Can video games be considered works of art? That’s the question on the minds of the New York Geeks in this double-length episode. Come with us as we amble through a discussion that covers a history of art and gaming, criticism, context, artists’ intent, and Mortal Kombat.
We also finally reveal the winner of our second “Would You Rather?” contest, as well as kick off the third. If you’ve got a good answer, make sure to e-mail it to us at thegeeks@nygeekcast.com.
Show Notes:
- Nude snow sculpture in Rahway leads police to request ’snowlady’ cover-up
- Skinput turns your arm into a touchscreen
- Nude York, NY on The Brow Blog
- DICE 2010: “Design Outside the Box” Presentation
- Roger Ebert initial comments
- Roger Ebert follow-up article
- “High Art”
- Alphonse Mucha
- Jackson Pollock
- “Fountain” by Marcel Duchamp
- Larry Hama
- The Ten-Cent Plague by David Hajdu
- Katamari Damacy
- Rez
- Flower
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Metroid Prime
- Braid
- Henry Darger
- History of Activision
- Math Rock
- Cartoon Brew article mentioning “Digital Technicians”
- Tom Smolenski blog post about pencils
- Wacom Cintiq
- Pointillism
- Gerhard Richter
- John Currin
- Snow (Girl buys Coffee) on Destructoid
- Don’t Shit Your Pants
- “Betty” by Gerhard Richter
- Phil Hale
- Mahler’s 8th Symphony
- The Room
- Noby Noby Boy
- Facebook Games
- MMORPG
- Second Skin (film)
- Get Your War On
- L.H.O.O.Q. by Marcel Duchamp
I find if funny that a lot of people abstain from playing MMORPGs because they feel that the game is expensive, addictive and that it can ruin their lives. In reality an average person probably far more likely to become addicted to alcohol than an MMO. Alcohol is probably just as addictive, if not more so, than playing an online game.
There are 11 million people playing WOW right now. If you look up the number of people that drink world wide you will find it to be a round 2 billion. Two billion is a really high number considering that alcohol can damage you liver and lead to a premature death. But people still go out drinking after work or school to be social and to have fun. Some people even choose to get behind the wheel of a car afterwords and risk ruining the lives of others besides their own.
Alcohol can be more expensive than MMO’s too. A Drink can cost you 4 dollars in a bar in nyc, but one isn’t enough to get you buzzed. Lets say you you buy 3 glass and you spend a total of 12 dollars. Some MMO subscriptions can cost you 12 dollars a month to play, so it costs about the same amount. Except, that this is 12 dollars in one week not one month. If you go out after work every week your gonna blow more money on alcohol than the average MMO player will.
It seems the only stories you hear are the ones where people have become addicted quit their jobs and have their lives ruin by online games. I think its because those stories sell better and the media thinks there more intersting to report.
But MMO’s aren’t as bad as people make them out to be, So long as you play them responsibly!
Well said, Joe. I think the thing to keep in mind is: everything in moderation.
Glad to be on the show.
Sorry if I painted MMO’s as a dangerous genre, I meant to give examples of the ways my life has been enriched by that experience…
I just listened to it, and it was a good listen, and I’m glad most of it stayed in. Even still, I feel like there is more to say, but that is the nature of this beast.
Will be plugging it on the next b4b ep.
Cheers Geeks!
Hey, just started listening to this episode, but that disclaimer is scary. You guys sound like you’re about to break the news that someone just died.
Finished it! It took three days, but it was worth it. A good discussion. Mark and Sarah both said some great things that I found myself nodding along with. Ultimately art for me is about a dialogue. The larger the dialogue, the better the art. Therefor I think that games not only have the potential to be art, they have the potential to be the greatest art of all. Noby Noby Boy intrigued me as a step in the right direction as far as creating games-that-foster-community-dialogue-and-are-therefor-art… unfortunately I didn’t actually enjoy that game. But I think we’ll be seeing a lot more like it. And I think that’s a good thing.
That is one of my favorite paintings. Nice choice.