kettle of fish, so I'll leave it at that.

 

[RedEyesBlackGamer]

Sure they can. As soon as people quit insisting that they are diametrically opposed to each other.