Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Video Games = Art

The flames begin to surround me, and I know that I do not have much time. Panicking, I shoot a blue portal at a ledge nearby and an orange portal at a wall to the left of me. I jump to the left quickly emerging on the upper platform. I have survived yet another of GLaDOS’es maniacal attempts to kill me.

If you haven't played Portal I highly recommend in doing so. 

In only a couple of seconds I have been engaged in a way that no other medium can. And yet, many people still haven’t accepted video games as a legitimate art form. Why is it that a person could spend a whole day reading a book and seen as brainy, and yet, another person could spend a whole day playing a video game and they would be seen as “a no life”?
 His Nintendo 64 isn't even plugged into anything. 

It’s simply because of the games dominating the market. What does the average person see when they walk into their local GameStop? Posters for games like; Gears of War, Call Of Duty, Halo and God of War, all displaying these macho male fantasies. Or games like; Bayonetta, X-Blade, Heavenly Sword, Tomb Raider and Dead or Alive, all of which display highly sexualized women

 This doesn't help our image guys.

 Games will never advance as an artistic medium unless companies start taking risks. The world of gaming needs more Portals, Mirrors Edges and Amnesia: The Dark Descents. Video games will  only continue to be seen as a toy for the easily entertained and juvenile if we don't.

We can do better than this.

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