Video Games Girls
Video Games Are Beyond Art
Written by Podunker:Number 905
Roger Ebert recently wrote a piece about video games, proclaiming, quite boldly, that it is a medium that will never be art. I could sit here and say that this is a standard case of an older generation dismissing the work of a younger generation. I could bore you to death with an analysis of how the argument he presents is contradictory and flawed, and how largely reliant it is on cherry-picked definitions.
In reality, I don’t care much about Ebert’s piece. What I find far more interesting is the backlash from the gaming community. It’s easy to dismiss it as childish rage, but there’s a reason behind the outcry. I think anyone that considers video games as a hobby feels such a reaction to Ebert’s words because they know that video games have something that art can never have: a psychological attachment.
Most of art is passive. You read a poem, watch a play, or listen to an album. The most activity that you’ll get will be automatic: you create images of the people and places in a book based on descriptions, or you start to wonder how the plot of a movie will unfold. Those are natural reactions, though, and it’s never hard to remember what you are. You’re an observer. You are experiencing something from a removed perspective.
Video games, though, give us something that art does not: an active role. We are Master Chief, fighting aliens threatening humanity. We are Kratos, a fallen god seeking revenge on those who have wronged us. We are Link, a humble boy on a quest to save the princess and the land of Hyrule. We might not always recognize it, but we are connected to the characters we control. Their struggle to reach Bowser’s Castle becomes a part of us, even if we’re just looking to get past world 6-2.
As an example of how this connection works, let’s take a look at a scene from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. If you’ve not played it, you may want to skip this paragraph, because what follows is a spoiler. Early in the game, we lead Sergeant Paul Jackson through a Middle Eastern country and are tasked with rescuing a stranded squad. After fighting through waves of resistance, we finally come upon the team and prepare to evacuate them to safety. On the departure, though, we watch from the back of the helicopter as a mushroom cloud springs up. We experience the chopper spinning out of control, alarms blaring. The screen goes black. We then hear the whistling of the wind and the pounding of our heart as a ravaged helicopter interior comes into focus. We crawl, slowly, out of the vehicle, and onto a destroyed city street, full of wreckage and fire. And then we stop, look up, and everything goes white. The imagery is potent and so is the shock that our character has perished. The real power, though, is that it’s not just Sergeant Jackson who has died. We have as well.
It may seem like the above scenario is no different than a scene from a war movie. There is a difference, though, and it’s the key difference between video games and art. Watching the storming of Omaha Beach in Saving Private Ryan, what we feel is out of sympathy. We relate what we are seeing to our life and respond accordingly. What we feel from games, though, is out of empathy. While we might see parallels to our lives, what we feel is from experiencing events through our character’s perspective. We feel deep despair as we watch a flower girl slain in front of us. We feel wide-eyed wonderment as our avatar enters a new zone, sprawling with unfamiliar creatures, locations, and fresh opportunities. We feel excitement and adrenaline as we square off against a worthy opponent, triumphing in the end with an unexpected uppercut after being knocked down.
Games aren’t art and maybe they never will be. But they hold a power of their own, one beyond the scope of art. While other mediums are limited to visuals and sounds, games allow for interaction. We aren’t a passive observer. We’re the ones in control, even if we are moving down a set story. It’s what makes our victories all the more exhilarating, and our failings all the more crushing. It’s the human element, that psychological connection, which not only makes games captivating, but sets them beyond any other medium.
About the Author
Game Podunk is an avid game community boosting positive gaming while helping gamers make informed decisions related to the changes of the industry. What does positive gaming mean to you? Join our community to discuss now.
My Trip to Spain + Beautiful Young Girls.
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