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What video games are works of Art?

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What video games are works of Art?

Old 03-20-01, 05:30 PM
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I don't just mean great graphics, great to play...I'm talking about the gestalt, the whole package in every aspect so fantastic that it is comparable to your favorite movie, painting, music...

The only one I can think of offhand is Ys Book I & II from the TurboGrafx16 days...10 years ago! I played through that CD-ROM game in 1 week and it captivated me throughout. The story, music, gameplay and everything just floored me, even though it would look primitive today.
Old 03-20-01, 05:59 PM
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In before the BG I & II comments!
Old 03-20-01, 06:25 PM
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Originally posted by Fhrx
In before the BG I & II comments!


Shows you how long I've been out of the video game loop...

Old 03-20-01, 06:46 PM
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Games closest to Art:

1. Trinity
2. Gabriel Knight: Sins of the Fathers
3. Loom
4. A Mind Forever Voyaging
5. Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within
Old 03-20-01, 07:08 PM
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I tend to think of games more in terms of craftsmanship than "Art". They don't really aim for some kind of higher meaning or goal beyond making money and providing a good time. Kind of like big Hollywood studio pictures. Indiana Jones is really well made, but can you honestly say that as a whole it is a work of art? (and this obviously depends on how you define art as well)

Having said that, if any games could be considered works of art, I'd say Panzer Dragoon 1 & 2 are works of art.

Amazing games...
Old 03-21-01, 09:54 AM
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I would agree with LOOM.

-Matt
Old 03-21-01, 11:32 AM
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Originally posted by Jepthah
I don't just mean great graphics, great to play...I'm talking about the gestalt, the whole package in every aspect so fantastic that it is comparable to your favorite movie, painting, music...

The only one I can think of offhand is Ys Book I & II ...
HOLY SH!T that game WAS awesome .. i totally forgot about that - they had a genesis version too and even that was great. it was kinda side-to side scrolling right? i think the one i played had a girl who charged up a sword to attack - this is the same game right?
Old 03-21-01, 01:03 PM
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Originally posted by Jepthah
I don't just mean great graphics, great to play...I'm talking about the gestalt, the whole package in every aspect so fantastic that it is comparable to your favorite movie, painting, music...

The only one I can think of offhand is Ys Book I & II from the TurboGrafx16 days...10 years ago! I played through that CD-ROM game in 1 week and it captivated me throughout. The story, music, gameplay and everything just floored me, even though it would look primitive today.
Hmmm.....

I have Y's Book I & II on the Turbo Duo, but I wouldn't call it art. But then, I don't think any console games are even *close* to being considered art (especially compared to games like Trinity, Loom and Gabriel Knight). Have you played the remake called Y's Eternal on PC DVD-ROM?

The closest to being "perfect" on the Turbo Duo are:

Snatcher
Emerald Dragon
Far East of Eden II: Manjimaru
Angel's Poem II
Dracula X: Rondo's Blood


[Edited by Grimfarrow on 03-21-01 at 11:09 AM]
Old 03-21-01, 01:09 PM
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I think The Longest Voyage has as much claim to "art" status as any well-written novel or screenplay... The old Infocom Text games had some amazing depth and scope, too...
Old 03-21-01, 01:11 PM
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Originally posted by adamblast
I think The Longest Voyage has as much claim to "art" status as any well-written novel or screenplay... The old Infocom Text games had some amazing depth and scope, too...
I think you mean "The Longest Journey".

Both Trinity and A Mind Forever Voyaging are Infocom text games. Both are incredibly deep, well-written, and intellectually one of the most superior experiences out there.
Old 03-21-01, 01:18 PM
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Lunar Silver Star Story and Eternal Blue Complete are works of art IMO. In its own groundbreaking way FF VII was a work of art. Panzer Dragon Saga struck me as a very artistic game as well.
Old 03-21-01, 01:20 PM
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I would agree with Loom and I think the original Myst has a very art-like feel.

I'd like to try "Longest Journey" sometime. It sure looks good.

Tuan Jim
Old 03-21-01, 02:04 PM
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Originally posted by Grimfarrow
I think you mean "The Longest Journey".
Thanks! Too many games, not enough brains. And though I never played/don't remember Trinity, I should have recognized A Mind Forever Voyaging...
Old 03-21-01, 02:55 PM
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Zelda64: Ocarina of Time

Shenmue


Old 03-21-01, 03:23 PM
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Originally posted by Tuan Jim
I would agree with Loom and I think the original Myst has a very art-like feel.

I'd like to try "Longest Journey" sometime. It sure looks good.

Tuan Jim
Ugh. I absolutely loathed Myst.

Try any of the games on my list, especially the Gabriel Knight series. The Longest Journey and Grim Fandango are also outstanding games.
Old 03-21-01, 03:26 PM
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Originally posted by adamblast
Originally posted by Grimfarrow
I think you mean "The Longest Journey".
Thanks! Too many games, not enough brains. And though I never played/don't remember Trinity, I should have recognized A Mind Forever Voyaging...
Brian Moriarty was the designer for both Loom and Trinity (and Wishbringer, although it's not as good as the two above). Both him and Jane Jensen are (were) my favorite game designers.

I really liked the Longest Journey, but I don't think it matches the "art" of a Moriarty or Jensen game.
Old 03-21-01, 08:05 PM
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Shenmue
Phantasy Star I&II
Final Fantasy VII
and Skies Of Arcadia
Old 03-21-01, 08:36 PM
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Fifa 2001 !
Old 03-21-01, 09:10 PM
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I don't consider any games art. Games are an entertainment medium, nothing more. There is no higher meaning or expression in them.
Old 03-22-01, 12:26 AM
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What about Dragon's Lair I and II? IMO, they were works of art turned into a video game....Also they were pretty revolutionary.
Old 03-22-01, 03:07 AM
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Originally posted by joshhinkle
I don't consider any games art. Games are an entertainment medium, nothing more. There is no higher meaning or expression in them.
You obviously haven't played any of the games I've listed.
"Trinity"'s incredibly literate use of symbolic juxtapositions between hallucinatory dreamworlds and the harsh reality of a possible Cold War-induced Nuclear Holocaust is easily an equal of Aldous Huxley's "Brave New World".

Gabriel Knight: The Beast Within tells a fascinatingly gothic tale of innate animalistic instincts versus the human
capacity to intellectualize. Have we become so enwrapped within our man-made culture that we have lost touch with our nuatural and basic instincts? Can a man who chooses to follow an amoral path be judged fairly? And what positions are we in, as humans, to judge? All this wrapped in a story that spans centuries and involved one of the most authentic faux-Wagner Opera scene I've seen.

As for A Mind Forever Voyaging, the game is so incredibly unique that it *CANNOT* exist in any other medium, period.

Old 03-23-01, 11:47 AM
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Originally posted by joshhinkle
I don't consider any games art. Games are an entertainment medium, nothing more. There is no higher meaning or expression in them.
I disagree, I think that games can convey and evoke emotion just as any other work of art. That is not to say that games are an art, but I think that certain ones can be considered works of art.
Old 03-24-01, 02:31 AM
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out of this world

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