Super Mario 3D World

My inspiration to play Super Mario 3D, roots from my love for Super Mario 64, which has been my absolute favorite video game of all time. I’m not sure how many can relate, but I’m curious to know who else considers this a fun game so comment below!

The two main artists producer and director of Super Mario 3D World are not your traditional game designers. Producer Yoshiaki Koizumi started at Nintendo as a writer and illustrator, some of his work consisted of labeling and packaging of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past on the Super NES. On the other hand, the director Kenta Motokura started out designing enemies for Pikmin  on Gamecube.

Yoshiaki Koizumi

Kenta Motokura

It takes the classic super Mario and gives it a 3 dimensional spin. Creating the 5 characters, is an art alone. However, creating an entire world for them, and one that allows the player to become a part of is what enforces Super Mario 3D World as art. In “Changing a functional or aesthetic element in an existing game. This often critical or ironic intervention is referred to as modification (mod) or patch.”(Stockburger, p. 29) Art has such a broad definition, which allows for objects such as a video game to be considered art. If we look at Stockburger’s take on art, which consists of building upon an aesthetic through modification. Similarly Winckelmann, thought valuable or good art is just the one modified and based on Greek art. In the specific case of Super Mario 64, I believe Super Mario 3D World is based upon modifications of Super Mario 64.

 

This evolution in aesthetic is a great example of good art, where the modifications enhance every aspect of the game, even the player. This game is almost like a movie, due to its high content in storytelling. It is one which you are basically directing the movie. The game is named after Mario, not only because he was the original character of the game but they strategically also made him an all-round easy to control character with no special abilities. On the other hand every other character has a special ability and a disadvantage, for example Luigi can jump higher than anyone else but is a slower character. 

What’s unique about this game is the random cat transformation that allows the player to pounce on enemies, attack midair, or use their claws to climb up walls and poles. As a matter of fact, the cat suit isn’t so random after all, the creators artistically designed it that way to enhance the game. They wanted Mario to have more special abilities like walking on four legs and climbing walls, so they narrowed it down to a cat, an animal well-known by everyone. This is also, supposed to help less skilled players have longer playtime duration. This game is a great example of game design where mechanics are the core of the game, and aesthetics are added on audio, visual, and haptic trappings.The improvements made on this game represent a level of artistry that should be acknowledged, which is why I credit Kenta and Yoshiaki for their talented work.

 

Grand Theft Auto as Art

Playing The Grand Theft Auto Series, created by Rockstar games for the past couple of days has been an exciting learning experience. When I was trying to describe this game, I couldn’t because it’s practically about nothing. You as the player start off in what appears to be a random location in a city, however after playing the game for some time you come to realize that there’s a storyline to it. You then start walking  around assaulting people to get money, weapons and cars. Afterwards, the police will certainly come look for you and your mission is to not get caught by them or die. You could do this for as long as possible, or start a mission where the game play becomes more elaborate. Missions start by engaging with certain people, through following a map. An example of a mission I played was to chase a guy and kill him, simply because he was a rebel gang member. The setting of this game is typically an imitation of a real city. It simulates a virtual reality and allows the player to have a lot of control and power.

Now when I think of art, GTA doesn’t necessarily pop into my head. I am assimilate my ideals of art to those of Johann Joachim Winckelmann, an important art historian in the 17th century. Most of his artwork consisted of nude males, with what seems to be ideal bodies and many other beautiful sculptures. He talks about the transcendence of human nature, and also touches on technology as progress. He also touches on the idea of a hierarchy of taste as objective, and art ideals belonging to the greeks and how we can only improve upon their artwork. He was the first to touch on taste in art, “Good taste, which is becoming more prevalent throughout the world, had its origins under the skies of greece” (27). In his opinion GTA, would definitely land on the bad taste scale.

 

Johann Joachim Winckleman

VS.

Howard Becker

However, Howard Becker, a sociologist who writes about social action surrounding art would definitely consider GTA art. This is due to his introduction of deviance amongst art, where it places an emphasis on the abstract forms of art and how art connects or interacts with people. Grand Theft auto may be considered art because it inspired Stephen Bliss’ work. http://www.stephenbliss.com/

If a game has the power to make an illustrator turn it into art, there is no doubt in my mind it should be considered art. Also, if we focus on judging the game with a Becker background, this game for many interacts with them in ways a lot of artwork might too. Through,  inflicting a specific emotion or getting that accomplished feeling of understanding a piece of art. In the case of GTA, I found myself getting that same exact feeling after accomplishing a mission in a virtual world where a lot of it doesn’t make sense, like stealing, fighting etc. Abstract art is similar to this, at first one doesn’t really know how to figure it out and after some research one comes to an understanding of the piece.  

 

Pac-Man: THE Game.

Hello guys, I’m back! This time however with a better game play experience. In the past couple of weeks we’ve been learning about the different definitions of play, art, and games. In my first blog I touched upon the definition of play, so for this entry I’d like to focus on answering the following question: What is a game?

Bernard Suits, a philosopher who attempted to define this states, “To play a game is to attempt to achieve a specific state of affairs [prelusory goal], using only means permitted by rules [lusory means], where the  rules prohibit use of more efficient in favour of less efficient means [constitutive rules], and where the rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity [lusory attitude].”(Suits 1967, p.156) 

Pac-Man is a great example of a simple game, with a prelusory goal, which is to “eat” all of the light yellow dots on the screen. While, avoiding being terminated by the ghosts. The main rules in this game would be to stay on the path, attack the ghosts, only when you’ve consumed the bigger dot which allows you to be “immune” to them in  a sense. The simplicity of this game creates a great deal of competition with yourself, which gets the player hooked. Without these rules, Pac-Man would be an extremely boring game. Very much like the Space Wars, which was built as a result of a group of friends’ hobby. In this game we see no competition, there’s no scorekeeping, no game over and ultimately no end to it. Pac-Man wasn’t necessarily built as a complex game but it was very strategically planned, since it is still a game that appeals all generations.

Juul (Game studies scholar): “A game is a rule-based formal system with a variable and quantifiable outcome, where different outcomes are assigned different values, the player exerts effort in order to influence the outcome, the player feels attached to the outcome, and the consequences of the activity are optional and negotiable.” (Juul 2003)

Juul’s definition of a game is my personal favorite because I feel like it sums up all of the other definitions of games. However, it adds what I believe is a key factor in a game. Which is, the effort that the player exerts in order to influence the outcome of the game. Without the player’s efforts a game wouldn’t be played and ultimately would be useless. The fact that the player becomes attached to the outcome becomes a result of games having multiple levels, story lines, etc. that keep the player entertained for long periods of time. A game without the player would be like cake mix with no baker. It exists, but it doesn’t live up to its full potential.

So is Pac-Man a game? and must it be fun to be a game?…

Pac-Man is not just a game, it is THE game. When one thinks video games, Pac-Man is definitely in their list because it is a classic. It seems pretty obvious to me, simply because play is defined as fun. While playing this game I am constantly reminded of how great it is! It’s considered a classic, not only because it was one of the first but also because it almost became it’s own brand. People have Pac-Man themed parties, events, toys, stuffed “animals”, etc. Pac-Man is all around us, not just in the game. This is probably due to the game being revolutionary in the gamer world. It even made it to the SF MoMa. What I got from the TED talk was that the game is depicted as an artifact, for what will be of future generations. It made it to a museum because at a certain point in time Pac-Man was extremely relevant to society.

 

 

Defining and Applying ‘Dialectic’

1. General Definition

Dialectic: Discussion and debate to investigate the truth; unification of opposites.

2. How does it relate to other terms?

In this specific case, dialectic relates to aesthetic, art and culture by the unification of opposites. There is an ongoing debate among scholars about how to properly define these terms. Dialectic then, would bring these terms together saying that a dialectic discussion would define your aesthetic, art and culture.

3. How does it relate to other course concepts?

It relates to the concepts of play and games as art, because all of our readings discuss different theorists coming to a simplified understanding of play and art.

4. How can we see it at play with the games we’ve seen so far?

In the case of the Final Fantasy series (and in most other videogames) the graphics have continuously improved over the years. Gameplay has also become more sophisticated with the addition of more and more features, though some would argue with good reason that there has been a regression in the amount of innovation in videogames made nowadays.

Written by: Gautam Panakkal, Eloy Oakley & Daniela Velazquez

An Anti-Gamer’s Journey of Fun ft. Space Invaders

Hey guys!

I’d like to start off by introducing myself, my name is Daniela Velazquez, I’m 21 years old and I’m from San Francisco, CA. Prior to my game studies class, the only encounters I had with video games were due to my brother, who is four years older than me. I’d like to think of our generation as the OG’s of video games, because we saw the evolution of video games and consoles first hand. I remember when our parents first bought us Atari 2600, followed by Gameboy, Super Nintendo, Playstation 1, Nintendo 64, and lastly the Xbox 1. Surprisingly enough, even though I was surrounded by game console haven, I’ve never been the type to play video games; I simply didn’t think of them as FUN.

*pause for reader’s gasp*

I believe fun is a term that varies depending on the individual. So, what is fun? In my opinion, fun is when I’m doing something that fills me with excitement, happiness, joy, laughter, etc. When I’m having fun, hours seem like minutes and I simply can never get enough of it. Fun seems to be personal in this way, because what is fun for many may not be fun for me and vice versa.

Similarly, Raph Koster, a game theorists, presents the idea of fun incorporated by the self. In one of his modern aspects of play as the self, he defines it as the experience of fun, relaxation, and escape. Which is closely related to my interpretation of fun. In Theory of Fun for Game Design, Raph Koster also touches on the subject of why video games “lack of appeal… to the female audience” (Koster, 106). He then explains that because there are very few female creators in the industry, hence why, the games are set up based on how male brains work. Including a lot of violence and formal abstract systems, that don’t typically attract women.

Another idea that supports my definition of fun is the experience of flow. This idea was introduced in class by Mihaly Csikxentmihalyi, which is known as the optimal level of play. It helps you get things done better, and results in a wonderful feeling of optimal experience. However, there are pros and cons to everything and in this specific case the disadvantage of flow is that it is all consuming, correlated to addiction and can easily be abused.

Sadly, while playing Space invaders for the last two weeks I didn’t experience myself having fun. Space Invaders, like most ancient games is very simple, yet challenging, which is what prevents me from reaching flow. The game only has two functions, which is to avoid getting hit by the alien’s missiles and to shoot them first. Having such simple functions makes it nearly impossible for a player to experience flow. There simply isn’t enough functions to keep the player entertained so instead they get bored more easily. Also, the graphics of the game are low quality and not what we are used to now a days, which enhances the visual entertainment for the player. Lastly, if a game is too challenging it can easily prevent flow since the player will be stuck in a place of anxiety, frustration and worry. The only times I was able to approach flow while playing were after going on a long streak of winning, and moving up levels.

I am aware my views on this game may be biased since I have a preference for games with a story line. Although, I believe that when Space Invaders first came out plenty of players experienced flow through it since it was new and there wasn’t much, up for comparison. An example of this would be of my siblings playing pac man when they were younger. They would compete with one another and sit in front of the screen for hours, never really getting enough of it even after mom would make them stop.

I hope you guys enjoyed my post, I’m excited to see my views on video games and play evolve; as well as share this journey with you guys!

Sources Cited:

Koster, Raph. A Theory of Fun for Game Design. Scottsdale, AZ: Paraglyph, 2005. Print.