Okay, so I just finished reading this and…
http://www.reaxxion.com/2540/that-dragon-cancer-is-an-anti-game-that-subtly-attacks-gaming
No. Just no.
So first off, nothing gives anyone the final end-all, be-all say on what makes what a video game. Just because a game doesn’t have win and fail states does not mean it is not a video game a few prime examples would be Oblivion, Skyrim, and Minecraft. You can’t “win” at Oblivion or Skyrim. There’s no end-all, be-all game ending win state that wraps up a player’s experience and rolls the credits; in Minecraft there aren’t even any objectives or questing. Minecraft is at its strongest when the player is building and expressing. A player rarely is worried playing Minecraft. One of the biggest worries in Minecraft is about how can they make this castle or spaceship the way they want it to look. Minecraft can be as much as game where you can kill zambies as much as it can be a toolkit for player expression, and that’s okay.
No one is praising games like Depression Quest, Gone Home, and That Dragon, Cancer because they’re better games than Call of Duty or Civilization. It’s getting its praise and attention because it is different from a lot the traditional games out there. The games about shooting zambies and terrorists are becoming routine and stagnant. Games like Gone Home and That Dragon, Cancer, the “non-games,” the “anti-games,” and the “walking simulators” are still a relative rarity in this space, games like these are providing alternatives to games that are defined by win and fail states. That is why it’s getting all the media attention. It’s new, alternative, and exciting.
But okay, fine - let’s say it is correct to say things like Gone Home and That Dragon, Cancer are not games and that it has been recognized by media outlets and players alike as interactive art projects instead. What have we gained from this? Nothing, in fact, we lose some things in the process. We lose these things of beauty. Gaming is a better space for everybody BECAUSE of games like Gone Home or That Dragon, Cancer - not in spite of it. Because those games provide more choices, games are given diversity as a medium and an art. Call of Duty can exist next to Gone Home; That Dragon, Cancer can stand beside Civilization.
No one is attacking video games, no one is trying to warp this cultural pastime that you regressively believe is still a “hobby,” and no one is saying all games should emulate games like Depression Quest and Gone Home. Anyone who is saying that is an idiot. Games aren’t exclusively for gamers; they’re for everyone.
Bolded for emphasis.
I used to bash Nintendo all the time for every new game being yet another entry in one of their core franchises, but I really can’t do that anymore after witnessing what’s become of Ubisoft, Activision and AAA Gaming in general.
At least Nintendo takes a few years break between each sequel. In the last seven years there have been twelve Assassin’s Creed games, not counting mobile games. Whereas in the last twenty-eight years, there have been nine Metroid games, not counting one remake and one pinball game.
At least each Nintendo sequel is actually different enough to warrant being made. Not just in mechanics, but in art direction, story and atmosphere too.
Show me random screenshots from random Mario, Metroid or Zelda games and I’ll be able to tell you exactly which games they’re from, and I’ve only ever played two or three games from each of those series.
Show me random screenshots from random Call of Duty, Battlefield or Medal of Honor games, and I probably wouldn’t be able to tell one series apart from another, even if you pointed it out to me.
Even Halo, one of Microsoft’s flagship franchises, has only had five core games (seven if you count Wars and ODST) in the last thirteen years. And each of those games is still more distinguishable from each other than Modern Military FPS: 2014 Edition is from Modern Military FPS: 2013 Edition.
I still think Motion Controls and 3D are overrated gimmicks though.
The obsession with fun puts games in stark contrast to other major artistic fields. Last year the Oscars deemed 12 Years a Slave no less praiseworthy for not being very fun to watch, while no one but the staunchest pop fanatic would suggest that lack of fun makes Radiohead’s prodigious output less accomplished. But in the world of gaming, most people want their 40 hours poured into the latest RPG epic to be an enjoyable experience. […]
But requiring games to be fun presents a serious limitation on the development of games into an art form. Games critic Leigh Alexander argued recently in her 2014 roundup that fun is no longer the most important part of a video game as it’s ‘such an arbitrary quality; my fun isn’t your fun.’
The Evil Paths of Infamous and Infamous 2 were pretty much just Cole being stupid and reckless, but this scene right here was incredibly well done.
The Hero Path of Infamous 2 is one of gaming’s best stories, and a personal favorite of mine. The characters are complex, the plot is very engaging, and the ending bittersweet. It’s one of the few stories to actually get me teary-eyed.
Not so for the Evil Path. I spent most of the time playing through it yelling at Cole for being such a colossal idiot, so this scene really caught me off-guard. Everything about it is perfect, and I wish Sucker Punch put as much effort into the rest of the Evil Path as they did with its ending.
Equality Golbat: “Games are art, and as such will be criticized based on their cultural influence.”
In the film, literature, and painting worlds, you see more than just “this is good. 8 out of 10.” Being a critic means analyzing the role a piece of art plays within the greater culture. If you want gaming to be taken seriously, take gaming seriously.
–Nidoqueen
this is making GGers super pissed keep reblogging it
Because NOT all games are “art”. Some are the equivalent of napkin doodles or just those pictures you do for fun.
It’s like saying that a home movie of your dog is the same as Citizen Kane.
NOT EVERYTHING HAS A DEEP MESSAGE TO BE DECIPHERED.
If you think it does, or should, you are a pretentious ass.
ALL games ARE art, as are napkin doodles and pictures you make just for fun.
Cheap art is art. Bad art is art. Art that appeals to the “lowest common denominator” is art.
By calling something “not art”, you are the one being pretentious.
Also, since when does something have to have a “deep meaning” (intentional or otherwise?) to warrant analysis? All art that exists both reflects ideas and perpetuates ideas. Yes, even “napkin doodles” express something from the person who made them, and entirely new thoughts may occur to the people seeing them.
If a game, however simplistic, is being sold to thousands of people then of-fucking-course it’s necessary to analyze what that game has to say, even things it didn’t intend to say. “It’s JUST a game and you’re PRETENTIOUS for reading into it!” is a cheap, transparent way to try and shame people for being critical of things that happen to be an enormous part of our culture whether you like it or not.
Does anyone know of a free program that can be used to organize files with multiple filters? Basically something like iTunes for things other than audio files.
I’ve been playing Cave Story+.
The Sacred Grounds area is a tad difficult.
PLEASE, for the love of god, if a guy named Kimani Wilson-Hunte starts following you or talking to you, DO NOT talk to him! He may seem nice at first but he’s a creep who harasses people! Please, block this guy and tell everyone you know to block him too, even if you’re not in this fandom! He’s meeting people he meets online in person now and manipulating and taking advantage of them! This isn’t just happening to people on the internet anymore! Whatever you do, DO NOT interact with this guy or talk to him! He finds people to talk to in other fandoms too so please don’t ignore this! Even if you’re friends with him and are doubting that any of this is true, I promise you, I, nor his several other victims, would never lie about something like this, please pass this on and block him before someone else gets used and hurt by him.
Please block these accounts asap: kimaniwilsonhuntencfan on tumblr, spooflover94 on instagram/snapchat, kwilsonhunte on twitter and this is his youtube. And please advise your friends to block him too.
If anyone knows of any other accounts he might have, please add them or message them to us. Stay safe, everyone.<3
