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Let's try something bold. Let's start
from the assumption that games are
an Important form of contemporary
art. What kind of art are they? MQst
often. critics discuss games as a
narrative art. as interactive cinema 0
participatory storytelling. But' perhaps
we should consider another startin
point. Viewing games as a spatial a
with its roots in architecture, land
painting. sculpture. gardening or
amusement-park design.
Game worlds are totally constructe
environments. Everything there was
put on the screen for a purpose
shaping the game play or contributin
to the mood and atmosphere or
encouraging performance. playfuln
competition or collaboration. If games
tell stories, they do so by organiung
spatial features. If games stage
combat. then players learn to scan
their environments for competi'tiv
advantages. Game designers create
immersive worlds with embedded
rules and relationships among objects
that enable dynamic experiences.
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*THE ART OF CO~~TESTED SPACES*
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*THE ART OF CONTESTED SPACES*
Game designers increasingly focus on
the overall 'mood' or emotional colou
of their projects. Hoping to produce
games that can provide a broader
range of emotional experiences, they
draw inspiration from classicmelodrama,
where elements of the mise en scene
become emotional correlatives for the
protagonist's woes.
Yu Suzuki situates characters In more
'everyday' environments. His ep ic
role-playing game Shenmue is set ill
a small Japanese village, circa 1986.
The game's adolescent protagonist,
Ryo, struggles against the men who
murdered his father. Grey skies and
snowy streets contribute to the game's
sad, contemplative mood, expressing
Ryo's experience of mourning and loss.
Myst, the dream project of Rand and
Robyn Miller; was another game tha
received high praise for its atmosphenc
design. The artfulness of Myst invites
us to linger and contemplate, like
visitors in a museum. Myst's reputation
as a 'thinking person's game' ultimately
has less to do with its puzzles than
with its amber colour scheme , its
Rembrandt-like play with light and
shadows, and its fascination with the
textures of the material world.
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