Art or Entertainment?

[Zifnab]

I just don't see it. Sorry. When I played Asheron's Call or Everquest (never really spent more than a few minutes on UO), it never really seemed like art. Sure the backdrop was pretty and the music was nice (for a while at least) but in the end I think these games come closer to a 'chose your own adventure' book than any sort of Art (or art) I've ever seen.

Perhaps it's just my naive perspective. Perhaps I'm not cultured enough to see the link. Perhaps, but for me it's a game just like any other. If you want to see Art games, play Myst or Zork. Those were gripping artistic masterpieces - the likes of which resemble <insert lesser known famous artsy people mentioned in the article who's names I'm not even going to try to remember much less spell>. The MMOGs of today may be badly programmed, they may be linear and boring, they may be a pain to play through or a burden to socialize in, but they're a far cry from what I would term Art. They are, in fact, about what I expect in entertainment to be brutally honest. You're given a series of quests [do X to get A to bring to location Y to please Mr. B to get to point Z] and to 'win' the game you must complete them successfully dieing as little as possible. After playing some FF games and Diablo and Mario Bros. 3 it all looks remarkably similar. The objectives may change, the graphics may look better, the world may be 1000x more interactive, but in the end it's entertainment plain and simple. In fact what Everquest reminds me of more than anything is a Themepark. You pay your ticket and gain access to a variety of attractions from the simple ferris wheel to the ultra twister. Most people work themselves up from piddly kid rides to the monsters uber-coasters. At the end of the day you either run out of time or run out of rides and you head home. I could drag this analogue out even further, but for your collective benifits I won't. This post is rant enough on its own I think (I hope I made you proud Jessica :D ). Point being, if Everquest is Art then so is that picture of the Virgin Mary done out of Elephant fesses. Either way I can't help but think it was done more out of shock value for a momentary gasp than for any real artistic longevity.

[Seceres]

Sure that could be art :P. May not be art I approve of, but ok if that is what someone wants to do. I am saying that, if you look at Anarchy Online as it is now, it is BEUTIFAL. It is amazing, and looks amazing. It draws you in, it is a mystical world. I see the internet as an oppurtunity to create a virtual on-line utopia, it opens up new ways of thinking..new possibilities, new everything. I mean, think of the social simulations we can now generate. The Sims Online will be amazing, and I look forward to it like Ultima Online. I love the community aspect, and this is a big aspect of it. The Internet is changing the world. I just see some of it as art, because truthfully if you are using tools to make something that is art. Everquest may not be art per se, but Anarchy Online looks alot like some art. It involves the art of building, the art of laying out a city, and especially the concept artists view of the world. Then there is the TIME put into creating each, and every texture. It really is a combination of arts, think about it :).

[JessicaM]

Zifnab,

What you say has merit, but the column was about intentions, not the hoary old argument of Art vs. Entertainment and some of the consequences that can bring.

And you made me proud, indeed, :D

-Jess

[Seceres]

Ahh yes, sorry. I just think the two intwined, at times. I am not sure I can call Everquest art, but if it is very pretty to look at..that is not art either. Though you can't say that modern art which is often done quickly has no merit, or art that is done over along time. Alot of Bryce 3D art does not take forever. Therefore art has a broad definition, I leave it at that :). I certainly hope acting is an art, what we do here everyday (or most do, I am currently in another RP). Ofcourse then we go into roleplay as an art, I agree that the two are seperate. So as you can see, there are many arts, many ultimately not connected together. IF you ask me if Everquest is an art, I would say no. It is a cheap computer game made to make money. Anarchy Online though with the novel coming out on it, the stars, the EXCENTLY composed music comes together quiet well to form some inner feelings that art can as well.

[Atama]

Art belongs in a museum. As do certain online RPGs. ;)

[Ra'Dorcha]

Some of those museum piece RPG's are the ones I like the most. I lament the old days of Moria (or Larn if you happened to see that version), PlanetFall, and Alkabeth. It goes to the subject of why were the games made. Alkabeth and Ultima I were probably not made to bring in tons of money. I would venture to say that it was not until around Ultima 4 (or when they revamped the game engine) that they really started to make games to make money. And you can see the change that went over the series around that point.

Graphics and such of games like Final Fantasy are wonderful and can be very eye catching, but only for so long. In a few years I would imagine the over all society will grew up a bit and catch up to what the gamming community is starting to realize is more valuable. Graphics and bells and whistles are all nice and fine for a distraction, but the true challenges and fun are had when you move beyond just how something looks into how it works, more towards the aspect of developing characters and the more society building.

Just some idle musings from Ra'

[Seceres]

I do agree, social and economical structures will come into games in the future. More dynamic like a real world, not sure how I like the political aspect of it. It allows someone to live out a world that is totally different than established society. I do like it, however, I believe it is becoming a more serious aspect of culture. People may better express the things they want to truely do, such as politics or economics. Eventually one day I see a VR society as funny as that sounds. Everyone,a nd everything predicts it slightly. I mean think of our obsession with entertainment already. If VR was good enough, even older people would be into it. Imagine a fantasy world based off J.R.R Tolkien, wounderous..or is it? We would become one day one with the VR technology, never wanting to leave, like a drug. The spires of decadence are in the future, with black high buildings with only rain being the sound. Silent control rooms where green letters flash across screens showing controllers the status of the VR world. A time when the government, even the government, moves into Virtual Reality for national security. This is possible one day, and may be. Look at anime. Or atleast a data flow world. It is dangerous, it is unspiritual, and it is where we are heading. Why is it dangerous? It does not matter if you believe in the soul, or otherwise. However, if we become one with a machine, we may lose our individualism. Machines will become the prime concern of culture, and there will be little room for creativitism that cannot be conceived by the machine. There are two ways to look at it ofcourse, brightfully, and fearefully. I am not a doomsday preacher, but I am one who believes we need to tread carefully in the valley of unknown technoligies. Watching the proceedings on human cloning of a certain commitee of the house that I foreget now was like watching a bad sci-fi show.

[FantasMic]

http://www.theunderdogs.org/scratch.php
:D

[Seceres]

Yes, true, and I agree. We are under a corporate government solely concerned with profit. In other words, we are at the whim of a Corporation. It is sad, and we need revolution. I agree, yes. However, Anarchy Online is still pretty.....but the system of kill, achieve experience, etc. IS getting boring. No matter how hard they try to cover it up in pretty little baskets, the system of kill, get phatter loot, get more phatter loot, get more exp, etc. is getting booooring.