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RFN 180 kicks off with the big news that we'll be doing a panel at PAX East, called "Radio Free Nintendo: A Live Podcast for Grown-Ups". If you're planning to attend the show, or at least thinking about it, check out the forum thread! In other, game-playing New Business, Jon Lindemann dusts off his DSi for a report on Dark Void Zero, while Jonny catches up on various Xbox games (and rants about Nintendo's dereliction of DS demos). Greg has praise and criticism for Dead Space: Extraction, and James is still half-way through the tutorial in Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World.
After a quick break, we've got the next four testimonials in the ongoing Games of the Decade feature. You'll hear from staffers like Pedro and Grant for the first time, and this salvo of games includes beloved epics (Metroid Prime, Majora's Mask) next to influential experiments (Wii Sports, Wii Fit). And there's still more to come! In your Listener Mail, we look back on a year of infinite fridge space (the SD Card Channel), examine how games create emotional impact, and venture into the ultimate no-man's-land of "games as art".
We're always looking for great Listener Mail to read and discuss on the show, so please send your questions or comments! (We really love seeing your praise and feedback regarding the show itself; however, in the interest of time, we may edit your letter to be read on the podcast.) Credits:
This podcast was edited by Greg Leahy.
Music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is used with permission from Jason Ricci & New Blood. You can purchase their newest album, Done with the Devil, directly from the record label, Amazon.com, or iTunes, or call your local record store and ask for it!
Additional music for this episode of Radio Free Nintendo is copyrighted to Nintendo, and is included under fair use protection.
Is this a podcast for grownups? Seriously? It's not exactly NPR. I think children of all ages can appreciate a Bearrorist. And Cho Aniki.I take that to mean that it's geared towards experienced gamers and those interested in intricacies of the industry beyond just the games as opposed to the stereotypical Nintendo demographic. That doesn't mean everyone can't enjoy it.
It's the funny, the older I get the more I appreciate and am shocked at how amazing Majora's Mask really is.
It seems to me that broadly speaking, an increased (or dare I say it, an expanded) audience gives gaming additional credibility as a medium - not necessarily by attributing games any artistic merit, but simply by contributing to removing some of the stigma surrounding games and the people who play them.
No, I rather prefer to think that "art" is anything that requires creative thought beyond practical means.Let's say you make clay pots for a living. Clay pots require somecreative thought, some problem-solving, and improvement in design overtime. But their purpose is entirely practical. You carry things inpots. However, let's say that you start carving symbols into the pots.Maybe you charge a little more per pot. However, they are still usedprimarily for carrying things.
Well, one day you carve very intricate designs into a clay pot, thenput it aside. It is distinctly NOT used for carrying things. Its valueis too great--what if the pot breaks? All the work you put into it willbe lost. Because of the added effort, that pot has more value, and thatvalue is emotionally determined.
Art is what you can convince others to buy as such. :P:
Happyastoria's name led me to finding out that Astoria isn't just the name of the best town in Oregon, but also a neighborhood in Queens.
NWR is the NPR of video game podcast. I love it. It's very refreshing.
Re: Soul Bubbles demo
Actually, there was a demo for Soul Bubbles on the Nintendo Channel when the game first came out. I downloaded it.
Spoiler alert, dudes! The game's only 2 months old. Some of us don't have as much free time to devote to gaming as you guys!
Re: Spirit Tracks
Spoiler alert, dudes! The game's only 2 months old. Some of us don't have as much free time to devote to gaming as you guys!
Good point. There is certainly a meeting point between art and practicality. Samurai armor is very much a good example of this. I think it's "art" when it ceases being used for whatever practical purpose it was originally meant for BECAUSE OF the artistic influence. How's that sound?
as an artist myself, I've come to my own definition over the years. It is a modified form of Scott McCloud's excellent, though overbroad, definition in his seminal "Understanding Comics." To him, art is anything that requires creative thought. At first, this sounds like an odd definition--he essentially states that art is anything that is NOT related to reproduction or survival.
As a naturalist, I wholly disagree that the three categories can be segregated from each-other. Creative thought is often but into trying to reproduce, or to make money for one's survival.
No, I rather prefer to think that "art" is anything that requires creative thought beyond practical means.
...
So, under this definition, all video games are art by their very existance. Creative thought went into even the worst games. They are, in themselves, entirely IMpractical. The same goes for literature, film, and television. Quality does not equal art. It is the process of creating something inherently creative--not practical--that warrants the term "art."
I just listened to 180 and want to note that the lop-sidedness of the art discussion was not intentional. James accidentally muted himself during most of that discussion, and none of us (including him) realized that until we were quite deep into it. So when we finally got wise to the problem, he came in towards the end to give his side and finish the segment. Rather than try to splice his comments throughout the discussion, we thought it would be simpler and more honest to preserve the original flow. Frankly, I do feel that James was a bit short-changed on how much time he got to lay out his arguments, but the conversation was already so incredibly long that I had to end it soon after.
I quite like this definition of "art" as a starting point but I do have one fundamental qualifier: I think the purpose of art is indeed very practical. Maybe we (like Johnny and James) will be arguing over semantics and/or the definition of "practical". But what I mean is, I think some of the purposes of art are to illuminate or reflect the human condition and to provoke a feeling of "elevation". When I use the term "elevation," I am here pilfering the concept of "elevation" from Roger Ebert. He wrote of "elevation in his blog here:http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/01/i_feel_good_i_knew_that_i_woul.html (http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2009/01/i_feel_good_i_knew_that_i_woul.html)
The irony of stealing an idea from Ebert is not lost on me for it is he who has flamed the fires of the videogames-as-art debate by stating unequivocally and on many occasions that he does not think videogames are art. On that point, he is, in my opinion, simply dead wrong.
Ebert, and others, describe "elevation" as the sensation one gets when we see good people doing good things or things that are "right" (morally speaking, I suppose). These moments can be profoundly sad, but they move us in a specific way. I think this definition of "elevation" is a bit narrower than what I think of as "art." Rather art, to me, speaks to me about what it is to be human and alive. This, to me, includes moments of "elevation" but also moments that remind us of the darkness of humankind. Is it not true, for example, that humans are the only of Earth's creatures that murder, rape, commit crimes of passion and are deliberately cruel? Communicating those aspects of "humanity" is important in art as well. When I experience moments of "art" that reflect or illuminate humanity, I get that tingly feeling that Ebert talks about in his article of "elevation." That's why I've cited it here. I can also get that tingly feeling simply from artistic works that are praised primarily for their beauty and not much else. I am moved by the beauty alone. I think that feeling is specifically human, too.
But back to "practicality". All I am saying is that I think it is eminently practical, necessary even, for humans to seek to illuminate, elevate, touch, whatever, through "art." We all know videogames can and regularly do this. Videogames are art. Its a no-brainer. Maybe not all videogames are "art" but certainly many qualify.
But back to "practicality". All I am saying is that I think it is eminently practical, necessary even, for humans to seek to illuminate, elevate, touch, whatever, through "art." We all know videogames can and regularly do this. Videogames are art. Its a no-brainer. Maybe not all videogames are "art" but certainly many qualify.
One could also suggest that "art" encourages discussion as to its significance or meaning. It's pretty obvious what a hammer is for, but those cave paintings could mean a lot of different things.
This is quite an Aristotelian way to go about defining art and its purpose