Question of the Day, May 2, 2010
- Thread starter The Escapist Staff
- Start date
I have 2 additions to make to this. The first being Bioshock. The second is the little flash game Alt Escape featured last year, Little Wheel.
'Myst' et al. Although if we're purely going for the art factor I'd have to recommend 'realMyst'.
The whole game is exploration and what is not arty all that beautiful scenery? Plus there is a great plot which may or may not be relevent in this context. Uncertainty is also arty.
The whole game is exploration and what is not arty all that beautiful scenery? Plus there is a great plot which may or may not be relevent in this context. Uncertainty is also arty.
I'd say Portal, but I don't see how it counts as art-y. Bioshock on the other hand is just beautiful.
Psychonauts was art. It had depth of character and was story driven. More arty than some movies and books.
Other- I would suggest alt+escapes gem, 'everyday the same dream', I thought it was strangely... haunting.
Really? Four pages and not one nomination for Aquaria [http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/]? I'm a little surprised.
Shadow of the Colossus is a good choice save for two pitfalls: threadbare story (not that art requires a story, but for someone new to the medium I could see it being very "what am I doing here?") and difficulty curve - for practiced gamers it's not at all a hard game, but for the uninitiated I could see even finding the colossi as a discouragingly difficult task. The map in that game isn't very helpful.
Shadow of the Colossus is a good choice save for two pitfalls: threadbare story (not that art requires a story, but for someone new to the medium I could see it being very "what am I doing here?") and difficulty curve - for practiced gamers it's not at all a hard game, but for the uninitiated I could see even finding the colossi as a discouragingly difficult task. The map in that game isn't very helpful.
I felt terrible whenTheNamlessGuy said:
I was forced to murder Kathryn
Other - Please specify:
Assassin's Creed 2. The movements have been quite carefully made anatomically correct, the outfits are finely detailed and the areas are vast and gorgeous to see. The panoramic views from the top of a Tuscany tower are simply breathtaking. If that isn't an example of artistic work within a game then I don't know what is.
Assassin's Creed 2. The movements have been quite carefully made anatomically correct, the outfits are finely detailed and the areas are vast and gorgeous to see. The panoramic views from the top of a Tuscany tower are simply breathtaking. If that isn't an example of artistic work within a game then I don't know what is.
I went with "The Longest Journey". In my opinion, it's the perfect example of the adventure game with an endearing protagonist, colorful world (or rather, worlds), gripping storytelling, and mind blowing ending (seriously, I never saw it coming, not in a million years).
I'm not sure what Jade Empire is doing on this list, though. Don't get me wrong, I love the game, I just don't find it the more "artsy" RPG. Planescape: Torment would've been my pick.
I'm not sure what Jade Empire is doing on this list, though. Don't get me wrong, I love the game, I just don't find it the more "artsy" RPG. Planescape: Torment would've been my pick.
I've always thought of the mainstream games that Bioshock did the best job of showing games as being art. It allowed for a very deep and intrinsic expirience where you weren't just playing a character but WERE that character.
As for really 'artsy' games though, I would suggest Today I Die or The Path. I think these will help you question what a game really is, and illustrates the point of that games can be artistic in a way no other medium can, by allowing you to be an active participant instead of a passive one.
I mean, the game even had you question what you were doing following all of these objectives. This whole time in the game you were working with the same programming you were used to and turned it on it's head. "Guy on radio gives me an order, I do such a thing because it's the game, get rewarded, rinse and repeat." But then the game throws it right back at you and shows you that this whole time you were being controlled by a simple phrase. It's a brilliant plot twist and really helps bring into light how we view videogames.
As for really 'artsy' games though, I would suggest Today I Die or The Path. I think these will help you question what a game really is, and illustrates the point of that games can be artistic in a way no other medium can, by allowing you to be an active participant instead of a passive one.
