Unit 5

This is my timeline

http://prezi.com/ew_kxrnt1qni/?utm_campaign=share&utm_medium=copy

Monday 6th 2014

Our task today was to choose a game of our choice and use the KWL template.

K - What I know

W - What I want to know

L - What I learned



Essay:

Art varies from all sorts of things, but who would have thought it has such a massive impact on Games Design. Using some examples of the game I have chosed, being Portal, I will tell you how Art inflences Games Design.

It's hard to define and explain what art is, and what it isn't. Some people say that everything is art, but that leaves me with the question "Can something not be art? If something isn't art, what do people see it as?". Now, this could get very confusing, so keep up. If someone sees something as art then it is. But, if you see the same thing as that person, as not art, then it's not. Art is peoples opinion that they see in there own eyes. A lot people would define art as most things that they see, but is it art if they don't see it? It really gets you thinking about what is right and what is wrong when it comes to what art actually is and what art specifically looks like. Going back to how this influences Games Design, I think that some designers use the the advantage of art being most things and then just let their imagination run wild. To easily sum all of this up, art is what peoples opinion are.

Now i've got you thinking, lets move onto a question that people may find pretty basic but necessarily might not be. What is a game? A game doesn't actually have to be a video game, it could be a game in the park with your friends, or a card game etc. A game being an interactive form of entertainment. Video game being part of the topic in this essay, I will expand on how a video game is a form of interactive entertainment. Not everyone will like every game, people like games that they find most interesting to them and this is because of the concept and mechanics of the game they like.

Now, my game that I chose being Portal, uses the Art style of Surrealism, a gun that fires portals, using portals to go through dimensions to solve a series of puzzles, using specific elements which may defy gravity etc. In my own opinion, I think that Portal is highly influenced by Surrealism and because of the aspect of the game, it forces the Surrealism aspect to the max.

"The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power." - Google Art Quote. With that said, at the very start of that quote you read 'The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination'. This relates to games massively, we obviously use our creative skill and imagination to even think of a game let alone make it. When people use imagination in games, they try to make it as creative and entertaining for the player as much as possible in order to give them the best experience whilst playing. Because of the quote I have given, it backs up the fact that art is related to games in a very big way. 

"The faculty or action of forming new ideas, or images or concepts of external objects not present to the senses." - Google Quote. This is the definition for imagination. Imagination is a form of art as read in the paragraph above and imagination is everything it games. People have to use there imagination to create or develop something in a game. The imagination and ideas in a game, is the game itself. you can't make game where you havent used your imagination or creative skills, which again, is art.  

"the use of imagination or original ideas to create something; inventiveness." Google Quote. This quote is describing creativity which is another key factor when it comes to art and games. yet again, the word imagination is popping up in the quote. Art means all these things, imagination, creativity and they all link to games. Creativity it games brings the entire idea to life. Making the idea, developing the idea and then creating it for the final product. 

Michael Samyn and Auriea Harvey argued that  "games are not art" - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Video_games_as_an_art_form#Roger_Ebert_on_video_games_as_art
In my own opinion, i'd like to argue against that. With the proof and knowledge that we have gained from this essay, how can video games not be art? using the meaning of art which narrowed down is, creative use of imagination or what people see it to be, that alone verifies that games are art

Time to conclude this essay because with all this said, I think we have pretty much summed up how art influences games design. With all my information and quotes, we have worked out that art is games and games is Art. How does art influence games design? It influences it because the game is the art. It uses the aspect of art and puts it into the role of a game because of the imagination and the creativity behind  the hole idea of the game. 

Thanks for reading - Bradley Hahn

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=art+meaning

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=imagination+definition

https://www.google.co.uk/#q=creativity+definition

Portal Minimalism - Just great. Everything is that white-on-black, at liest for a while :) #PortalFTW