1. Paper:
Adrianna White
ART 381.1001
22 February 2017
Gaming as a Work of Art
There is
no right or wrong when it comes to the creative flow of art; there are only
decisions that can change the effectiveness of art and how someone else sees
the art. Gamer Theory by McKenzie
Wark talks about the consuming nature of video games and how they drag gamers
back into what he calls “The Cave”. There are different aspects of games, from
the stories that push you to continue the game, to the art that makes up the appealing
or not so appealing visuals. After reading Gamer
Theory, you are forced to think about all the multiple aspects that will
make up your game, how they will affect the gamer, and what can be changed to
keep the gamer interested.
Woodland
Grove, the name of my tiny little game and city was inspired by the nature and
trees surrounding Reno as well as the video game Ori and the Blind Forest. I have always been fascinated with tree
houses or hovering houses, tiny homes, and glass houses so I have decided to
implement all three of these into my city. My tree houses will all be
connected, forming a community that feels never ending. The tiny homes and
glass homes will make up most of the city and will include trees forming out of
them. The actual trees will be more realistic, look wise, but some will be
abnormally large while others will be abnormally small with variation of sizes
in between. The trees in the houses and around the houses will resemble trees
from Ori and the Blind Forest which
are more magic-like. The game will feel like a dream, with ambient music flowing
as the gamer walks around exploring the scene and forgetting what the purpose
is.
For this game, the objective is to
walk around the city searching for the hold out house. Once the hold out house
has been found, you must enter it to end the game. Along the way, you can enter
some of the other houses and explore the city. Gamer Theory helped the most in deciding that having an objective
would give the gamer a sense of duty and accomplishment. To inform the player
of the objective, I might have text reminders appear on the screen depending on
time spent aimlessly wandering. The music will also speed up when the gamer
nears the house and instantly pause as soon as the gamer is standing in front
of the house. This will build tension and form a sense of relief once found.
Games usually have multiple modes to
play in, like Minecraft, which has a survival mode, adventure mode, spectator
mode, and a creative mode. For Woodland Grove, however, there will only be one
mode which will be a combination of adventure mode and spectator mode. The gamer
does not have the option to play custom maps as there will only be one map to
choose from but they get to adventure around the city and walk through trees
and buildings but also have the option to go inside certain buildings. McKenzie
Wark brought up different modes in Gamer
Theory as well. The ability to have multiple play modes also affects how
the gamer reacts to the game. Some prefer the option to destroy everything and
to make a mess after long days at work; others just want to get away and explore
cities they have never seen, which can be done through gaming.
Referring to Gamer Theory again, McKenzie Wark is suggesting that games are in a
sense a utopian version of the world we live in. I feel this varies depending
on the person. What one might consider to be a perfect world, another could
find it to be horrifying. I might consider my game to be utopia but others
could consider Woodland Grove to just be a nice vacation gone wrong. It is up
to the user to decide if the game they are playing is indeed utopia or is
something else entirely, like dystopia. Creators will have a main idea in mind
but players will feel it is the complete opposite; that is the power of art. Woodland
grove can be whatever you as a player want it to be as can most games.
Creators do not have to create to
please the consumer but most will try. You want the art to draw them in and
keep them captive or at least keep them coming back for more. In games, this is
done through the visuals, sounds, and the overall feel that is present when
playing. Every little detail affects the gamer and their decision to continue
playing in the world that you have created. However, art will always be subjective,
take criticisms into review and see if you can improve upon the art or add
another segment. Art is forever expanding as creators create and even work with
their consumers to form better pieces of art.
2. 4th Week Lecture Comment:
This week's lecture gave me a lot to think about for my project. I never really considered what I wanted my game's objective to be about or how I wanted to implement public art. After reading through the lecture and as mentioned in my paper, I want my game to have a fairly simple objective. It ends when the gamer enters the hold out house. For public art however, I like the idea of having pieces that stand out but still blend in with the town, I want them to be meaningful to the town. This lecture definitely helped to solidify the decisions I want for my game.
3. Public Art Examples:
Santa Rosa, CA Peanuts
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