Can Games Be Art (Dot Com)

[icycalm]

Hello Alex,

I just had the pleasure of stumbling upon your site, and I took notice of your article entitled "Can Games Be Art, and Other Childish Nonsense". First and foremost, I thought the article was gripping and interesting. Well done. Actually, that is particularly why I am contacting you. My friend and I have recently launched a website dedicated to the same topic, video games as art. Our site, Games Can Be Art (www.gamescanbeart.com) is a collection of essays about exceptional video games that celebrate their individual accomplishments and reflect on the influence and inspiration they have provided. Beyond that, we are beginning to amass a collection of captivating journalism that explores the idea of video games as art on a broader scale. We've only been on the web for a month, but in this short time, we've begun to stretch our legs, and we are now looking to grow the community.

I've contacted you for two reasons. Before I begin, I'd like to pause to tell you I admire your writing and the content therewith. You have an impressive collection of essays on video game culture, and it is very clear that you are writing with purpose. I'd first like to as you to take a look at our website, and, if you enjoy what you see, please tell your colleagues and friends to do the same. Second, I'd love to have some of your writing published in our "Features" section, and displayed on our home page. We are actively seeking out talented writers, and if it would please you, we would love to have you write something for our site, or lend something of your choosing for our readers to digest. Whatever you choose, I'd be privileged to have more informed and motivated writers on our site.

Thanks for your consideration. Again, well done with your site and the essays you've collected.

Kind Regards,
Trevor Duwyn

First thing on my mind was: what a dumb idea for a website. But I clicked on the link just for the hell of it, even though I fully expected the site to live up to its retarded name. The frontpage had a revolving header with what seemed to be like reviews of famous games. Baldur's Gate caught my eye, so I clicked on that, and got as far as the second sentence:

hundreds of hours worth of gameplay

Igoring the lameplay fagotry, Baldur's Gate, even including its expansion pack, is barely a hundred-hour game -- more like 80 I'd say. Whoever takes "hundreds of hours" to finish this game is -- guess what! -- that's right: A FAGOT.

So yeah. This is how far I managed to get with your site, and this is my judgement of it: a fagot website.

And lol at the idea that I would ever have anything to do with fagots or their sites.

[icycalm]

And my article was "gripping", lol.

Fucking fagets.

[icycalm]

Baldur’s Gate may be the single best example of how the video game medium can be used to successfully create a compellingly vivid glimpse into a preestablished fictional universe

lol

Why don't you gays do mankind a favor and just download some porn instead of furiously filling the internets with your mind-bewildering nonsense?

[icycalm]

I spent a few more minutes on the site to provide a more "balanced" critique.

It is really fucking terrible. The text is almost illegible -- they use gameplay every other sentence. The reviews are like four paragraphs each and all they do is regurgitate some shit from Wikipedia. There's really no analysis whatever. I am actually offended that these fagots could imagine I would ever have anything to do with them.

[icycalm]

http://gamescanbeart.com/2010/03/08/if- ... e-artists/

It’s a shame to see such brilliant reflections of the world we live in – such as the Oddworld and Metal Gear Solid series - all but ignored by the art community

This is even better than Select Button. We have a new champion of artfagotry, gentlemen.

[icycalm]

Alex,

It has recently come to my attention that my friend Trevor Duwyn, who comprises the entire staff of Games Can Be Art other than myself has recently contacted you. You responded by posting a lengthy bit of nastiness in your forums about us and calling us "fags" several times. While I am certainly disappointed that the content of our website was so repulsive to you, I seem to be at a loss for what exactly made you so upset. You pointed out several things such as the short length of the majority of our articles and our lack of analysis in them, but at this point the site's main purpose is to build a lengthy go-to list for some of the best achievements in gaming over the years. What we're planning to do is building a community in which people can celebrate their favorite games with memories and perspectives of their own and create a very positive environment for praising games that have brought good to the world.

Your website's goal and purpose is very different than ours. You are intent on tearing into the meat of video games and exposing your own personal philosophy on what makes good games, and I deeply respect that. In fact, for the most part, I find your writing to be quite fascinating. But I'm a very positive person, and I find things to celebrate and enjoy and like to share them with the world. You may call me an "Artfag" or whatever term you wish, but that's just because our definitions of the word are different. My personal definition of art is something that is created to be shared and enjoyed with other humans as its primary purpose, and I think thousands of games fit that description perfectly. I do find plenty to criticize in many of the games I play, but there are already so many review sites out there, so I am trying to provide a completely different approach to gaming journalism.

You are obviously a very intelligent person and I would like to discuss a few topics with you, if you would permit me. I also would like it if you didn't publish this e-mail like you did with Trevor's, but if you do, that's fine. It wouldn't upset me.

The main thing I want to discuss with you on (hopefully) friendly terms is your dislike of the word "Gameplay." I find that Gameplay is a necessary word when describing video games. It's the word that defines the interactivity and playability of a given game. You mention that saying a game has good gameplay is the same as saying that a game is good, but I do not find this to always be the case. I think gameplay is one of the most important aspects of a game, but not synonymous with the game itself. The best example I can think of would be Killer7, one of my favorite games. By all accounts, the game has subpar gameplay, but its story, characters, visuals, music, and unique method of interaction and progression all make it stand out as an exemplary game. I would like to discuss the topic further.

Also, when I said Baldur's Gate has hundreds of hours of gameplay, I was including the fact that the game is incredibly replayable due to the open-ended nature of its design.

Hopefully, you will respond to this in a reasonable fashion instead of just calling me a fag a bunch, so we can actually talk about the industry that we both so obviously love. If not, oh well, at least I tried. And don't think I'm trying to butter you up or get on your good side because I'm intimidated by you, because I'm not. I just recognize that you are a man with a deep understanding of the words you speak and would like to hear more about them.

Sincerely,
Jeff Hoch
Games Can Be Art

P.S. Did your love of philosophy first get sparked from sharing a last name with a renowned theologian?

While I am certainly disappointed that the content of our website was so repulsive to you, I seem to be at a loss for what exactly made you so upset.

That's what happens when you have such poor reading comprehension skills.

You pointed out several things such as the short length of the majority of our articles and our lack of analysis in them, but at this point the site's main purpose is to build a lengthy go-to list for some of the best achievements in gaming over the years.

How the fuck are you supposed to figure out the "best achievements in gaming over the years" if you can't even scribble down a half-decent piece of analysis on them? -- And lo and behold, YOU CAN'T! Your list, at least so far, is terrible, and it's doubtless only going to get worse.

What we're planning to do is building a community in which people can celebrate their favorite games with memories and perspectives of their own and create a very positive environment for praising games that have brought good to the world.

Well, in that case you might want to take a look at some other sites with "a very positive environment for praising games that have brought good to the world":

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platfor ... m?q=arkham

Your website's goal and purpose is very different than ours.

lol

You are intent on tearing into the meat of video games and exposing your own personal philosophy on what makes good games, and I deeply respect that.

"My own personal philosophy", lol. You probably think that philosophy is like Xbox 360 faceplates: every person can have his very own personal one, lol. There are even custom limited edition ones floating around: look for them on ebay.

and I deeply respect that.

I know people whose HATRED I value more than your respect.

But I'm a very positive person

That's why you are such an idiot.

My personal definition of art is

No one gives a shit -- and guess why? BECAUSE YOU ARE AN IDIOT.

I do find plenty to criticize in many of the games I play, but there are already so many review sites out there, so I am trying to provide a completely different approach to gaming journalism.

Yes, a dumbed-down version of IGN for christsakes.

You are obviously a very intelligent person and I would like to discuss a few topics with you, if you would permit me.

A conversation can take place between you and me to the same extent that it can take place between me and a dog. It's a strictly one-way affair: you bark and I talk.

I also would like it if you didn't publish this e-mail like you did with Trevor's, but if you do, that's fine. It wouldn't upset me.

As if I would care if it did. You are spamming my inbox with nonsense: if you expect me to not at least share it with my friends for laughs you will be disappointed. If I am going to waste five minutes making fun of you, I want to at least share this with other people. And hey, by your definition of art my response to you is an artwork, lol.

I find that Gameplay is a necessary word when describing video games.

Of course you do, since you are a bumbling fucking moron. You even capitalize random nouns for no reason whatever: the mark of a bona fide moron.

Man, I just don't have the energy to reply to any more of your shit. It's all just so depressingly idiotic. Why don't you try jumping off a cliff and writing an essay about that? I look forward to reading it on your website.

[Marble]

These guys are funny.

What we're planning to do is building a community in which people can celebrate their favorite games with memories and perspectives of their own and create a very positive environment for praising games that have brought good to the world.

And how are you meant to do this? By writing articles spanning entire pages that contain no more substance than "This game is good," is that how?

Kirby's Adventure is supposedly art (haha) but perish the thought of explaining why it "plays like a dream compared to most other 3rd generation platformers out there." If all you want is a community where people mindlessly praise things without understanding why, then you might wanna ditch the website and just buy a talking bird or something.

My personal definition of art is something that is created to be shared and enjoyed with other humans as its primary purpose

Imagine how incoherent conversation would be if we all took this approach and gave each word our own personal definition for no reason.

One of the reasons why this definition is retarded is because it judges games based on the intentions of those involved in the making rather than, you know, the quality of the fucking game. This definition by the way, potentially contradicts your site unless you have a really good way of finding out why games are created. My bet is that most of the games you've written about were created purely to make money, and that the people involved don't give two shits about sharing with other humans unless doing so makes their wallets fatter.

I do find plenty to criticize in many of the games I play, but there are already so many review sites out there, so I am trying to provide a completely different approach to gaming journalism.

Nah man, pretty sure if I looked hard enough I could probably find a few sites out there that contain articles spanning entire pages that contain no more substance than "This game is good."

I find that Gameplay is a necessary word when describing video games. It's the word that defines the interactivity and playability of a given game.

lol man, in the Killer 7 example you use "gameplay" basically as if it were a synonym for "mechanics" and then when discussing Baldur's Gate you say "Baldur's Gate has hundreds of hours of gameplay" where you decide the term means something completely different.

Also, when I said Baldur's Gate has hundreds of hours of gameplay, I was including the fact that the game is incredibly replayable due to the open-ended nature of its design.

Anyway, to make sense here the whole sentence needs rewording: "I played Baldur's Gate for hundreds of hours." I mean, fucking every game ever can potentially be played for hundreds of hours because of being "incredibly replayable." Or is there a game out there that spontaneously combusts once you reach the end credits?