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Making Statements With Video Games
You may have heard about the recent controversy at the Leipzig Games Conference over a modification of Space Invaders in which the invaders are slowly demolishing the World Trade Center. The creator intended it as an artistic expression, but has since removed the game, saying, "it was never created to merely provoke controversy for controversy's sake." Kotaku took this occasion to ask whether "statements" can and should be made via video games, and how it affects the ongoing question of whether video games should be considered art.
"The entire issue begs comparisons to Danny Ledonne's Super Colombine Massacre RPG!, an unsettling and involved title that tasks players on the most basic level with acting out the 1999 Littleton, Colorado school shooting in the role of killers Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. Ledonne told the Washington Post that his intention with the title was never to glorify the tragedy, but to 'confront their actions and the consequences those actions had.' Like Stanley's Invaders!, Ledonne and his title stopped short of providing a direct interpretation - neither artist has been especially specific about 'what it means,' or in instructing players on how they should interpret their work or what 'message' should be taken away."
This is not about video games and their relation to violence at all. With all due respect to both sides of that argument, "Blah Blah Blah Fucking-Blah". That issue is being brought up to provide cover to the real issue here, and unfortunately there will be a lot of posters arguing back and forth. I am sure there will be some pretty insightful and compelling arguments on both sides, but all of you just fell into a trap.
This artist is a narcissistic asshole. He claims that it was not controversy for controversy's sake, a statement that I highly doubt is true. Instead of confronting the issue he tries to throw two questions up in the air and escape out the back door while the rest of us are arguing. Knowing that the argument would turn into a heated debate about video games and their relation to violence, just shows that he chose the topics wisely.
The question about whether or not video games can make "artistic statements", and if indeed video games could be considered a form of art, is also irrelevant. Obviously it is a form of art. From programming, to graphics and music, video games are full of art. Can art make statements that are moving, profound, and controversial? Ummm, well what else was it for in the first place? Duh.
This is the real question. It is about boundaries that should be obvious to most people, but are not. Linking Space Invaders with the tragedy of 9/11 was just in poor taste and lacked any artistic value. It was created to purely shock people, and nothing else. Games about World War II, and others like them are recreating the experience of war, which is different than what this artist was doing. How does Space Invaders recreating the experience of 9/11 have any value?
/. should not let him get away with it by participating and instead just send him a healthy heaping of "Fuck YOU".
Anytime art involves horrific tragedy it is treading on dangerous ground. An artist does need to be careful with the statement that he/she is trying to make. Plenty of artists have tried to make art with genocide, the holocaust, and horrible natural disasters. Some have succeeded and some have failed. You run a big risk doing it. Your better be able to explain your statement and it should be a good one at that. Pretty simple.
This gentleman failed spectacularly . It is possible that he was just stupid. I don't think so, but it is possible. He could of said, "I tried making a statement. You don't understand it or appreciate it. I apologize to all offended". Instead he did not explain anything, but created a cluster fuck of a smoke screen and walked away.
Everybody on