IDEATION

This was where I  came up with some of the first ideas for what I’d be researching. I started  off with 3 and a half ideas, the first one being talking about Illustration’s  place in the world of Art (among Fine Art etc) and if there’s any stigma  attached to being an illustrator as opposed to other definitions of “artist”.  Second I thought of the ideas of personas, how artists operate under a  persona, why they do this, how they do this, and how any of my own experience  with a persona comes in to play and affects my practise.  My third idea was like the first, however instead of talking about  Illustration I’d be talking about video games. There’s a lot of conversation  about video games as art, if they are art, why they aren’t art, the art in  them, their impact in the world of art and such other things. I wanted to  talk about something I’m interested in as I’ve tried writing and talking  about something that I’m not interested in and it bored me to the point that  the quality of what I was putting out was noticeably low. As this is an  opportunity to talk about something I like, I’m choosing to talk about a  subject I enjoy. I think I’ll produce better work by focusing on something I  like. But it’s also not something I’m hugely  interested in to the point where I’m not able to be critical, so I won’t  spend the entire time writing a one-sided obsessing think piece on “I think  this is good and this is why”.  I had another idea where I examine the art in and of video games, specifically  the art style used in video games and how it’s evolved as graphics technology  has improved. How it’s become a sort of “style” of its own and how this style  itself has influenced other art. If the idea I’m focusing on leads to a dead  end (or rather, too much of an open end) then I think examining the journey  of game graphics and art styles is a good alternative route to go down.

This can  interest others because I think games are a very modern and contemporary  medium that everyone’s aware of, and if someone isn’t aware of them they can  learn about an up-and-coming yet very present form of media.

RESEARCH AND  DEVELOPMENT (with CRITIQUE AND EXPLANATION)

Going off the  idea of art showcased in games, and games being an example of art,I started  off by researching a whole bunch of talks about video games and art. What  comes up first is a lot of Ted Talks so I watched and listened to those and  absorbed as much information as I could. I’m aware that Ted Talks are mostly  subjective and one single person’s opinions, but they’re always good food for  thought. I’m still in the stage where I’m not entirely sure just what I’m  talking about or the route I’m going to take for this research and anything  to help point me in a direction will help.

I started with  the working title, “Video Games: In, of and as Art” (or vice versa; art  in/of/as video games) and so my focus was in the place of validating video  games as an art form. I wanted to see what people had to say about video  games and find examples of why they’re special in a hope to articulate just  what it was I thought and felt about them.

 I started with  ‘Gaming for Understanding’(Romero, B. 2011) by  Brenda Romero. This wasn’t talking about video games, but I still found it  relevant and important. This talks about the various benefits of games and in  this instance the idea that they can be used for education and bringing a  greater understanding to difficult topics and issues. While also being fun  and engaging for people that normally wouldn’t be reached by conventional  methods of education. This was a good starting point, but I feel like talking  about any games outside of just  video games makes me lose focus and is far too broad, and games have  historically been around immeasurably longer. So from here on I decide purely  to focus on video games.

 ‘Video Games To  Cope With Grief’(Green, 2017) by Amy  Green tells a more sombre story of a game used for education and helping  evoke a feeling while teaching how to deal with grief. It came about after  the death of the creators’ child due to cancer, however was quite  philosophical. It was an inspiring way of coping with loss, while spreading  understanding. It’s an uncommon type of game, not simply about winning, but  having an experience. In the conversation of games as art, this is an  important example of the capabilities of games.

 ‘Are Games  Better Than Life’(Perry, 2006) by David  Perry was a talk given 10 years which optimistically talks about the  potential future of games, the capabilities of graphics, the amazing graphics  of the current (which have since been improved upon immensely) and the idea  that games are an extension of our own lives. There is then talk of our  ‘game’ selves and our real-life selves, how games are becoming like an  alternative reality people can really lose themselves in. There aren’t many  other forms of media that can achieve this, and I think it’s interesting to  look at games’ place in the real world and how they affect the players.

 ‘Gaming Can Make  A Better World’(McGonigal, 2010) by  Jane McGonigal talks of the positive aspects of gaming and she brings up the  concept of the ‘Epic Win’ which is the encouraging positive feeling you get  from doing well in a video game and succeeding. Almost the rush of adrenaline  and good feeling you get from winning, or conquering a challenge, and the  confidence that comes about therein. She says more people should play video  games because they’re good for people, video games can help people see the  best in themselves and if more people played video games or implemented how  they play games in the real world the world would be a better place. These  are all good talking points for the validity of games.

 ‘The Game That  Can Give You 10 Extra Years Of Life’(McGonigal, 2012) is another Jane McGonigal talk and has a similarly encouraging  and optimistic outlook but this time uses one game as a specific example (a  game called SuperBetter) and brings up the real life impact of games and  doing well at them. These effects can sometimes be unique to games. There are  ideas such as how having a quest and achieving it can manifest positively in  our mind, improving our social skills or even our happiness and overall this  can improve quality of life and even make us live longer, and she gives a  couple examples where she then says she gives everyone in the room around 7  extra seconds of life. It’s philosophical, and encourages a positives  be-good-t-yourself outlook, and all this in the context of games sounds like  another good point gained for Games.

 ‘Video Games  Turn Players Into Storytellers’(Cage, 2018) is a talk by David Cage, and outside of being a promotion for the  new-at-the-time games Detroit: Become  Human it’s an interesting talk on the narratives presented to us in video  games. If I go down this route, it could end up being similar to the argument  of why movies are art and what they had to go through in order to be  considered an art form. This is something worth considering, and perhaps I  could draw parallels between movies and games and the journeys each one has  gone to be considered a form of art. Here, Cage talks about players being  storytellers via choice-based narratives, so we get a unique tailor-made  story.

 CRITIQUE AND  EXPLANATION

 I decide to  further examine this point of players being turned into the storytellers.

Choice-based  stories are simply one type of storytelling in games yet are the most  presented example of “unique” stories possible only through games (and  perhaps game books, interactive novels, and very recent watchable media such  as Bandersnatch where you make choices as you’re watching to influence the  story) – games have done this for a while. Examples I think of are David Cage  games, Telltale Games, and some of DONTNOD’s games. There are decisions to  make to further the narrative. But games have been doing this since even the  90s, telling you different stories and giving you different endings based on  decisions presented to you throughout.

I believe this  can sometimes be considered the illusion of a tailor-made narrative, as the  experience isn’t wholly unique to you, and most of the time with games like  this it all comes down to the same final choice anyway or you even get the  same ending.

I don’t think  different narratives being presented to us is the only way video games tell  stories. I think we influence the story we are told by other less obvious  factors whether it be the characters we select, the directions we take, the  missions we do or the weapons we use.

Of course, there  are some amazing stories told through games, with examples such as God of  War, The Last of Us, Nier: Automata, Final Fantasy, Bioshock and Metal Gear  Solid etc. and there are endless discussions on whether games tell these  stories more effectively than other forms of media.

But I  additionally argue that games can make you the storyteller without handing  you a predetermined narrative.

I’m reminded of  a video I saw in 2017 from GameSpot’s “Reboot” series of game-based video  essays, it was about the then-new Playerunknown’s Battlegrounds and it was  ‘How PUBG Makes You The Storyteller’(Mahardy and Dekker, 2017), this game was an open-world competitive Battle Royale inspired  game where you aim to be the last man standing in 20-30 minute sessions.  There’s no narrative, no backstory, no ‘characters’, and yet people come away  from this with a wealth of stories to tell after they’ve played it. No match  is the same, and how you play and experience is your’s alone and it’s all  about the story you’re telling. There are so many other games like this,  where it’s all about the unique experience. Even games with narratives are  capable of this. As are games meant just for fun, or games meant for telling  your own stories (think along the lines of The Sims and such)

My point was:  You don’t need to be told a story, to tell a story. (with video games)

But then I got to  thinking, is this what makes them art? Is storytelling what I care about in  games?

So I end up  thinking about what’s important in games, is it the story told, or having an  experience? Does this make it art.

It depends on  the definition of art. I personally think games can be art if their intention  is to make you feel something, but then some people such as  Roger Ebert said (famously) that video games can never be art (Ebert, 2005).

Are games art?

Do I want to go  down the route of validating games as art? This is a conversation that’s been  had many times and is not something new. I don’t even know if I’d be able to  contribute anything new to this discussion. So, instead, what more  specifically can I talk about?

I adjust my  focus, starting with the Chis Melissinos book “The Art of Video Games: From  Pac-Man to Mass Effect” – there’s a quote on the blurb which reads “Video  games: Where art, culture, reality, and emotion collide”  (Melissinos, 2012), perhaps this is the focus I  should have.

I could talk  about the capabilities of games and the possibilities they have to invoke  feeling, be unique, give a sense of reward and purpose while connecting,  intriguing, and educating people.

Do I want to  write an essay on simply Why Games Are Good though?

 ACTION PLAN

 More research.  Play devil’s advocate and argue the case against games and see what negatives  people have to say about games. Ask questions and get real opinions on games.  Make comparisons (such as games vs movies) and also read some more books with  intent to get inspiration on something to talk about. Find more direction.

Work on some  case studies and focus on some specific examples of games that are important.

Consider a  question as a starting point, such as “can video games make you cry?”, “can  video games change your life?” or a statement such as “video games: the  interactive art form” so there’s not so much an “is-it-or-isn’t-it” issue in  the background of my subject.

There is also  the possibility of changing my idea and scrapping this. So I will give further  thought to my previous ideas and see if something happens to click, though I  am very interested in this idea and think I’m at a good starting point. And I  recognize I am only at the start, and am going to spend a long time  researching and absorbing information, some of which I have only touched on  here.

 LIST OF  REFERENCES

 Cage, D.  (2018). How video games turn players into storytellers. [online]  Ted.com. Available at:  https://www.ted.com/talks/david_cage_how_video_games_turn_players_into_storytellers    [Accessed 18 Feb. 2019].

 Caoili,  E. (2011). GameSetWatch Opinion: Brian Moriarty's Apology For Roger  Ebert. [online] Gamesetwatch.com. Available at:  http://www.gamesetwatch.com/2011/03/opinion_brian_moriartys_apolog.php  [Accessed 25 Feb. 2019].

 Ebert, R.  (2005). Why did the chicken cross the genders? | Roger Ebert.  [online] Chicago Sun Times. Available at:  https://www.rogerebert.com/answer-man/why-did-the-chicken-cross-the-genders  [Accessed 19 Feb. 2019].    Green, A. (2017). A video game to cope with grief. [online]  Ted.com. Available at:  https://www.ted.com/talks/amy_green_a_video_game_to_cope_with_grief?language=en    [Accessed 18 Feb. 2019].    Mahardy, M. and Dekker, J. (2017). Playerunknown's Battlegrounds  Makes You The Storyteller. [online] GameSpot. Available at:  https://www.gamespot.com/videos/playerunknowns-battlegrounds-makes-you-the-storyte/2300-6439887/    [Accessed 7 Dec. 2017].    McGonigal, J. (2012). The game that can give you 10 extra years of  life. [online] Ted.com. Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_the_game_that_can_give_you_10_extra_years_of_life?language=en    [Accessed 18 Feb. 2019].

 McGonigal,  J. (2010). Gaming can make a better world. [online] Ted.com.  Available at: https://www.ted.com/talks/jane_mcgonigal_gaming_can_make_a_better_world?language=en  [Accessed  18 Feb. 2019].

 Perry, D.  (2006). Are games better than life?. [online] Ted.com. Available  at: https://www.ted.com/talks/david_perry_on_videogames [Accessed  18 Feb. 2019].

 Romero, B.  (2011). Gaming for understanding. [online] Ted.com. Available at:  https://www.ted.com/talks/brenda_brathwaite_gaming_for_understanding?language=en    [Accessed 18 Feb. 2019].

 Santiago,  K. (2010). Kellee Santiago: Are Video Games Art?. [online]  YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GjKCnPQlSw&feature=youtu.be&list=WL  [Accessed  25 Feb. 2019].

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Writer's Block!

I just need about two good sentences to get this rolling; and yet, nothing comes to mind!!