[spectre] Play on Meaning? - Computer games as art.

[marc garrett]

Play on Meaning? - Computer games as art.

Article by Edward Picot.
http://www.furtherfield.org/displayreview.php?review_id=345

Featuring:
The Princess Murderer by Geniwate and Deena Larsen
The Free Culture Game by Molleindustria
The Marriage by Rod Humble
Samorost 2 by Amanita Design
The Graveyard by Tale of Tales
Gravitation by Jason Rohrer

Edward Picot discusses the controversies that arise when computer games 
meet artistic purpose. Taking us through a detailed analysis of some 
emblematic examples of computer games that slip into the realm of art, 
he unfolds the strategies, motivations and critical issues.

Computer games enjoy a special position in the canon of new media art. 
One of the most distinctive features of new media is its interactivity, 
and because computer games are inherently interactive they have always 
attracted a good deal of attention from new media theoreticians. They 
seem to offer the opportunity to create art forms which are 
participative rather than dictatorial in structure, and thus to redefine 
the relationship between artist and audience. No longer will 
audience-members simply act as passive recipients of whatever the artist 
chooses to put in front of them: instead, through their interactivity, 
they will become co-creators.

This article is co-published by Furtherfield.org (www.furtherfield.org) 
and The Hyperliterature Exchange (http://hyperex.co.uk).