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more about #criticism Alexander-the-Supernaut: "recently, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, et al. — can be great fun, and we have become quite skilled at making them, but th... more » NextThursday: I like the title and focus of this article, but personally don't feel the author goes deep enough into the 'Why'. Whenever I read a developer champio... more » Sustenance: Here we are again, as in every discussion involving the A-word ("Art"), struggling to define our terms and never quite making it into the debate. Ment... more » Alexander-the-Supernaut: While I see what he is driving at and his points about gaming becoming a 'cultural ghetto' are valid I must disagree with some of his arguments for th... more » Trey: All I really need from a game is fun. All the deep themes and shit take a backseat to the fun. Fun first, "art" later. Or else it will be a boring ga... more » Bleemo: So basically this did just turn out to be an "are games art" discussion since reading down these comments that is what most people are talking about. ... more » Ad-hominem: When I initially read the quote on Kotaku about how comics are "in the pop cultural ghetto", I was grossly offended, and found the statement absurd. I... more » Laute: This might be a bit weird, but I have a few different points to make: 1) Games really do have a place in trying to be art, but not everyone wants to ... more » Wuth: I think something needs to be said, just to clarify a few things to people on both sides of the debate. When people say that art is subjective, they ... more » bjameslynch: "If we continue on our current path, we'll end up in the pop cultural ghetto where [comic books] are," I personally take great offense to this statem... more » theobling: Why ask "why?" Honestly, who the hell knows whether or not this sort of thing will lead to designing better, and more culturally affecting games. Sure... more » someone_else: The games industry is like pretty much any other "creative" industry. The vast majority of what is released is unimaginitive, with ideas that are sto... more » WhiteMåge is in fact a boy, damnit: I don't like this. I don't like that he acts like linearity and familiar gameplay are automatically terrible. Linearity especially. Hint: Linearity ... more » Sobersean: aka Doctor Aquafresh: I don't like artsy fartsy games and prefer lowbrow hack and slash and mindless action over thought provoking soul-searching psychodramas where your ve... more » Azures: Storytelling is the key to this all. Its understandable that many of you think the industry is fine now, like trogam below me. But you gotta remember... more » OtisElevator: Blanket statements like this are not new. And they are not of any use, either. #development more » trogam: Culutral Impact? So many people say the cake is a lie without knowing what it actually means. Units sold? WoW, Modern Warfare, Rock Band. Diversity?... more » Halo_Override: I think of Rockstar as the David Chase (Sopranos, later Northern Exposure) of games. They don't re-invent the wheel (and therefore don't frighten the... more » UERD: The gaming industry has ghettoized itself (albeit unintentionally) by pushing out hardware iterations to the point where it takes hundreds of people a... more » GunFlame: Meh... Honestly, those that don't think that Games are a form of 'Art' are narrow minded individuals. On top of that, he he believes comic books not... more » -
#weekendreader
The Importance of Asking 'Why'
In film or literature, the creation of acclaimed work is sometimes attached to a personal event, or reaction. "That doesn't show up often in game development bios," says one dev. Finding that "why" might save games from a "cultural ghetto." More » -
#weekendreader
Alignment Error: Even Good Games Can Offer Bad Choices
Few things mar a game, especially a role-playing game, like being sold on creating a complex, even unique character and then being presented with tendentiously noble or evil choices to build out that role. More » -
#reviews
Company Says It Can Predict Review Scores a Year in Advance
A U.K. company named Vertical Slice claims it's able to predict video game review scores a year in advance of release, by reverse engineering magazine reviews, combined with an analysis method used by marriage counselors. More » -
#discussion
What Would You Show to Someone Who's Never Seen a Game?
As some of you know, I'm living with my grandfather for the near term, because he's 86 and needs some assistance, and the companionship's good for him. But he keeps asking me about video games. More » -
#metacritic
Sega Europe Chief Says Metacritic Most Useful to Expensive Games
Sega Europe boss Mike Hayes says Metacritic scores are indicative of certain games' success, and while score targets aren't written into every developer contract, Metacritic does have value — especially in judging expensive projects. More » -
#reviews
Movie Critics Second Guessing Star Ratings Too
More than 80 years ago the movie rating star system was born in the New York Daily News.
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#grandtheftautoiv
Chicago Trib Asks "Is GTA This Century's Best Writing?"
The profile of Rockstar and the Housers doesn't really answer that (beyond mentioning the Goatie we gave it for writing). But the writer talks to critics and eggheads who say it's a legitimate question. More » -
#criticism
Final Fantasy: The Battleship Yamato of Gaming?
When I saw this comparison between the Final Fantasy and the battleship Yamato (the largest battleship ever made), I was wondering how the comparison would be drawn: the spectacular demise, perhaps? Not quite. -
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#culture
Journalism Versus Criticism
L.B. Jeffries over at Banana Pepper Martinis has apparently had it up to here with the 'how to write reviews' debate, and it sounds like the upcoming roundtable was maybe kinda the last straw. -
#knitpicking
Ebert - Games Still Not As Good As Knitting
Respected film critic Roger Ebert may still be on the wrong side of the games-as-art debate, but he's slowly coming around, conceding that games are getting better, though he'd rather be knitting. More » -
#mirrorsedge
More on the Reviewer-Innovation Conundrum
Last week, we mentioned Keith Stuart's meditation on whether or not reviewers really get innovation; since then, several people have picked up the discourse, with N'Gai Croal weighing in on the debate. More »
