3 ms·

I dunno. I’ve been playing video games since the Atari 2600 and I don’t think I recall any mainstream games that interacted with the ‘art’ world in a serious wa

I dunno. I’ve been playing video games since the Atari 2600 and I don’t think I recall any mainstream games that interacted with the ‘art’ world in a serious way. There were rpgs and such with serious stories, but I don’t think they were taken seriously by art critics in the way that Braid was.

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago
Given the primitiveness of the medium as one goes farther back in time, I think it is unfair to say that none of them really attempted to communicate artistically with the player. Notably Missile Command was made to be unbeatable as a statement about the futility of nuclear war, and Donkey Kong was designed by an artist who injected thematic elements not previously utilized in the medium. That the "art world" didn't really engage with them doesn't mean much because art, like all communication, requires shared understanding to have meaning, and very few people would have been exposed to the (still in its infancy) culture necessary to understand artistic expression in the medium.
- empath75 8y ago
  Right but I’m suggesting that it’s not important because it was the first game that was made as art, but because it was the first mainstream game that was intended to be presented as ‘art’ and was engaged with as critics _as_ art.
- SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
  > Missile Command was made to be unbeatable as a statement about the futility of nuclear war I'm a huge Atari fan and this is the first I've heard of this. Pretty profound if true. Thanks for the insight!
  - NeedMoreTea 8y ago
    Originally intended to be called Armageddon. End of game screen of "The End" instead of Game Over as a result of that same futility. Dave Theurer talked about it in some depth here: https://www.polygon.com/features/2013/8/15/4528228/missile-command-dave-theurer https://www.polygon.com/features/2013/8/15/4528228/missile-c...
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
adamrezich 8y ago
Venetian Blinds for the 2600 could be interpreted as the first "art game" (only being half sarcastic here)

AnIdiotOnTheNet 8y ago

Given the primitiveness of the medium as one goes farther back in time, I think it is unfair to say that none of them really attempted to communicate artistically with the player. Notably Missile Command was made to be unbeatable as a statement about the futility of nuclear war, and Donkey Kong was designed by an artist who injected thematic elements not previously utilized in the medium. That the "art world" didn't really engage with them doesn't mean much because art, like all communication, requires shared understanding to have meaning, and very few people would have been exposed to the (still in its infancy) culture necessary to understand artistic expression in the medium.

empath75 8y ago
Right but I’m suggesting that it’s not important because it was the first game that was made as art, but because it was the first mainstream game that was intended to be presented as ‘art’ and was engaged with as critics _as_ art.
SmellyGeekBoy 8y ago
> Missile Command was made to be unbeatable as a statement about the futility of nuclear war I'm a huge Atari fan and this is the first I've heard of this. Pretty profound if true. Thanks for the insight!
- NeedMoreTea 8y ago
  Originally intended to be called Armageddon. End of game screen of "The End" instead of Game Over as a result of that same futility. Dave Theurer talked about it in some depth here: https://www.polygon.com/features/2013/8/15/4528228/missile-command-dave-theurer https://www.polygon.com/features/2013/8/15/4528228/missile-c...
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

adamrezich 8y ago

Venetian Blinds for the 2600 could be interpreted as the first "art game" (only being half sarcastic here)