Projects
My main project currently is in improving the perception of video games as an artistic pursuit and opening up game development to a wider audience. Even though video games are a cultural phenomenon today, they still remain underappreciated by some of our finest critics. For example, Roger Ebert, whose film reviews I almost always respect, has consistently criticized video games in the past, saying,”One obvious difference between art and games is that you can win a game. It has rules, points, objectives, and an outcome. Santiago Kellee Santiago, President, thatgamecompany might cite a immersive game without points or rules, but I would say then it ceases to be a game and becomes a representation of a story, a novel, a play, dance, a film. Those are things you cannot win; you can only experience them.”He later said that games may be art in a new sense, but he wasn’t going to try one to find out. Well, why not? What keeps people from exploring the new possibilities that video games offer?I think that the new popularity of games played for free over the internet is a great step forward for bringing gaming to a wider audience. Even people who wouldn’t know the difference between a Playstation 3 and an Xbox 360 will visit a site like AddictingGames.com when they’re bored at work. Those games can be just as entertaining as any you’ll find on a console, and due to their shorter playing time and more casual associations, they can be embraced by more people.This site is also a project of mineone that allows me to share my thoughts on games and the like with others. I appreciate you taking the time to read this, and to even explore a site that you’ve never heard of before. That’s the same kind of open-mindedness that allows new game developers to find wider audiences.These are games, companies, and sites that I point out to interested visitors:
- Tale of Tales: This Belgian developer mainly creates games based on classic fairy tales, which usually are “games” in only the loosest sense. Some, like The Endless Forest, allow for multiplayerhowever, as the characters are all deer, communication between players is very different than you might expect.
- Minecraft: This game allows players to build constructions in an open world out of textured cubes. It’s very innovative and is a good example of that “immersive game” that Ebert mentioned, since even dying only removes you of your items.
- WebGL: A working draft of WebGL was developed in December 2009. The specification provides 3D graphics in a web-browser without relying on plug-ins, making it very easy for developers to stretch the limits of their game’s capabilities.
- Unity: A game engine developed by Unity Technologies, allowing authors to create 3D games, architecture, and animations.