S.R. Braddy: But Mom, It's Art Now!

The Museum of Modern Art recently announced that they will be adding a selection of video games to their collection. This would seem to counteract the most vocal critics of video games, who claim that such frivolous products could never be considered art (I attempted to link to a particularly prominent example, but every time I tried to find a specific article, my browser crashed). I'm a pretty passive gamer myself - although I do concede that recently I've been playing a lot more than I frankly should be. Still, I thought I'd take a look at the list, just to see if I have any thoughts on these games.

Cuz, you know, I thought it would be possible that I not have an opinion on something.

vib-ribbon

Umm... is this a game or a 9th grade geometry tool?

Passage

At least this one looks like a video game.

Dwarf Fortress

That... sure is a lot of squiggles.

Canabalt

Seriously, I haven't heard of a lot of these.

Another World

I... don't know what I'm looking at.

Pac-Man

Well, finally!

I don't know that I'd call Pac-Man art. It certainly inspired art, but, other than being a cultural phenomenon, I don't know that there's much substance to it.

Now, Ms. Pac-Man is another matter altogether.

Tetris

"Tetris Effect" describes a condition where a person spends so much time absorbed in an activity that they begin to visualize that activity while their eyes are closed. It's especially prominent when people play Tetris or similar games right before going to sleep. "Tetris Effect" is about the worst thing ever.

Myst

I remember this game was a pretty big deal back in the days of CD-ROM. I remember that the story had something to do with creating new worlds by writing about them, which is a concept that I'd probably find even more appealing now.

I also remember that, if you know how to beat the game, you can finish it in, like, thirty seconds, which is kinda lame.

SimCity 2000

I played Sim City once. I remember thinking I'd have just as much fun playing around in MS Paint. Of course, some of us manage to have more fun with MS Paint than others.

I don't really have strong opinions about SimCity. The Sims is another matter entirely...

The Sims

Well, okay then.

I played The Sims once back when I was in college. Actually, I think it was The Sims 2. My Sim was a university student. He studied English and had good grades and a girlfriend. That last point made him more successful than me. I stopped playing.

Katamari Damacy

Now, this is an evocative game. I felt a real surge of emotion when playing Katamari Damacy.

Well, provided that "What the ffff...?" counts as an emotion.

EVE Online

EVE Online is what we call a MMORPG (pronounced "memoporgah). I don't play MMORPGs, because I don't like spending that much time online. All I know about EVE Online is that it's played host to some of the most ridiculously cruel online pranks ever.

Portal

Portal is in the running for "Best Game of All Time" (and comes pretty close to actually leading the pack on my list). It's got clever writing, subtle yet effective storytelling, and fantastic gameplay.

Also, there's something about lying... and a cake... or something.

flOw

I've not played flOw, but I played Flower, which is a game by the same company. Super pretty game, that one. flOw is probably good, too.