• 3Jun 07

  Video Games, Movies, and Books are Art

  In EGM issue 215 there was a letter from Harland Ellestoa who said video games, movies, and books aren't art. Though he said it was from Roger Ebert's mouth (the video games part), I believe he said it from his heart. But, unlike him I believe all these mediums of storytelling are art. He mentions the fact of the length of time to get through them. That video games can be 40+ hours worth of story and movies/books are just a couple of hours. Well, if you speed through a book it could be a couple of hours, but if you take your time and breath in the story, situations, and characters it can take weeks to fully understand the book. This is art because you have a complete control over the story and the direction it goes. If you wanted your characters to die at the end, you could. Or, if your wanted the story to go in two different directions at once, you could. That's what I think is art, something you have complete creative control over. The same with books goes with movies. If you really dive into a movie you could lose months of your life. But with video games, takes hours to get through the main story arc, and let alone side missions. Some books, movies and video games that would be worth the time are: The Odyssey, Star Wars, and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.
  He also mentions character depth. In books the characters can go the deepest of the three mediums. It's just most of the time people turn of when they start reading a book. But, characters in books have pasts, presents, and (if they don't die) futures. Movies it the same depth, but with movies they try to be too flashy and the depth gets lost in translation. People just miss the character development all together. In independent films you see this more, the development and depth that is. Video games are the same as movies. The depth gets lost in the coolest and longest combos you can do. And most gamers skip the cut scenes or don't listen to the story long enough. They need to free the gamer and let them run around, not get choked by their own leash.Some examples that have great character depth are: The Lord of The Rings (the books more than the movies), and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic.
      Movies, video games, and books are forms a art. They are because they give the creator creative freedom. You want the characters to say on thing the whole time, knock yourself out. Think about it.
  
  • Posted Jun 3, 2007 8:57 am PT
  • Category: Opinion
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