Shadow of the Colossus Director Flattered by Art Label

[Unrulyhandbag]

Lol I do not understand why sotc is held up as art . It's a flawed piece of entertainment software that was held back by limited gameplay and an underpowered system.

Literacy - "a group of vision-competencies a human being can develop by seeing and at the same time having and integrating other sensory experiences."

"Through the appreciative use of these competencies, he is able to comprehend and enjoy the masterworks of visual communication"

John debes 1969

 

[Diligent]

"He said that in Japan, the idea of art was something that was uncommon or unique."
Well SotC is certainly unique.

Lol I do not understand why sotc is held up as art . It's a flawed piece of entertainment software that was held back by limited gameplay and an underpowered system.

Art is subjective and debatable obviously but I wouldn't go as far as to say it's flawed. After reading that I had the urge to pop the game in and play a little bit for the first time in years, and taking down a colossus was as thrilling today as anything I've experienced on current generation systems.

If you're referring to the exploration aspect, fair enough. That obviously wouldn't be for everybody, but it was done in a way to add anticipation to the colossus encounters, and focus the purpose of the game. They could have added little monsters and creatures in the field, but by the end of the game you'd just ignore them anyway.

As far as the system being underpowered, it goes without saying that it's not as powerful as todays systems, but really what do you want? A bigger Colossus? The last one in the game damn near gave me vertigo it was so tall.

 

[Pingieking]

*snip*

You deserve a medal.

Or a blowjob.

And cake.

I think he should have all three. In the order of his choosing. Maybe some cookies too.

 

[llafnwod]

This is was the first I'd heard of the re-release of SotC + Ico. Immediately following were a frantic phone call, several frantic texts, and 5-10 minutes of dancing.

Does anyone know whether Amazon ships pre-orders on the day of release or such that they will arrive on the day of?

 

[Fensfield]

I'm still in the 'Ico moreso' camp, much as I loved Shadow of the Colossus..

But all that aside, and while I do like him for saying all that.. I still call these pieces works of art.

Death of the Author in action, I guess ^^

 

[Disembodied_Dave]

Oh different-cultures-having-different-connotations-for-complex-concepts you little scamp.

 

[Jumplion]

I just love Fumito Ueda, he's a true visionary whether he admits it or not. I really do idolize him for his unique approaches in gaming, treating every aspect of it like how an author treats certain literary devices. He treats video games as a medium of expression, just like any other medium.

People sometimes talk about having the "Citizen Kane" of gaming, but you can't have a "Citizen Kane" without an "Orson Wells". I'm pretty sure that he is video game's Orson Wells. I've heard him described as a "stubborn perfectionist" and apparently more than a few employees quit their jobs because of that (take with a grain or so of salt), and like I said, he treats every aspect of a video game with the utmost care.

I can't wait for the Shadow of the Collosus+ICO Collection and The Last Guardian, I haven't played ICO so it'll be a new experience for me.

 

[soilent]

Oh you!
so modest...

This is the only game that has ever been able to bring me to tears, It was Beautiful in every way that mattered, what its Gameplay lacked, atmosphere and story made up for, It was gold, every minute of it.

 

[teknoarcanist]

The subtlety, the ambiguity, the constant mirrored sense of both purposelessness and inevitability; the silence; the light; what is there not to love about Shadow of the Colossus, except perhaps the overlong cut-scenes and fiddly camera?

What astounds me about the game is the fact that the wanderer is used as a vehicle to induce the entire emotional arc of the game internally, within the player, rather than externally projecting everything and going "LOOK, EMOTIONS." This is something Valve and Bioware have figured out, that EA, Activision, Ubisoft, and every other major studio/publisher still need to wrap their heads around. It's what games can do that other mediums can't, and SoTC was one of the first mainstream AAA titles to fully realize that.

 

[snow]

Oh god, the 'games as art' debate is huge, every gaming site has someone talking about it, and every new gaming podcast pretty much starts off with 'games as art'. It's the cornerstone of the arguments between anti-gamers and gamers as well, because if it's considered an artform it'll be far more difficult to censor or subdue controversial subjects in games, which I am all for.

Games are art threads and magazine discussions\opinion pieces have been around longer than SotC much less one art critics comments and turn up fairly frequently on most reasonable mature forums and publications. He just stirred the hive after it had settled for waiting for winter to pass.
After a few big poster children of games as art we just sat beck and waited for acceptance. The occasional indy coders abusing the term art game to mean anything hand drawn and none entertaining stirs a little snarking within the community every now and then. So to have a major art critic point and laugh at the medium was a bit upsetting.

you've never seen the discussion anywhere else? no problem, here's a couple of articles from a wide range of sources, some contemporary artists some games designers and a few others.

2000 [http://uk.pc.ign.com/articles/085/085422p1.html] this ones IGN.

2001 [http://www.designersnotebook.com/Lectures/ArtForm/artform.htm] a game designer at a conference.

2002 [http://www.kuro5hin.org/story/2002/9/10/72851/0039] another dev in an industry aimed article.

2005 [http://www.contempaesthetics.org/newvolume/pages/article.php?articleID=299] CA a peer reviewed journal focused on the study of aesthetics.

2006 [http://www.weeklygeekshow.com/2006/11/top_five_list_top_five_games_a.php?fbc_channel=1#%7B%22id%22%3A0%2C%22sc%22%3A%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fxd_receiver_v0.4.php%22%2C%22sf%22%3A%22loginStatus%22%2C%22sr%22%3A2%2C%22h%22%3A%22loginServer%22%2C%22sid%22%3A%220.067%22%2C%22t%22%3A0%7D%5B0%2C%22loginStatus%22%2C%22InitLogin%22%2C%7B%22baseDomain%22%3A%22weeklygeekshow.com%22%2C%22connectState%22%3A3%2C%22perms%22%3Anull%2C%22publicSessionData%22%3Anull%2C%22session%22%3Anull%2C%22settings%22%3A%7B%22inFacebook%22%3Afalse%2C%22locale%22%3A%22en_GB%22%7D%7D%2Cfalse%5D] a gamers view

2007 [http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070316/ochalla_01.shtml] a fairly nice webazine article.

There is loads more but I think those are good enough to show you how the 'issue' has has been presented by various parties and what has got brought up over recent years.

edit: ninja'd by Blind Sight, that's what I get for poking around the interwebs.

Nice, very nice. Thanks for that, especially with the links in the second post.

I haven't really followed with it as much because when it was first brought up, it seemed like everyone was getting ticked off by some guy spouting misinformed opinions which happens a lot, especially in this field of entertainment, so of course my first reaction was to shake my head and then go do something more productive.

It's kind of to the point now that with all the information of what gaming really is, that it seems anti-gaming groups are just doing it now just to do it. If it wasn't for this thing that is going on over in California amongst other minor things that have been going on, it just feels like one big shit flinging contest, especially considering we don't really have any real spokesperson with good debating skills to put these people in their place when they act out.

A good majority of those videos we've seen and hated where some one speaks on behalf of games gets chewed out by big corporate news groups and all that all end the same, he/she gets interrupted and stopped mid-sentence so that way the anti-gaming support can look like they have the upper hand and have the right information as to what's going on...

Of course anyone that could put up a real argument wouldn't see much air-time because that would be against what they are trying to do.

We do have tons of news and videos that speak on the behalf of games but the problem is, only those that really enjoy the hobby actually view them, because of course, they're on gaming websites and that's going to be the last place anyone is going to look when it comes to this sort of thing.

 

[Lullabye]

Ahhh SoTC is awesome. It's just.....brilliant.

Could have done more? Well yeah he COULD have I suppose...I mean it's possible...but really, the game is incredible as it is

Well, the thing that made SotC so freakin awesome was that it went by the "less is more" school of thought.

I always knew SotC was art, but playing through it again recently, I really noticed some things. Like when you kill the first 2 colossus and go after the third, the two pillars of light in the distance(representing the colossi you've killed) frame him perfectly on the platform, with your little speck of a self at its feet. The whole beauty and grandness of he moment really struck me.
I mean, you've seen epic pictures, paintings, and videos. but this was something more. I mean, when you just view something(like a pic of cthulu eating a boat or some such),you think "wow that's neat".
In a game, when you see it for the first time you think "oh fuck"

 

[garfoldsomeoneelse]

He defines art as something uncommon and unique? Shadow of the Colossus has that those qualifications nailed down, in spades. If we're going by his definition, there shouldn't be any question at all that SOTC is art. I get the feeling that mad genius of a man is just being modest about his master-crafted creation.

 

[Jared]

The game by far to me is one of the greatest examples of it - Its so unusual, the way the world moves, and how you interact with it.

Like a waterolour in movement!

 

[Ragsnstitches]

Would like to add something to this:

Art isn't always intentional. Art doesn't always serve a purpose. Art doesn't have to be perfect, on the contrary, imperfection can actually add to the impact on the viewer.

SotC is art, whether the "artist" knows it or not. A beautiful world which one is free to explore. Each engagement amounts to tragedy and eventually accumulates into something more powerful then that. The bond between a near mute boy and a horse is stronger then any other games characters and beats most films and books into the dirt for the same reason.

The story, the movement, the driving force are all very poetic. While plot wise, it is "been there done that", the presentation and impact is far greater then other games before.

A poem doesn't have to be long to be great either.

 

[ckam]

Everything about the game is awesome. Also, it is incredibly unique and uncommon so it does deserve the label.

 

[Bluesoul]

Webster dictionary defines art as: " the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced " wich leads me to one simple question... how could someone possibly say that Warhol's Campbell's Can is art and not consider SotC art

 

[SnipErlite]

Sorry, double. Post refused to appear at first =/

 

[SnipErlite]

Well, the thing that made SotC so freakin awesome was that it went by the "less is more" school of thought.

I always knew SotC was art, but playing through it again recently, I really noticed some things. Like when you kill the first 2 colossus and go after the third, the two pillars of light in the distance(representing the colossi you've killed) frame him perfectly on the platform, with your little speck of a self at its feet. The whole beauty and grandness of he moment really struck me.
I mean, you've seen epic pictures, paintings, and videos. but this was something more. I mean, when you just view something(like a pic of cthulu eating a boat or some such),you think "wow that's neat".
In a game, when you see it for the first time you think "oh fuck"

That and the fact the monsters are huge and amazing. Well, colossi. Not monsters. They were innocent. their movement is so graceful and so epic. The whole thing is just beautiful.

And I don't remember seeing that :S I'll have to go play through it again now