in search of the poetic and lyrical in video games
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Although I recognize that the readership here is international, I do owe some amount of recognition for Canadian writers, gamers, and fellow agent provocateurs. That being said, Carrington Vanston has continually impressed me with his 1 MHz Apple ][ podcast. I’m equally impressed by some of his writing on video games. Critical yet fair, the insights he has into video games always provide me with the kinds of creative inspiration necessary to think deeper about gaming.
Imagine sitting in a private room of a smoky nightclub at the turn of the 20th century: the lingering flints of ice in your glass of scotch have disappeared into the tawny depths, your stash of cigars is running dangerously low, and the conversation that began with The Great Train Robbery of 1855 has drifted towards… topics of dubious morality. A man at a nearby table cat-calls at the waitress who turns and returns a sultry wink. You drunkenly stumble towards a table in the far corner of the room. The shadowy inhabitants push a chair over in welcome.
The bearded man in the top-hat leans back and says, “Have a seat. We are discussing the intricacies of Sophocles, Goethe, and Zelda. We call it The Game Cabaret.”
“Why yes. Yes, indeed. In fact, my dear colleague was just commenting on his recent viewing of the motion picture Cabaret and its use of psychological realism. You really must view a celluloid some time – they are quite stimulating!”
Ashamed, you confess that you have not been to viewing of one of those newfangled photographic contraptions yet.
The balding man to your right turns to you and exclaims, “Ah, but then you must try video games! They are quite superior! Why, I was just speaking to my colleagues about repressed homoeroticism in R-Type. I am a reader of Freud, mind you. Care for a cigar?”
At that, the table erupts in laughter.
“My dear colleagues! Let’s not trouble our new friend! Please, have another scotch and join our discussion at your leisure.”
Although Keira posted a comment several months ago in response to the rather dystopian sketch I scribbled of the BioWare sale, I accidentally overlooked her blog, Write the Game, until recently. A writer, musician, composer, and seasoned gamer among other things, Keira Peney has the uncanny ability of consistently writing thoughtful and organized articles.
I’ve spent the last few days reading her impressive back-catalogue of posts and while I think all of them are certainly worth your time, her six-part composition on the history of video games stood out for me. These articles demonstrate Keira’s intimate knowledge of retro games, a keen eye for details, and impeccable research skills. For someone born in 1984 (the year of King’s Quest I, Championship Lode Runner, and Seven Cities of Gold) she sure as hell knows her Dune II and Command and Conquer – two games that I spent countless hours playing and subsequently debating about with my junior high school friends. If you’re at all interested in reading a thoughtful piece on the history of video games (and their developers) with some interesting analyses, be sure to read the entire series of articles (start at the bottom).
Edit: Keira posted a reply to the lively ongoing discussion started by Michael over the Brainy Gamer on “photorealism” in video games. I’m hoping to continue the discussion in my next post, and attempt to outline some new ideas on the subject.
Martin, author of Digital Tools Magazine, recently contacted me and I wish I had found his site sooner! Martin’s short and eclectic articles bring together an impressive range of writing, from in-depth interviews with a wide range of developers, to technical inspirations normally found in the workshop of a mad clockmaker. His interests in the mechanical, retro, conceptual, and algorithmic, should inspire any fellow artist or creative mind to pursue their own unique development style. I found his how to make games article particularly interesting because he describes four very different methods of development that generate, in my opinion, four very different kinds of games. It goes without saying that certain kinds of games demand certain development methods – for instance a 50-hour RPG won’t be very interesting if all you do is spend your time on the engine without a strong, suitable narrative (ahem, I’m looking at you Oblivion!).
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Every once in a while I come across a thoughtful, well-written blog that I keep up with. Recently, I came across Doc Love’s rather unassuming blog. Like Michael’s thoughts over at the Brainy Gamer, Doc Love reflects upon the past, present and future of video games as a gamer and a cultural scholar. The latest post focuses on understanding the experience of playing Half-Life 2 – through the lens of dystopian literature and film, and through an examination of the player’s part in assuming the role of the protagonist Gordon Freeman. The links Doc Love draws between Blade Runner, Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four, and the game are all apt of course, but I am more struck by the way the article is framed through Barthes’s essay Death of the Author. Read the rest of this entry »
Last week I got an e-mail from Michael over at The Brainy Gamer, and I was thrilled to find another author interested in both the arts and video games. He started writing in August, and he already has a fairly large collection of articles available for your perusal. The articles themselves are absolutely worth your time, and go far beyond mere opinion pieces or news items – something I immediately look for when I read an article,
Why don’t mainstream media outlets like Time and the NYTimes get video games? Why do they so regularly and predictably fail to get beyond the worn out Pong / Pac-Man / Mario reference points?
I think it’s because most of them rely on a 19th century model of journalism that continues to define what the news looks like today. Journalists and editors tend to use three basic criteria when determining what they will deem “newsworthy” – conflict, novelty, and prominence. J-School 101 dictates that a story about a video game is worth writing only if it meets one or more of these standards. {more here}
And not to mention prolific! Somehow he manages to pump out an article every day. His articles cover the entire gamut of video game culture – from mainstream games, to indie games, design and production, artwork, storytelling, politics, and (you’ll find) … his loathing for Halo 3 (agreed!). And mostly importantly – it’s refreshing to find an academic who actually has a history of playing video games [and still plays regularly] and is not just a ‘ludological theoretician’!
Anyhoo, I’m not trying to up-sell you here – The Brainy Gamer speaks for itself and I’m enjoying the reading so far.
As for the Artful Gamer – I apologize for the large lag between posts. I’ve been recruited to serve as the Best Man at a wedding for a friend of mine, and those duties (aside from marking 10000 midterm exams) have obliterated my opportunities to write. Coming soon is my review of Ultima VIII: Pagan, an interview with the creator of now-defunct indie MMORPG “Omega Syndrome”, and a short article on pencil’n'paper roleplaying games.
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