Commerce isn't the Opposite of Art (It Funds It)

So, you may have noticed that I haven't post here in awhile. That's due primarily to the fact that all my serious blogging has now been contracted out to the great guys over at The Pow Block.

But, sometimes I just feel like bitching and it isn't really of academic integrity, but still deserves recognition I believe. That is what this blog is going to be comprised of mostly now.

I don't follow G4 very closely (and by that I mean not at all) partially because I don't think they think very hard when they'e trying to think and partially because I don't like them pandering to me by paying off really hot models to talk about subjects that they know nothing about (seriously...if ESPN can find attractive girls who are knowledgable about football, we should be able to do it with gaming).

That being said, Kotaku (the lesser of the two evils in this situation) linked me back to an old G4 article on Alan Wake and Product Placement. Now bear in mind that this article is from 2010, but it still bothered me when I read this line: "The argument about whether games are Art is ridiculous in the face of this kind of evidence -- it's obvious games are commerce."

Hold on...first of all, isn't this the pot calling the kettle black? Or does that not count because you aren't saying it through the mouthpiece of Layla Kayleigh?

What?! This is just her comfortable gaming attire! Just wait until she's playing CoD on Hardcore Mode...

Defining Terms To Define A Study - The Art Of Brooding Over Art

I haven't posted for a little over a week now, and that's partially due to some very intense brooding I have been doing recently.

I am so deep in thought...and so very muscular...

So what have I been brooding about? Well...

One Chance

This one comes directly from my class coursework, so again feel free to play along. We'll be analyzing One Chance games - games that literally give you one chance to "beat" them - and looking at their gameplay mechanics as well as narrative elements to see how such an element affects the gamer differently than your MW3 kill-die-spawn-kill cycles that exist in nearly all traditional video games.
The games we will be playing are: You Only Live Once, One Chance, and Why Is Johnny in an Art Game? Go ahead and take a minute to play them now. They each less than five minutes to complete.

Fear of Autonomous Engagement - The Digital Castration Complex

Okay, so this blog is primarily for the intellectual and artistic advancement of digital interactive media, but in order to do that sometimes we have to address the opposition. For some strange reason, I still see news reports like this one every day:

Gamefication as a Facilitation of Learning

Okay, this is not a blog about the video gaming industry. This is not a blog designed to review video games on the basis of enjoyability. This is a blog promoting the continuation of video games as a respectable art form. Many facebookers wanted me to talk about the philosophy behind certain games, but after I read this article: (http://www.bogost.com/blog/gamification_is_bullshit.shtml), my priorities were shuffled.

Let me preface this tirade with this phrase: "Ignorance Breeds Idiocy". It's the purest form of artistic stagnation. However, many people, including Stephanie Morgan, agree with this sentiment.


2011/12 Stephanie Morgan | Gamification Sucks from San Francisco Creative Mornings on Vimeo.

For those of you who don't want to listen to the drivel, Stephanie's initial point is that gamefication is a "shallow and cursory take on what makes games interesting." See? Ignorance.

Before The Law - An Interactive Digital Experience

My first project for Mrs. B's class was to read Franz Kafka's "Before The Law" (http://www.kafka-online.info/before-the-law.html) and then play the game adaptation of it by Brandon Brizzi (http://www.theoddmanout.net/games/beforeTheLaw.html).

This seemed an interesting enough assignment because I personally love this opportunity to compare the two side by side. Much like Bioshock, I feel like these types of games 1) lend credibility to the medium and 2) make it easier to analyze and address what exactly games can and cannot convey by comparing them to something topically similar.

If you want to participate, I greatly encourage it. So feel free to read this story and play the game before reading my analysis and then also feel free to debate with me in the comments section or via email at jdcrouch5@gmail.com.

Statement of Purpose

I believe every attempt one makes in life should be done with purpose in mind. This blog is no different. Thanks to my wonderful professor Concetta Bommarito, I have discovered a world fraught with controversy and innovation - a perfect broth for my personal growth and development. For those of you actually interested in this segment of my blog, the key words here will be "Video Games" and "Literary Analysis". As a literature major with an intensive background in video games and gaming culture, this seems to be the perfect blend of my talents and interests. I am a strong advocate of Video Games as an art form. Sure, they aren't currently considered it by mainstream society, but neither was any other artistic medium at the time of its conception. Every other art form has at least a century head-start on societal acceptance. Books are still trying to be strong-armed into censoring certain content or genres, so we should we (as a gaming community) have it any easier?

This blog will serve two-fold purposes: 1) to be a place to investigate the games I feel are worth analysis and deserving of attention as proof of artistic merit. 2) Complete my coursework for Mrs. B's class which feed into purpose #1 anyway.

I will make references to many games she has informed me of, as well as other resources out there that share similar goals such as the great team over at Extra Credits: (http://extra-credits.net) and particularly James Portnow for always fighting the good fight and being a constant inspiration to people like me. I will also be referencing literature, film, art, and whatever else it takes to get the point across.

I'm not sure exactly what I am getting myself into, but feel free to join me as we explore just how far this rabbit-hole can go.