Features// Dr Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk, Co-Founders of BioWare

There will continue to be Refuseniks that rail against the notion that video games could ever be considered art. Despite backing down slightly last year, movie critic Roger Ebert remains the most well known of these. He repeatedly declared that video games can never be art and has come up with a series of reasons for his stance.

Are all Games Art?
Like all forms of media there is a full spectrum of offerings within video games. Some are perceived to have greater artistic merit than others. Is Flower more artistic than Angry Birds? Does Shadow of the Colossus deserve a higher pedestal in the pantheon of video games than Zumba Fitness, simply because it is regarded as more ‘artistic’?

According to the Bioware founders, any answer to those questions must be entirely subjective. It must also deal with the original supposition: all video games can generate an emotion and therefore are art.

Yes, even something like Angry Birds because it does provoke an emotion when the player fails to complete a level.

This emotion is one of frustration mixed with anger at the remaining laughing pigs that chuckle and snort at the player.

Is this emotion any less valuable than the feeling of elation at destroying a colossus in Shadow of the Colossus? Or less meaningful than seeking a lost child in Heavy Rain?


Q&A Session
[/b]Following this presentation, a Q&A session was opened up with the presenters to question them on their hypotheses regarding video games as art. Here’s the more interesting questions and their answers, provided by both Dr Ray Muzyka and Greg Zeschuk.[/b]

Q:Is there a problem with how video games are presented in that they rely too much on ‘techy talk’?

A: Yes there is a tendency to start talking about the technical side of video games, as the technology used to create them is relatively young and is still evolving. It’s just a by-product of the medium, nothing more and we have to get that message across.

Having said that, there is a concern that over time video games from time past will fade to the point where it will no longer be possible to play them. That is something that will become more of an issue 30-50 years from now, where playing an Atari 2600 game will likely become almost impossible.

Q: Why even bother declaring that games are art? Why does it matter?

A: It matters because if games are considered to be art then they will garner greater acceptance. Once that happens they will be given the respect they deserve and not dismissed as some kind of toy. This then leads to increased coverage of the medium.


Q: What is your opinion on film makers trying to make movies from video game IP?

A: Provided the movie maker respects the base material, then we believe it is quite possible to make a great film. Until that happens, such endeavours will never be successful, as has already been proven from past efforts.


Q: What do you think of the spate of updates to older games?

A: This is similar to the previous question in many respects. Provided the update is more than just a re-skin and actually adds something that enhances to the original game, then we’re all for it. If it’s just an excuse to milk an existing franchise for the sake of some extra cash, then no, it shouldn’t be done.


Q: How do you relate popular culture with art? According to the cited Tolstoy definition, all forms of entertainment are art, regardless of its perceived quality.

A: That’s exactly it. You may regard Britney Spears or Jedwood as entertaining and enjoy what they do; then they are provoking an emotional response. Ergo what they do is art. Is it any good? Well that’s a subjective call that we’re not about to make…


Q: How will games change in the nest 30 years?

A: No idea! We can only project 3-5 years from now with some confidence, but even then that’s with some trepidation. Who would have predicted the rise of the smart phone and tablet platforms 5 years ago? No one we know of. The next 30 years are likely to be just as unpredictable as the previous 30 years; that much we can say.

A majority of video games seem to source their material from a limited pool i.e. sci-fi and high fantasy. Why is this and does it do harm to the perception of video games?

The people who make video games are fans of both sci-fi and high fantasy as are the fans of video games themselves. This creates a self-fulfilling prophecy where upon the audience ends up feeding itself.

Having said that, we at BioWare are looking to try out contemporary settings in future games as well as other, less traditional environments. There are some very interesting spaces we can explore outside the genres you have cited in your question.

And the session wrapped up. Are you any clearer? Does it matter? Give your opinions right here.