Charlie

Space Invaders Act 1732
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I had no preconceptions of what an "art game" meant; in my head, I might've assumed it was something like a regular video game that was more creatively and unusually done (like Katamari Damacy or Okami, the game we discussed in class). I was very optimistic when I saw the website for re:Play, which was very stylistically done...and that could perhaps explain why I was massively underwhelmed when I started playing Space Invaders Act 1732.

The major problem I have with the game is that it is very poorly done. The graphics of the logos and the White House are ugly, pixelly, proportioned incorrectly, and have no visual connection with each other. There's also quite a few graphical glitches (at least on the Mac), and for something that is "art," I feel no immediate visceral reaction to it...it feels like it lacks intention. The gameplay is simplified to the point where it's not really even a game - there's no real goal or end, there's no danger (perhaps metaphorically, but not in the gameplay), and there's no challenge. To that extent, I really question whether or not it's considered a "game" - art or not. The only connection it has with video games really is the Space Invaders theme - which isn't properly represented in anyway. Even as an "art flash presentation", I'd still consider it underwhelming. While the political message may be worthwhile of someones attention, the connection with video games - to me - seems completely arbritrary.

ANTIWAR GAME
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After playing Space Invaders Act 1732, I have to admit it wouldn't have taken much to impress me. Regardless, ANTIWAR GAME by the amazing Future Farmers was definitely better in every aspect. The graphics are very well done, and while the gameplay was incredibly simple, there is still a point where the player is trying to figure out what to do, and steer towards a goal. It's immediately understandable - how the U.S. handles spending and foreign policy, security and media. I was much more interested in what decisions would affect the balance of popularity and business and the media, and how one choice often led to something else screwing up. Overall, because the gameplay and graphics were more engaging, I had more incentive to learn what the artist was trying to say.

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And if I were to create an art game, I think I'd do something like Centipede - where Bush is the centipede, quickly making it's way down towards you (and if he makes it down to you, you get sent to Iraq). You have to shoot through all the B.S. to get him dead/impeached, all the while spiders and other insects, like Condoleeza Rice will help Bush try to attack you.

One thing I've always found interesting about video game culture is the disparity between Japanese and American box art. While the game inside the package rarely changes aside from translations, the box itself usually receives a major overhaul to accomodate the visual habitat of the culture in which it inhabits.

Here's a site comparing a few examples:
Japanese Box Art vs. Western Box Art
There is one noticeable difference between them; the Japanese love their cartoon characters. Most of the games in Japan have anime-inspired drawings on the cover...artwork which is usually never in the game itself. Western box art usually has the in-game renderings of the characters, poorly collaged more often than not.

However, this website only features one particular kind of box art - games that originate from the U.S. and are ported over to Japan. One differentiation which I didn't see on this particular page (but have noticed over the years) is that a lot Japanese box artwork is much more minimal and bold.

Dynasty Warriors
Japanese Version

U.S. Version

Kessen
Japanese Version

U.S. Version

Tekken Tag Tournament
Japanese Version

U.S. Version

Upon opening the webpage for this video game, the immediate impression is that this isn't a video game at all. The screens lining the top of the page are images of real events and the relatively conservative site design is pretty different from usual game website aesthetics.

Approaching "A Force More Powerful" from a somewhat typical gamer viewpoint, I'm very skeptical. The concept seems like cheap, educational software...and few games have managed to overcome that and provide actual fun gameplay (namely Oregon Trail and Number Cruncher). The website does little to change that opinion.

However, one look at the gargantuan instruction booklet quickly gets my hopes up. The screenshots of the game graphics are rather nice and up-to-date, looking very similiar to the likes of the latest SimCity games. Much of the lingo used seems akin to Civilization as well, so there is some built-in familiarity that makes it easier to digest. That may be a pitfall though, as I will start to compare the two even though they may be totally different games.
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A quick search on Gamespot, one of the hugest and comprehensive gaming sites on the web, barely has a placeholder webpage for the game, with no actual article. Google does little more...while there is a wealth of information regarding the film that inspired it, there isn't much on the actual game. As expected, any video game with some kind of educational or social bent garners little attention from the typical gaming community.

I think the main reasoning is that gamers, who play for entertainment value, don't want to feel like they are being lectured or deal with by subversive messaging. No one wants to be tricked (or learn anything, apparently). While the message of this game is definitely commendable, it seems as though we are a generation stuck in the idea of what a video game is; it's detachment from reality. I think in order for a game with educational or political value to succeed, it must be much, much more subtle...at least at this point in the gaming industry.

Perhaps the closest to an actual review is here:
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20051201/demaria_02.shtml
It's written more like a typical video game review, going over some of the intricacies of the gameplay and the graphics. I suppose why there isn't more stuff like this is the audience of the game. In an interview with one of the developers at this site, he proclaims that the one of the aims of the game were to provide people a chance to see how a nonviolent approach to conflict can flesh itself out before they try it in the real world...and also to inform people about the history of such events. I think most people who are planning some kind of serious, nonviolent event probably wouldn't play video games, and typical gamers don't go to video games to learn about this stuff when they can just ...watch the documentary. While the game is interesting, I think it is just a bit ahead of it's time. At this moment, there just isn't a market for such material.

Social Impact Gaming: Serious Games
http://www.socialimpactgames.com/

AIDS Avenger
http://www.starling-fitness.com/archives/2004/12/26/games-for-health/
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1154/is_n11_v81/ai_14622060
While I couldn't find any images of gameplay, these are two interesting articles related to the game. The first one talks about how the game was put into a high school and did relative well, as students approached it more as an actual video game than educational software. The second, rather humorous article talks about how terrifying the idea of serious games are. Training surgeons with video games?

Bronchie the Bronchiasaurus

http://www.socialimpactgames.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=116
An educational game released for the SNES teaching gamers how to control asthma issues. You play a dinosaur that has to take control of his own asthma with breathing exercises and asthma power-ups, while defeating the evil forces of smog from your planet.

About 5 minutes into the article, I was initially interested in how the author brought a new perspective on the state of interactive storytelling in today's games; most don't seem to have cohesion between the gameplay and the story. However, after his lengthy dismissals about what doesn't work, he proposes a solution that seems to already exist...and also like one of the type of games that he said didn't work. He talks about how games should give the player a number of choices to make to interact; too many choices would be confusing, and too little choices would be boring. There are plenty of games out there that offer that type of versatility, and not quite the grand epiphany this self-proclaimed prophet seems to think. Several games I can think of that offer a huge range of player-choice making in a relatively organic yet controllable environment are Blade Runner (PC), and Morrowind (PC, console), as well as a large wealth of Japanese "Dating Sim" games...which is pretty much exactly how he describes an ideal interactive game to be. There is the player character, as well as other characters with their own motives and conscious', and act accordingly based on the interaction between them and the player.

Probably the worst thing about the article though, is when the author begins to wax poetic about his brand new engine. He starts to go into detail about the intricicacies of programming and how revolutionary it was. In the end it just felt like I was fooled into reading an ad for his engine.

Most games are nothing more than just that - a manufactured world existing outside of and disconnected with reality...mmorpgs bridge that gap. Within the rules of this gaming environment, players develop systems of social status and government, as well as relationships with other people that are comparable to the real world. World of Warcraft, unlike most games, is not only a temporary escape, but an extension or replacement of people's lives.
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Avant Garde
High on the social status on the Kil'Jaedan server on which I played, Avant Garde is regarded as the most "uber" guild for the Alliance.
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View from the Top
Interesting article about a leader from a famous guild that recently stopped playing. He talks about the addictive quality of the game and how it interfered/replaced his "real" life. This article gained a lot of attention due to the high profile of the writer as a regarded and well-known guild leader.