The Wide World of Gaming: 'The End of Gamers'

[wraggster]

Ian Bogost has an interesting editorial over at Edge Online entitled 'The End of Gamers,' a title which he admits doesn't really capture the main argument: "["The End of Gamers"] is lurid but might not capture the main argument of the piece, which is more like "Things People Do with Games." Much of his point is that other media has a wide variety of applications, and isn't shoehorned into a few limited types of uses ('entertainment' vs. 'serious' and so on). Bogost isn't arguing for 'games as art' or 'games as useful' or anything else, just pointing out that some perceptions about the industry start to break down when one considers the wide range of applications current games can have:

When we acknowledge videogames as a medium, the notion of a monolithic games industry, which creates a few kinds of games for a few kinds of players, stops making any sense. As does the idea of a demographic category called “gamers” who are the ones who play these games.

The point is not whether games qualify as art or not. Nor whether games are useful tools or not. Rather, the point is that there are lots of other things people can and do accomplish with videogames. Some are well-established, like entertainment, and some are emerging, like meditation. No matter, all of those uses taken together make the medium stronger and give it greater longevity.

I'd quibble with some of his assertions on books (We don't distinguish between 'serious' and 'entertaining' books? C'mon Ian, you can't possibly believe that — and if you do, I've got a couple of bookshelves I'd like you to see), but it's an interesting essay on the wide and varied uses of games — and what that may mean for the industry.

http://kotaku.com/5029672/the-wide-w...-end-of-gamers

[John Vattic]

"The point is not whether games qualify as art or not"

It absolutely is.

And by stating this the writer is attempting to argue an illogical point in favor of the "dumbing down" of video games.

Musicians are artists who make audio art. movie makers are artists who make video art.

when the art is gone you have no artists and no good sellable media.

However people are very "dumbed down" and over-sensitized now (e.g. the blurring of the line between fictional violence and non-fictional war) therefore sales are increasing massively with fandom medias (rock shows and wii wands).

analogy : You've welcomed a drunk guy into your home and are just denying that he's braking every thing of value you own. eventually you'll have to kick that bastard out and demand redemption that won't come because he's a drunkard with no money.

Are we thinking yet people?

Good luck to everybody