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05/20/2005 Archived Entry: "Uneasy questions about art games"

My experiences and conversations over the past few months have got me thinking about the role of so-called "art" games. Part of this comes from the challenge of organizing a game art exhibition: which I'm now convinced is this strange hybrid bastard creature of unknown affect and pupose. Consider:

1) Duration. How long does it take to really play a game? How long do you play a commercial game to get a feel for it? 10 hours. 40 hours. 200+ (thanks, WOW). How long do you play a game, have you EVER played a game, at an exhibition? 5 minutes? 20 whole minutes!!! Is that really playing a game...god forbid, is that research?

2) Completion. OK, point 1 was a bit unfair. It assumes the games you'd encounter are complete to the extent you would find a commercial game. And lets be honest. They're demos. They're levels. They're prototypes. Not all the time...but it seems more and more...Of course, what are the incentives to complete an art game? Curators (myself included) seem more than willing to show them at varying levels of completion...they are viewed, they are discussed, the point is made. By the time a game is "complete," it's yesterday's news. And how else are these games disseminated? Where is the EAI, or Criterion Collection for art games?

3) Mods. Now, I love mods, and have seen some wonderful, wonderful works that are mods. My concern is this: if art games are supposed to lead the pack, and truly innovate as games, shouldn't there be more fully original works? These game engines contain their own rhetoric and dictate play structure-- it seems dangerous to rely so heavily on their use.

4) Excuses. Sure, games are time intensive and difficult to make. A common response to 2 and 3. But is this an excuse in say, independent film? Would you go to a film festival and see unfinished works? Would you see festival goers walk in half way through a film, and walk out 10 minutes later?

In this context, what is the connection between art games and games in general? How are they supposed to impact, influence? Are art games becoming mere anecdotes... something we once saw, or an idea someone once had? And if so, why make them at all?

This is not a flame...it's a serious question. Where are we going with this? How can we fix this? Help!