Clive Barker Keynotes Hollywood Game Conference
I am a long time fan of Clive Barker and his work. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to become a fan of his games as I was a (very poor) Mac only boy at the time of Undying. But, I have always enjoyed listening to his opinions in interviews so when I heard he was keynoting the Hollywood & Games Summit I regretted not being able to attend. But, Gamasutra was there and experienced the whole thing first hand.
Barker covered many topics in his speech including his upcoming game Jericho, but the part about games as art (as always) caught my interest. He had a few choice words on the subject as well as some commentary on critic Roger Ebert's claims that games are inferior to other artistic mediums such as film or literature. (This coming from the man who wrote Beyond the Valley of the Dolls)
That’s bullshit. This is a medium that’s barely 2 decades old, and he (Ebert) is saying oh, there’s no 'War And Peace' yet – of course there isn’t!”You have to come at it with an open heart... Roger Ebert obviously had a narrow vision of what the medium is, or can be. It seems so high-handed. A lot of very very smart people, here in this room, are working to make these experiences extraordinary."
We can debate what art is, we can debate it forever. But if the experience moves you, some way or another, even if it just moves your bowels, I think it’s worthy of some serious study... Games mean something to a lot of people.” He added: "Games aren’t about reviewers, they’re about players.
Well said, Mr. Barker. It's great to see a respected artist who has vast experience in film, literature and games, being asked to weigh in the the subject. If anyone is qualified to make comparisons between the three mediums, it's him. Of course, the fact that he's openly gay make this story of particular interest to us here at GayGamer. And while his sexuality doesn't particularly have a bearing on the subject, having an out gay man that people respect and listen to will go a long way towards making our presence in the industry as a whole more prominent.
H&G: Clive Barker Talks Games As Art, Jericho [Gamasutra]
Fruit Brute
Posted to Hot Stuff, Video Games on 27 June 2007
· Comments (6)
Other stuff like this: clive barker, games as art, keynote, roger ebert
I agree with Ebert. The story telling in video games is substandard by any standard. You can argue that there is character development by virtue of a user changing his/her approach to game play either do to repetition or due to requirement changes for goal success, but the storytelling is horrendous.
Barker is overly simplistic claiming the form has only a 20 year history. BS! Video games weren't/aren't born in a vacuum. They are born on a foundation of thousands of years of storytelling and 100 years of visually recorded presentations of storytelling.
The problem is that the game producers aren't trying hard enough to work outside the box. Even Blizzard, which offers more storytelling than anyone, doesn't work very hard to integrate the story into game play or as a basis for successful gaming outcomes.
OH, I neglected to say that storytelling is the mechanism by which an audience walks away having learned something. It could be an insight into a way of life they never considered. It could be a lesson learned in a way they had never considered. Positively or negatively, the audience walks away enriched in some way.
AND, NO, carpal tunnel syndrome is not the kind of enrichment I'm talking about!!
It's good to hear Barker saying something that needs more saying: Ebert is an idiot picking on a baby industry and already calling it a cultural loser.
Actually, there HAVE been some amazing games that ascend near the realm of great liturature. Every time a game becomes a landmark that everyone recognizes, it is a milestone on the journey towards games as a greater art form.
I just want to interject and say that Clive Barker is delicious. He makes my cheeks rosy, both pairs.
Generally I like Roger Ebert and the things he says but I disagree with him here.
Clive looks really good in that picture...I'll even forgive him the suspenders.