![]() ![]() This is similar to the way that someone analyzing Mark Rothko’s paintings will understand them much better, having visited, or even heard of, the Rothko Chapel. We don’t consciously register many of the mechanisms by which games convey meaning and narrative, and so we assume they’re not even trying. ![]() In most cases, we do not perceive the whole art piece, having started from the assumption that our form and manner of engagement with it are meaningless and aesthetically or narratively pointless. It was then that I understood why we’re having such trouble viewing games as art. I find Firewatch interesting because a majority of players have shared they enjoyed the game for its artistic value and atmosphere but found themselves frustrated with the ending, the game’s world unresponsiveness, and the elements of player choice unrewarding. Firewatch earned tepid praise from the pretentious and buyer’s remorse from the disengaged players of games with more guns. As it stands, the Academy award Oscars for ‘Outstanding Marketing Merit’ in the category of ‘Subject Matter Interesting to White Men.’ Video games, meanwhile, find praise for their consumer value per dollar, if at all. ![]() I suppose that might be the case if we were to take the Academy at their word and accept that they award Oscars for outstanding technical or artistic merit. Did you play Firewatch ? It had a pretty sexy marketing campaign back in 20, attractive enough to make certain reviewers decry it as the video game equivalent of Oscar-bait. ![]()
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