The Art of Gameplay: Art in Games vs. The Art OF Games
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- Опубліковано 7 вер 2024
- For this video, I wanted to talk about the idea of celebrating excellent gameplay AS art, instead of always using games that focus on graphics, storytelling, music, or presentation as our go-to artistic games. When people ask me what games I feel are the best examples of games as art, they're sometimes surprised when I choose games that are gameplay-driven, and maybe don't look or sound as good as some of the other more common examples. I thought it would be a good idea to put my thoughts into a video and share my line of thinking. Hope you enjoy!
Music comes courtesy of Vindsvept, which is released under Creative Commons. If you like fantasy music, Vindsvept is an unrivaled collection of high-quality tracks. Check it out here: vindsvept.band...
A list of games shown:
1,001 Spikes
Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning
The Binding of Isaac
The Binding of Isaac: Rebirth
Civilization VI
Crash Team Racing (CTR)
Dark Souls
DOOM (1993)
DOOM (2016)
Downwell
Dragon Age: Origins
Firewatch
Gone Home
Halcyon 6
Halo 3
Horizon Zero Dawn
Inside
Journey
Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic
Limbo
Mass Effect
Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch
Ori and the Blind Forest
Planet Coaster
Star Wars: Republic Commando
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim
Spyro the Dragon
Super Meat Boy
Tekken
Tekken 7
The Last of Us
Titandall 2
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Undertale
XCOM: Enemy Within
All footage taken from either official promotional material, captured by me, or contributed by friends!
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Check me out on Twitter: / theatlasone
You're right that excellent gameplay is a form of art that should be celebrated, but I think there's a simple reason as to why the term "games as art" is always referring to the qualities you see in other mediums...
Games require skill to appreciate the gameplay. I don't mean this in an elitist sense, nor mean skill as in being a master of a game's challenging gameplay. Rather, I mean that to engage with gameplay at all people need to have a grasp of the basic concepts of playing games; such as how button presses control the game, or the trope that moving to the right progresses a 2D platformer. This can actually be a real challenge for people who've never played games before, while this basic ability to play games at all is something gamers take for granted (after it is subtly learned from playing games for many years).
None of this ability is needed to appreciate the art of other mediums. Their passive nature is to their advantage, because it makes them entirely universal. You might appreciate a film's amazing cinematography more if you know all about the techniques of film-making, but even if you don't, the film's artistic qualities will still have an impact on you, just perhaps on an unconscious, emotional level you can't quite articulate.
This is why games with excellent presentation, music or graphics can easily be described as art. Someone without the skill required to play games can still look at The Last Of Us and be awed by its presentation and story, because they can relate to these elements from film. And so this is why the discussion of "games as art" always comes back to these same talking points from other mediums; because they are qualities everyone can appreciate.
I think that this is a really good take on it, and probably the most thoughtful response I've seen. Barrier of entry for the experience is something I hadn't considered before. This makes me want to talk about the way that games challenge you in a non-optional way, and how it can affect the ability to enjoy them.
I agree with you, but this is why designers should consider these things when building their worlds. They should do what they can to teach the player the mechanics and how to do good. Not to say a designers job is to hold your hand and tell you everything about the game, but its a designers job to teach you about the world they're creating, and how to move and progress through it should be taken into account.
For example, in platformers, a trick I see used often is that the levels start with players away from the direction they need to go, so at the start they literally can't go backwards. You can see it in most Mario games, even the 3d ones.
Can’t enjoy a book if you don’t know how to read.
When I think of art in video games I think of the sweet sweet sight of Macho Man Randy Savage dragons.
idk about everyone else but true art in a video game is when they add in a toilet you can flush
I truly appreciate this video. Not many people talk about this stuff. Most of them actually don't even want to listen. Keep it up!
If gameplay is art, then team fortress 2 and titanfall 2 are possibly some of the highest forms of art there is in that regard. Holy shit they are so much fun, and the mechanics of both are downright beautiful. Hats off to Respawn and Valve for focusing so much on gameplay, while still having great presentation in other regards
Great points and solid presentation. Time to add another channel to the "Thoughtful video game commentary" list.
You have no Idea how much I adore Ori and the Blind Forest. The music and the art style and the controls are all just. Amazing
This deserves more than a million views
I just want to tell you that this was an excellent video well edited, thought provoking, and enjoyable to listen to. Thanks for making it!
I’m 100% with you here. I’m not a fan of a game that’s pretty/deep for the sake of being pretty/deep. That isn’t to say that games shouldn’t strive towards this, as you said, games should strive towards all aspects. Developers can do whatever they want, and people can enjoy what they want.
In my opinion though, I always look for the gameplay first and foremost, and generally, my most favorite games are the ones with mechanically simple AND complex gameplay. Nintendo games seem to achieve this in spades, it’s why I speedrun Mario Sunshine in the first place. It’s also why I like Tetris so much, and why I find Smash Melee and fighting games in general to be so interesting. It’s why I still play Mario 64. It’s why I find Japanese rhythm games to be the most intriguing genre in all of video games because if it’s seemingly infinite skill ceiling.
Gameplay needs the recognition it deserves at least in the review space. I think eSports in general does a great job showcasing great gameplay as it should. It’s a shame that in the general public though, gameplay just isn’t looked as highly upon.
That's why SSB: Melee is so good, it's been around for 15 or so years and it will continue to be around for awhile. The game just functions so well that it is so hard to pick up another game like it. It just feels so crispy compared to most other fighters.
I disagree. Without practice the characters in Melee feel clunky imo. The free movement is still a step-up from most fighters, but the melee-like movement of Rivals of Aether feels way more polished than Melee. Most of that is because l-cancelling is a stupid mechanic
something I've been thinking about a lot is games that take the theme of the story and use mechanics to flesh the theme out. I think VVVVVV for example, has a major theme of being directionless, not knowing where to go, but going anyways, and you could get this sense from just the first area. I absolutely love the idea of seeing gameplay as an art form however, and I've made a list of games I think are masterpieces for this reason, and some of the games on this list do an amazing job of mixing theming and gameplay as well. These games are
-Undertale
-Minecraft
-Portal Series
-Shovel Knight Saga
-Duck Game
I feel like all of these games take what they're trying to be as far as they can, and do not only an amazing job of giving players fun mechanics, but teaching players the mechanics well. There are plenty of games I need to play still that I think could have a chance on this list, like Breath of the Wild and Celeste, but that's what I think for now
Inspiring.
Excellent video, many thanks!
Great video, I've learned some things from you
Afterall, games are what they are for their gameplay, for the same emotion that a playground in someone childhood can feel during a session of their favorite game.
Games present a unique tool that allows the player to be part of the adventure. Without it, it would be like any other medium.
Videogames are an interaction to someone else idea/mind. The gates to an adventure, that they allow to be part of it.
Damn this video gets really good. I hope your channel grows, it deserves it.
A video game is art when it gives you something that you can use in the real world.
Pokémon teaches kids that growing up and changing sometimes drastically is a good thing.
Good video man!
Mechanic sets that are artistic tend to be set systems that don't adapt to player skill or have many AI enemies, many single player games constantly cheat to give the player an advantage and help them for-fill a power fantasy.
---- Examples of artistic mechanics ----
Arcade games: tetras, pac man, missile command etc
Tight platforms: Super meat boy, Mario, VVVVV ect
RTS Games: WC3, SC, SC2 ect
Competitive fighters: DOA, Rivals of Aethar, Melee, Street fighter etc
Examples of mechanics that are not art, single player FPS games like Bio shock, and third person adventure games like uncharted and walking simulators like journey. These games have are in them but the mechanics are not art.
My favorite games catch me with great gameplay then I notice that they have beautiful graphics and music later
Great video and channel
This video is art
The Last of Us has shit gameplay. The story isn't anything amazing either, nor the characters. It doesn't say anything about the human nature nor does it tackle any particularly deep or interesting themes, if it has any (even tho i haven't played it in a long time im confident in this statement). It feels "cinematic" because of the way its scripted scene by scene, the way it looks and the characters react, and the scene direction, but I don't take much value in that. If you want that then make a movie, and one with a good story and message and substance.
TLoF is just pure fanservice for snobish people who think they are intelectual but don't know anything of what art is about, *MUCH* less video games, and the art *of* video games.
Btw, insta subscribe. Watched the Icons and Rivals video bc was recommended, then watched almost everything else. Ur content is just great, keep going.
Video games are kind of like ballet. Everybody can enjoy the music, but not everyone will enjoy watching people dance in tutus and underwear for no apparent reason.
5:29 I don't think beauty makes something artistic. Something I don't think you've touched on is how art can present ideas to the observer, reader, listener, or in this case player - and it doesn't have to be beautiful to do that. This argument extends into your bit at 4:21 - satisfying gameplay does not make a game artistic. Games like Inside put you in the role a kid in trouble, and the things you see and experience along the way are as important as the gameplay. Inside stands out because of how it uses all of those elements while introducing and exploring new ideas which explore new gameplay concepts, expand upon the world and convey a story at the same time.
I think you present a false dichotomy of mechanically simple games which are considered artistic and mechanically complex/challenging games which are not considered artistic. But many of the games which you used as examples use all of their components (sound, music, visuals, gameplay, etc.) to create a compelling and interesting experience. Jonathon Blow designed The Witness by removing all the elements that didn't contribute to the core ideas, design by subtraction - Downwell was designed similarly by stripping the game down to three buttons. The art OF games is utilizing every component to create a unique and singular experience (the whole becomes greater than the sum of the parts)- and that is what you get out of games like Journey, Inside, and The Witness.
Nier: Automata is an example of a more recent game that was regarded as artistic - and it has fairly traditional gameplay, but it is used in such a way that can be seriously emotionally effecting. Not going to explicitly spoil anything but I don't think any other bullet hell section has moved me to tears (if you've played the game you'll know what I'm talking about) and I can't think of a moment in recent memory that has conveyed such a strong idea and worldview through gameplay. As for a game that isn't traditionally beautiful but still regarded as artistic - the Lisa series.
I tend to agree with your second comment in regards to NieR: Automata. However, I don't agree with the point you make in the main comment. The reason is that, in my opinion, all art forms strive to convey meaning through careful use of their respective medium. For example, as the example you give with 'The Witness' the meaning is conveyed through gameplay. The discovery of another way of viewing the (game and real) world through the discovery of puzzles placed in the real word. I also think 'Papers Please' and 'Frostpunk' are excellent examples of this, conveying the despair and meaninglessness of effort within these worlds through their use of (mostly) gameplay (supported by audiovisual elements).
However, Downwell is where we disagree I think. Downwell is a marvelously crafted game, with extremely good game design. However, that being said, I would not categorize it as art. As the gameplay does not (at least so far as I can see, or have heard from the developer in interviews) convey any belief or meaning through the interaction of the work. Most games don't. Which is fine, as not all books nor movies nor paintings do (what, not all paintings are art?!). Many books and movies are *solely* created for entertainment, therefor it is not difficult to see games as just entertainment.
I am curious to see what you think of this viewpoint, and with what points you agree / disagree. Greetings, Peter.
I always thought as video game gameplay as more of well, a game. like board games, card games, things like air hockey and darts, sports like basketball or golf. And while I can talk forever on the finer points of freeze tag I don't know if I would call that art. Do we consider a game of dungeons and dragons an artform? how about something more mundane like rock paper scissors?
Great video though man subbing for that future content
Puzzles can defiantly be art, for multiplayer games you could argue that each game is art the same way that a ballet performance would be considered art. Look at some high skill SC2 games.
Is chess a work of art?
THIS
tf2
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