UNLEASH THE SUPERGAME

by sweep

Stuff for me is pretty messed up right now. I have a lot of family shit to deal with, and I really should be spending more time working on my university course, which I am enjoying but finding hard. Also I have a date with a hottie on wednesday which I really want to go well. So I'm going to take a break from the land of GiantBomb and the IRC, for a few days. I just think I need some perspectiv...

But before I fuck off I wanted to leave you guys something to think about.

The concept of the "Supergame".

Game reviewing, as I have said before, is about history. Look at any review and there will be many comparisons to other existing titles. A game can only be given a review as a way of relating it to other games. So if taken out of context, what happens to the game? If you aren't comparing it to an alternative, what the hell does "4 stars" or "8.6" mean? Does the standard of quality with which we hold it become abstracted? Is the only reason Pong was so awesome is because at the time there was nothing to compare it to?

People expect too much from their games. People dont want a "jack of all trades", they want a "Master of all trades". This is, essentially, the Supergame. It's the game which every gamer aspires to play - the perfect combination of cross genre elements packaged into a game that appeals to everyone everywhere. And because of this, we will never be satisfied. Games which excell in one way will usually disappoint in another. Someone who enjoys real time strategy will usually be disappointedly by realistic racing games, and someone who enjoys shooting will probably be bored by RPGs. There is no perfect game in general, only games that are perfect for certain people.

Which brings me to a subject I wanted to talk about, despite how shitty and cliché it is.

Are Games Art?

Or more importantly

What the fuck is ART anyway?

In my opinion, Art is all subjective. Art can be anything which you can derive meaning from. Something may be meaningful to one person, but meaningless to another. This is why some people can walk through an art gallery and admire all the beautiful sculptures, and another may wonder who left all this crap lying around!? This is also why some people may play Braid and really think about it and admire its artistic fluency and structure, whilst another may just find it completely pretentious. And it isn't just about Braid. This argument can be applied to any computer game. Gears of war? Sure. What I consider Art may be Vandalism to someone else. Just look at the whole Graffiti debate....

The artist Damien Hirst ("Shark in a tank") was once asked what made his sculptures art. He replied "I'm an artist and I made these. Therefore they are art". The point, apart from the fact that Damien Hirst is a smug prick, is that there is a lot of conflict over what people should think in terms of art, fashion, everything.

I like going to art galleries. I find it interesting watching the people there. Some people walk around and read all the signs and take ages just wondering from place to place. They arent admiring the art as "Art", for them it's more like a history lesson. Art is designed to be aesthetic. If it doesn't move you in the way which it was intended then that shouldnt be a problem, but you can't force it. You might not ever be able to appreciate the struggle faced by the impressionists when trying to develop an alternative aesthetic to photography unless you yourself have struggled for hours to draw something with the utmost realism. But then again, maybe you like it because you can just look at it and it appeals to you on a subconscious level. You don't need to explain why you like something. Sometimes it just happens.

And so it goes with computer games.

This isn't fact. This is my opinion. A lot of people would probably disagree. Especially my art teachers. But I don't care, because I have figured out my own understanding and it works for me. I can like art which other people don't, and disregard things which other people hold with such reverence.

And so it goes with computer games.

So take a look back at the games you played when you were growing up. They were, every one of them, flawed. But the memories you have will undoubtedly be happy ones. So when you play a game and find that a specific gameplay mechanic doesn't quite stand up to the high quality of the rest of the game, dont dismiss the game as a whole. Arguably the flaws are what will stay with you long after you have completed the game, and are truly what give the game character. (Strafe mechanic in Resident Evil anyone?) Stick with it, and remember that nothing is ever going to be perfect.

Have a great week guys.

Thanks for reading.
Love Sweep