Clive Barker still thinks games are art

Author: Joe Martin
Published: 27th September 2007
Comments (15) Stumble
Clive Barker insists that games are an artform, including his new game Clive Barker's Jericho

Clive Barker insists that games are an artform, including his new game Clive Barker's Jericho

Wow, we really can't get enough Clive Barker at the moment. Not only is he making one of the coolest and most gory looking titles of this year, Clive Barker's Jericho, but he's also jumping energetically back into the world of gaming with both fists swinging.

Barker is on the offensive still at Roger Ebert over the idea that games cannot be an artform. Established film critic Ebert and Barker have come to (verbal) blows on the topic before after Ebert claimed that games could not count as art because they force players to make choices.

In a recent podcast over at Digital Trends, Barker again called Ebert's views into question and called him a "pompous, arrogant old man...he's not going to stop us from making games or enjoying them or... making them art.".

The gravelly-voiced author of the Hellraiser series also said he thought about writing a nasty letter to Ebert, but decided to be nice after he learned about the critic's on-going battle with cancer. What a guy!

Barker was firm in his belief that games will one day be looked at as an art form and that old games will be treated just as Disney's old animations are now.

Nicely, the discussion coincides with the GameCity event in Nottingham where a number of leading video game artists and directors will be giving talks and showcasing some of their doodles, including developers from Namco, Free Radical Design, Sony and Rare.

So, what's your opinion on the matter? Are games art and how exactly would you classify art anyway? Answers in the forums, if you please.
Quote Fod 27th September 2007, 13:11
to say that games are not art for the sole reason that they force the player to make choices is a fallacy. count the number of interactive installations in the tate modern.
Quote will. 27th September 2007, 13:37
Nearly every component of a game can be considered art in its own right. From the sound track to the textures. I think where people get confused is that they hear the word game and they immediately think about the action of playing the game. Its true, A person playing a game is not art. However the game itself is.
Quote Redbeaver 27th September 2007, 13:57
yup agree to above posts.

anything can be art. personally, i think game is art. the story can be art. the graphic can be art. the music can be art. heck, even the coding can be art if executed beautifully and bug-free. thats art! i know, im a computer engineer :P

game can be art, of course. i can be considererd art, it can definitely be art, and it can be considered not art as well. depends on the person who, well, play it.

my personal opinion of course. ;)
Quote naokaji 27th September 2007, 14:44
Clive Barker is my new hero... he stands up for games... the world needs more Clive Barkers.
Quote will. 27th September 2007, 15:37
The people that really hate other people calling games art are the people that stick forks and dead animals to household objects. They know we are on to them, and they are going down with a fight!
Quote ssj12 27th September 2007, 16:53
Clive is awesome!
Quote willyolio 27th September 2007, 19:36
games aren't art! art isn't supposed to be interactive in any way. what you're supposed to do with art is put it on the wall, say "i have no idea what the hell this is but i paid $10,000 for it." now that's art.

i think art is also supposed to evoke emotions, such as pretentiousness and elitism. i don't think games are quite there yet, since they only allow you to feel those emotions among a small subset of the population.
Quote Tyinsar 27th September 2007, 21:34
If CGI used to tell a story (as in a movie) is art then that same CGI is also art if it's used to tell an interactive story (game). The same goes for the plot(s) etc.

IMHO, KOTOR was a fantastic piece of art from both a storyline perspective and a visual perspective.

However, I wonder If part of Clive's campaign is the fact that "Art" gets a lot more leeway in what it can portray.
Quote DXR_13KE 27th September 2007, 23:32
considering that it cant be art because you have choices then paintings, music and movies are not art, you can chose to see them or not.
Quote Aankhen 28th September 2007, 08:45
I do think games can be art, but it's not a strong endorsement coming from Clive Barker, who's never produced anything I'd consider decent, let alone art. :(
Quote CardJoe 28th September 2007, 08:58
Despite the fact he's a prolific painter, writer, screenwriter, photgrapher and game writer? Have you read any of his books? Or played Undying?
Quote sub routine 28th September 2007, 09:46
Art is what you make it. Because someone doesn`t believe it is art or someone believes it is doesn`t change anything.

An over saturated market when most of the products are overpriced, somewhat boring and cash in`s doesn`t mean it can`t be art? It just makes it crap! .................................But then again which medium am I talking about lol.



What would be the point of taking a urinal and putting it in the middle of an art gallery? Roger Ebert is obviously un-educated about what he is talking about and is also ignorant to the fact that he could actually educate himself to the situation. Not very artisan.

Black and White. A game that lets you be a God and control an entire civilisation any way you see fit through an avatar that you can treat how you like? The end results being a direct result of your actions.
Quote Aankhen 28th September 2007, 10:09
Quote:
Originally Posted by CardJoe
Despite the fact he's a prolific painter, writer, screenwriter, photgrapher and game writer? Have you read any of his books? Or played Undying?
Yessir. I've read a couple of his books and had a go at Undying, but I didn't find anything that interested me, and the focus on gore in Undying completely turned me off.
Quote CardJoe 28th September 2007, 10:32
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aankhen
Yessir. I've read a couple of his books and had a go at Undying, but I didn't find anything that interested me, and the focus on gore in Undying completely turned me off.

Fair does, each to their own I suppose :)
Quote Tyinsar 28th September 2007, 20:43
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aankhen
I do think games can be art, but it's not a strong endorsement coming from Clive Barker, who's never produced anything I'd consider decent, let alone art. :(
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