Topic: Nintendo Life Playstation 3 Fan Thread

I'm more offended that I'm being lumped in with the idiots who bother responding to Ebert's blantant trolling. It's not that I have a narrow definition of art, it's that I don't want someone trying to make a point when I'm trying to be entertained, especially if its something I'm paying $60 for. I look to other mediums for ideas, simply because there's nothing else those mediums can offer me. Video games, though, can offer much more than just someone's idea. It can provide the type of fun I can't get from any other medium - one that I can interact with and enjoy on an active level. I don't want to lose gaming just because a bunch of eggheads want to make it into "interactive art" or whatever.

Who said anything about "losing gaming?" If art and entertainment can co-exist happily in other mediums, why the assumption that it can't with games? Activision isn't out there scrambling to dump Call of Duty because Journey sold pretty well. Ubisoft isn't going to drop Assassin's Creed to make a From Dust every year and Nintendo isn't going to replace Super Mario Brothers with Pandora's Tower as its main property. And in all three cases, nor should they.

All I'm saying is there's signs out there that there is an appetite for interactive art. It's not just a matter of forming a critical atmosphere that a game doesn't need the joyous simplicity of a Mario Brothers game before it can be a "good" game. At the moment there just isn't an equivilent of a magazine/ Website that focuses on the idea of games as art, like there is academic film and book publications. That'll come about the same time that it becomes possible to critically study games at university, I guess.

Just stopping in to say hi! Been internetless for a while from moving and such, but I'm back up and running. Don't have much to play with many of you all, as always, but just saying.

I wondered where'd you been! Welcome back!

Tell us how you really feel?

http://www.joystiq.com/2012/04/22/splash-damage-brink-sales-e...

How did Brink sell so well? It's so bad.

It's cheap. I have seen it at Walmart for $15 and cheaper on Amazon. People are willing to take the gamble at that price.

something that isn't good is popular? What new form of madness is this?!

Actually it's not very popular. What Splat said, it's dirt cheap and people are willing to try it out for a low price.

Besides when was the last time a bad game sold very well (PlayStation 3 wise) ?

Depending on who you talk too heavenly sword hits right in.

I always hoped deep in my heart that Heavenly Sword didn't sell well.

Thanks for that, it was a great read!

While this is a far cry from what you're suggesting, Portal is actually taught at this college: http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2010/08/portal-bo...

@Mickeymac Believe or not, I play games for other reasons than to have "fun." Passage isn't fun at all; in fact it can be heartbreaking, but that doesn't mean it can't be a great piece of interactive art. I would put it and Jason Rohrer's other prominent work in my top 10 games of all time. I know you don't like thought-provoking games, but that doesn't mean there isn't a place for them.

I actually found most of Jason Rohrer's works to be fun, and put them up there with Journey and Flower as games that found a middle ground between expression and fun. Yes, they're gameplay is simple, but that can be fun and rewarding, too, if done right.

Whoa Nellie! I even looked this guy up and everything, yet still managed to confuse him for two completely unrelated individuals, Daniel Benmergui and Terry Cavanagh. My bad. I haven't even heard of Jason Rohrer actually, but Inside a Star Filled Sky looks pretty messy, though certainly not artsy either. Isn't it just supposed to be a rogue-like shooter?

watching someone play through Heavy Rain's action scenes (using the Move!) is more fun than a lot of games, I can say that much.

So how about that new Harley Quinn DLC coming for Batman Arkham City?

@Swiket When I first saw it I thought it was fake boxart, no joke.

@Mickeymac I love Terry Cavanagh, though I'm still debating whether I think VVVVVV is art or not. Don't Look Back certainly is.

Inside a Star-filled Sky is not what I meant by "Jason Rohrer's prominent works," but I'll take the blame for not specifying which ones I meant. On a side note, I really loved the 30 min. or so I played of that game, but it's not on the level of his other stuff, mostly because it's much more game-y. Passage, like I said above, and Gravitation are the two that I would put "up there" in terms of engaging experiences as the former is laden with symbolism that can be applied to different people's lives in different ways and as such is very personal, and the latter is all about creative highs and lows and will mess with your emotions in crazy ways. You can download those two for free online or as part of his DSiWare anthology.

VVVVVV is a work of art if you consider masterful excecution an art. Some of the best and most creative level designs out there.

Anyways, I'll likely skip out on Passage, Symbolism is my mortal enemy. (so many english tests and papers failed over it...) I might take on Gravitation as a challenge someday. There's no such thing as a game that can make me feel any emotion other than happiness or hatred.

I, for one, 100% believe that videogames are a perfect medium for art, and that goes for the soundtracks too. I play games for one reason, the experience. Gaming allows you to experience a full range of emotions, just as you get from other entertainment forms, but for me, gaming is a more personal experience. I see the artist work in the games I play. I spend time stopping to admire their work, just as I turn the volume up and let their music flow completely throughout me for a full immersion. I actually love my chosen entertainment form that is gaming, and that's why I spend the small bits of time I get free in life to share my experiences.

I think it's worth mentioning that Mass Effect 3 is 50% off on Amazon right now.