Brian Humbarger
It always bothers me when I tell people that I play videogames and am met with a response or facial expression to the tune of “Oh, you’re one of those people…” What the hell is that supposed to mean? Video games have this stigma of being a lesser medium, a way for the young and lazy to waste time. I actually take offense to that. Sure, there are bad video games, and there are video games whose main purpose is to entertain. But these two things can be said about any artistic medium. I think that, given the right catalyst, video games and other interactive media can attain popular, artistic, even academic legitimacy. I firmly believe that this catalyst is intelligent discourse about video games. If gamers discuss the development and ideas in a game as seriously as its developers, others will take notice. I am a gamer, and proud to admit it.
The first thing you should know about me is that I can get a little carried away when talking about games (see above paragraph). Games are my passion. They always have been, and probably always will. I started on the chess board, and have expanded onto card games, German style board games, Go, and a wide variety of athletics. I have spent summers learning game theory to discover what makes players and games tick. In terms of videogames, I can’t get enough of platformers, first-person shooters (either single- or multiplayer), turn-based strategy games, and more classic videogames (defined as quality videogames at least 5 years old). In general, I am a fan of either highly innovative or brilliant rock-solid gameplay.
Lately, I’ve been trying my hand at making games, which surprisingly haven’t been too bad. My first developed game is called Lucid and can be found on www.gamecreation.org (yay for shameless plugs!). It’s pretty tiny and not even close to where I wanted it to be, but I got a feel for the other side of game development. I can appreciate the work put into even the not-so-great games, and stand in awe of the work, creativity, and direction found in the best.
Anyway, I hope to bring some thoughtful musings in the future. One day I hope to see games like Bioshock or Half Life be assigned and interpreted in English classes across the nation. Until that happy day, I will be busy writing articles, playing games, making games, and finding time to eat, sleep, and go about daily life in between.
It always bothers me when I tell people that I play videogames and am met with a response or facial expression to the tune of “Oh, you’re one of those people…” What the hell is that supposed to mean? Video games have this stigma of being a lesser medium, a way for the young and lazy to waste time. I actually take offense to that. Sure, there are bad video games, and there are video games whose main purpose is to entertain. But these two things can be said about any artistic medium. I think that, given the right catalyst, video games and other interactive media can attain popular, artistic, even academic legitimacy. I firmly believe that this catalyst is intelligent discourse about video games. If gamers discuss the development and ideas in a game as seriously as its developers, others will take notice. I am a gamer, and proud to admit it.
The first thing you should know about me is that I can get a little carried away when talking about games (see above paragraph). Games are my passion. They always have been, and probably always will. I started on the chess board, and have expanded onto card games, German style board games, Go, and a wide variety of athletics. I have spent summers learning game theory to discover what makes players and games tick. In terms of videogames, I can’t get enough of platformers, first-person shooters (either single- or multiplayer), turn-based strategy games, and more classic videogames (defined as quality videogames at least 5 years old). In general, I am a fan of either highly innovative or brilliant rock-solid gameplay.
Lately, I’ve been trying my hand at making games, which surprisingly haven’t been too bad. My first developed game is called Lucid and can be found on www.gamecreation.org (yay for shameless plugs!). It’s pretty tiny and not even close to where I wanted it to be, but I got a feel for the other side of game development. I can appreciate the work put into even the not-so-great games, and stand in awe of the work, creativity, and direction found in the best.
Anyway, I hope to bring some thoughtful musings in the future. One day I hope to see games like Bioshock or Half Life be assigned and interpreted in English classes across the nation. Until that happy day, I will be busy writing articles, playing games, making games, and finding time to eat, sleep, and go about daily life in between.
You must be raging at the Smithsonian voting scheme for their exhibit. It really isn't set up very well. There are plenty of worthy artistic games that are pitted against each other, but that aren't even from the same genre. A few of my friends have already posted lengthy comments on the voting page.
ReplyDeleteSurprisingly, I don't hate the Smithsonian voting scheme. Yes, some of the games are mismatched, but even a museum curator has to pick which treasures to feature. I admittedly spent a long time wondering whether I should choose Metroid over Mario. As tough as it is, though, some of the best games won't be represented, no matter how the vote is set up. If anything, I applaud the Smithsonian for even bringing up the idea of the exhibit, and knowing their work, they will do a fantastic job.
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