After reading Ebert say that videogames can never be art and then reading the ensuing arguement that sprung from it at GAF, I started thinking seriously about this. Art videogames really art? If so why? And if they aren't, can they ever be?

First off, we all consider movies to be art right? Okay, but how did art progress to that point? Several thousand years ago there were three distinct types of art: music, visual medium [painting, sculptures, ect.], and books. These three art styles rarely, if it all, had anything what-so-ever to do with one another. Fast forward a few thousand years to the birth of theater. It combined in all three and as well as adding new elements such as actors, set design, costumes, and so on. Now, no one today would dispute that theater is a legimate form of art, but it's quite likely that when it was first introduced their were many who were skeptical that it could hold a candle to a good book or a well-conducted orchestra. Fast forward to 1895 to the birth of cinema. It took all the the elements of theater it expounded them far beyond what could ever be possible on a stage. It added a sense of realism, depth, and a feeling of immersion that even the most elaborate stage plays can only hint. No one today would argue that cinema isn't a legimate art form, yet many people back in the early days thought that it could never be as good as well-made and acted stage play. However, the 1930's and 1940's proved that movies could be art in their own right with movies such as Citizen Kane, Metropolis, and Casablanca.

Cinema didn't become art overnight, it took dedication by skilled creators to transform it from mere moving pictures to legitmate art. To accomplish this all the factors that make a movie a movie had to be working in perfect harmony with one another. A 100 piece orchestra will still sound good even if a few of the instruments are working properly, but the truly great compositions need all 100 instruments to be working together perfectly.

And now we have videogames. My thoughts have lead me to believe that videogames are the next evolution in art, much like cinema and theater before. What seperates videogames from stage plays and books is that the audience is put in a seat of relative power. No longer are they merely watching scripted events play out in perfect timing, they now have the ability to decide how and when these events play out. In other words, videogames add freedom and interactivity, as well as a larger level of immersion, to what movies have added to art.

If videogames CAN be art, are there any yet that ARE? This is a difficult question to answer. While it's true that games such as ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and the Metal Gear Solid series have expanded the meaning of videogames, they are still no match for the for greats of other art forms. They give us a hint, a taste, of what videogames can do in the realm of art, but they are merely stepping stones in the evolution of the art form to heights that we cannot begin to imagine. It'll happen eventually; one day videogames will be considered legimate art in the same way that paintings, movies, books, music, and stage plays are, but until all the parts that make a videogame a videogame are able to work in perfect harmony this will still be a dream of the future.

117 - The Rock of Jesus

The coolest Christmas Lights display EVER.

Okay what's wrong with this:

do until frmxx.height = 5000
frmxx.height = frmxx.height + 200
pause = 500000
loop

Whenever the action is performed, it crashes the program. I understand it's painfully simple, but it's Intro to VB and besides I'm probably retarded, so enlighten me plz.

http://keithschofield.com/pi/

Hilarity involving pie! Pie? No, Pi! Π

I remember some interest in this game from various people on this board. I have the GotY edition for PC if anybody wants to play. Today (Sunday) could work, after that I won't be available until Thursday at the earliest. Any Takers?

-TheBiggah-

116 - Impatience is not a Virtue

Okay i'm tired so i make quick type small words thought using 2% brain so yeah - just follow me

The Shroud of Turin. You know it, it's that big blanket that is said to have been used to cover the body of Jesus before his resurrection.

Now, before we get in to the actual debate, I want to know how people here feel about it. Is it important to you? does it further your belief?

I'm curious because of the recent news that has been uncovered about it and other things like it. There is another shroud of sorts that seems to show the face of Jesus and other cloths around the world that also fall in to the recent news. And of course, the countless images where Jesus in found in everything from coffee stains to window panes and birth marks or even tortillas. But the shroud of turin had a aire about it of authenticity and respect. It made 'sense'. Much more than Virgin Mary from the toaster or a deciple in the mashed potatoes yunno?

So... what does the shroud of turin mean to you?

Okay, so I got inspired and thought to try this again. It's intended to depict a fictional situation in which lazy and I are roommates, in which zany hijinx and random sodomy ensue. It's like PA but with a lot less sophistication (and artistic value). And maybe I'll give a damn long enough to make more than four.

Thus, I give you WHAT THE FUCK #1: Why is lazy taking so long?