Topic: "art" games that are fucking terrible

[The Boston Crab]

Yeah I really enjoyed that. One of the first of its kind that I played. The basic concept (for the first stage) was really interesting, never experienced anything like it and I enjoyed the nod to it in Edith Finch, wasn't even aware they were the same people who made it.

[FerriswheelBueller]

Yeah I really enjoyed that. One of the first of its kind that I played. The basic concept (for the first stage) was really interesting, never experienced anything like it and I enjoyed the nod to it in Edith Finch, wasn't even aware they were the same people who made it.

...neither did I until just now. What was the nod in Edith Finch? I thought that was well done and all, some segments (the brother storyline) were miles more effective than others though.

[The Boston Crab]

The bro Milton who disappeared. I think his story culminated in a tree house bit which maybe looked like a lighthouse at the top. He must have been the protagonist of TUS!

[FerriswheelBueller]

Oh cool, I kind of remember that actually.

[Noonling]

Feel like most games in this thread shouldn't be called "art" games. They're mostly just... games from indie devs/small studios and tend to have more of a focus on mood/atmosphere/story than traditional game mechanics.

Yeah, wasn't sure whether to mention Undertale as its not really an "art" game, just says "Ooh er look we're playing with your expectations". Wouldn't The Stanley Parable fall under "art" though? I think of all walking simulators being art games tbh.

[madhair60]

Why are you taking offense, as though I've personally slighted you?  My point was that I don't really understand the dismissive attitude towards artistic games.  It's got absolutely sod all to do with being "better than you" and my post was not directed at you personally (the fact that you're the OP of the thread is irrelevant).  I was just weighing in on the topic at hand with my thoughts by way of a comparison.

Sorry. I got "triggered feminist".

I think art games can and often have been good (The Beginner's Guide and Dear Esther in particular resonated with me), but I also thought it would be fun to have a thread for ripping on the shite ones (Night in the Woods).

[lazarou]

As far as terrible art games go, it's hard to beat Tale of Tales. I'm not sure how they managed to so effectively con art circles into repeatedly getting their games exhibited when there's people pumping out free crap all the time online that's x100 times as inspired as anything they've ever done. Presumably they already knew people or something?

Tale of Tales got lucky with their timing I'd say. There were making deliberately arty games and taking themselves very seriously back when there wasn't a whole lot of that around, or at least not anything that was forcefully promoted as such, which was as big a part of their success as anything. As soon as there was any real competition nobody really cared anymore.

[Shaky]

Again no idea whether it qualifies as "art" but Paratopic is another one of those moody glorified walking simulators, the twist being it takes it's cues from console games circa 1998. You can play these things once or twice but this one reallllllllly stretches out the slow sections. It's the sort of thing that could work very effectively if the creators just added a bit more meat to it's bones instead of being all, "Yeah, there's not much to do and that makes it cool and interesting."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du6wLulmVDo

[St_Eddie]

Again no idea whether it qualifies as "art" but Paratopic is another one of those moody glorified walking simulators, the twist being it takes it's cues from console games circa 1998. You can play these things once or twice but this one reallllllllly stretches out the slow sections. It's the sort of thing that could work very effectively if the creators just added a bit more meat to it's bones instead of being all, "Yeah, there's not much to do and that makes it cool and interesting."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Du6wLulmVDo

I enjoyed Paratopic.  I certainly agree that the long stretches of nothing happening were a test of one's patience (particularly the driving sections) but it all feels very purposeful and ultimately I found it to be thought provoking, which was the developer's intent, so it succeeded on that front (for me at least).

[Shaky]

I didn't hate it - and the visuals and sounds I really liked - but gameplay-wise it was very borderline for me. Probably frustration was my main reaction more than anything. Some sequences work well whereas others didn't work at all, I felt. I know that expanding these sorts of games can kind of miss the point but I really wanted a bigger, more interactive world that retained the same queasy, strange vibe. Possibly a bit churlish of me to complain about a half hour game/experience that someone has poured a lot of effort and time into, admittedly. I notice the same creator has been working on another game (Tangiers) for quite a few years now so obviously they're into what they're doing.

[Shoulders?-Stomach!]

To get around the playability of issues with art games, why don't they simply import all the most playable games ever made and then retrofit the art message into them

Allegory for losing a son - Pacman
Anxiety and depression - Mario Golf but all the holes are windy
Violence begets violence - Serious Sam
Failing to achieve father's expectations - Ultimate Soccer Manager 96/97
Cyclical Vomiting Syndrome - Theme Park
The deleterious excesses of greed - Jet Set Radio
Loss of innocence and start of a new solemn chapter - NBA2K
Triumph of rape culture over female dignity - Grand Prix Legends
The quiet strength and resilience of the natural world - Pong
The nonchalant arrogance of slavery and domestic abuse - Zoo Tycoon
The spiritually arid nature of crass commercialisation - Crazy Taxi
The folly of hubris - Columns
The castrating feeling of losing control - Tetris
Hell is other people - Worms World Party
The transient nature of happiness - Great Britain Ltd
Time is simply clockwatching and/or distraction until death. - Guitar Hero
To exist is to suffer - Galaxians

[Twed]

Feel like most games in this thread shouldn't be called "art" games. They're mostly just... games from indie devs/small studios and tend to have more of a focus on mood/atmosphere/story than traditional game mechanics.

Yeah. It should not just mean 'emotional story game'.

If Undertale doesn't qualify then Gone Home should be reclassified as a LiveJournal.

[madhair60]

IT'S FUCKING OBVIOUS WHAT IT MEANS SO DON'T FUCKING PUSH IT.

[Noonling]

I honestly wouldn't consider Gone Home an art game. Soz.

[Zetetic]

Personally, I, honestly, wouldn't consider anything to be anything.

BEAT THAT

[Noonling]

Honestly, I don't consider Zetetic to be a name, to be honest.

Is Zetetic art?

[Thursday]

Well as we all know, games can't be art, so there's no such thing as "art games"

[bgmnts]

I've come across to the Alan Moore style if thinking when it comes to different mediums. You should always try and be true to the medium you are putting it out on and showcase what video games can do. Namely, interactivity.

Video games to me now just seem like they are trying to emulate cinema and thats silly. That's why I still hold Nintendo as the standard to acheive. Say what you want about Zelda and Mario but they are the perfect games to me. Fuck all about art, narrative and complicated plots, just pure fun gameplay. That's what games should be about for me.

And I literally spent a month in Morocco people talking about 'what is art' and, as a prematurely middle aged man, i've had my fill. Art is whatever you want it to be, if Mario is art to you, good on you.

[Thursday]

Video games to me now just seem like they are trying to emulate cinema and thats silly.

This is far less the case now than it was say... 15 years ago though.

Regardless, I half agree but feel like people go too far with this purist attitude. If games have the capability to emulate cinema, what's wrong with letting them do that?

[St_Eddie]

This is far less the case now than it was say... 15 years ago though.

Regardless, I half agree but feel like people go too far with this purist attitude. If games have the capability to emulate cinema, what's wrong with letting them do that?

I agree.  It's fine if someone doesn't care for those types of games, as there's plenty of choice and plenty of non-cinematic, more traditional games available to play instead.  I don't see a problem with both types of games existing.  I mean, I can't stand strategy games but I wouldn't suggest that it's silly that they get made, as loads of people do love them.  It's a bit self-centered to suggest that all games should aspire to be [the type of game which I personally enjoy the most].

[bgmnts]

This is far less the case now than it was say... 15 years ago though.

Regardless, I half agree but feel like people go too far with this purist attitude. If games have the capability to emulate cinema, what's wrong with letting them do that?

I am not bothered about them doing that, it's just when it displaces games that don't do that, that's when it depresses me a tad.

Maybe it's because video games is more of a childish hobby but I still much prefer the games of my time and before my time. I am not being hyperbolic when I say Super Mario 64 feels more like a video game than any blockbuster out now. The graphics, the visual style, the music, the gameplay, everything.

I'm not a purist by any means because I still lap up these new games but I just feel they're not as good.

[Zetetic]

It's not as though games in the vein of Super Mario 64 aren't being made any more. Edit: Although I grant that they're likely buried amongst the remakes and remasters of the last few decades if you were specifically looking for 3D platformers.

[Zetetic]

(They still might not be as good, but that's quite a high bar.)

[The Boston Crab]

The reality is that thick people don't understand the value of gameplay, they just want to see graphics and buy their 4K tellies and get a big bed and sit on it eating halloumi fries. These people buy David Cage games and God of War and Spiderman. These people genuinely don't count. It's like saying ohh the best film is Avengers because it's got so many layers to appreciate, it's not just a supehereo film and I'm just thinking you thick fucking pond life nerd scum.

 Just because you don't know any better and it FEELS GOOD to you and we're not allowed to say that someone's opinion is worth nothing any more doesn't mean that your opinion isn't just less than dogshit. It's nothing. You don't count. It's harsh but that's life. If you really don't know what the fuck you're talking about and your insight is uttter shit, don't get upset if you are told very clearly that you might as well finish up there. No shame in driving off a cliff because your wrong about a film or a game, it's honourable in some socieities.

These days everything has a subjective value where one things equals another because someone LIKES it but that's not actually true. That's just some touchy feely end of the world mindfulness ignore reality wanking exercise. You might feel better thinking that your Yoshi cross stitch is the equivalent to Raphael's Ascension because thats old and borin but your Yoshi cross stitch is a lunatic swiping turds on a whitewashed wall and Raphael is a genius. Some things are simply BETTER in a way you are not evolved enough to understand.

[Thursday]

It's not as though games in the vein of Super Mario 64 aren't being made any more. Edit: Although I grant that they're likely buried amongst the remakes and remasters of the last few decades if you were specifically looking for 3D platformers.

I try to avoid giving the "you just have to look for them" excuse that people use with music.

It is still true to an extent, but for me it's just that I've followed the industry close enough, and learnt enough about my own tastes in games, that I think I have a good sense of what I can ignore and what I should pay attention to.

[Josef K]

Dinner Date

You play a pretentious, entitled, whiney, orientalist lit-bro and it goes through his anxious thoughts as he's waiting for his date to arrive. Lasts about 15 minutes but felt like an hour.

[St_Eddie]

The reality is that thick people don't understand the value of gameplay, they just want to see graphics and buy their 4K tellies and get a big bed and sit on it eating halloumi fries. These people buy David Cage games and God of War and Spiderman. These people genuinely don't count. It's like saying ohh the best film is Avengers because it's got so many layers to appreciate, it's not just a supehereo film and I'm just thinking you thick fucking pond life nerd scum.

 Just because you don't know any better and it FEELS GOOD to you and we're not allowed to say that someone's opinion is worth nothing any more doesn't mean that your opinion isn't just less than dogshit. It's nothing. You don't count. It's harsh but that's life. If you really don't know what the fuck you're talking about and your insight is uttter shit, don't get upset if you are told very clearly that you might as well finish up there. No shame in driving off a cliff because your wrong about a film or a game, it's honourable in some socieities.

These days everything has a subjective value where one things equals another because someone LIKES it but that's not actually true. That's just some touchy feely end of the world mindfulness ignore reality wanking exercise. You might feel better thinking that your Yoshi cross stitch is the equivalent to Raphael's Ascension because thats old and borin but your Yoshi cross stitch is a lunatic swiping turds on a whitewashed wall and Raphael is a genius. Some things are simply BETTER in a way you are not evolved enough to understand.

If Adolf Hitler were a gamer.

[Thursday]

I agree far more than I'd like to admit.

... wait... I mean um I don't agree... very bigoted, just let people like things, man!

[peanutbutter]

When the Boston Crab goes on a tirade like that, he sounds exactly like what I imagine I'd sound like on a coke binge and I'm not sure whether it's something I aspire to be or something I can't stand the idea of becoming.
The weird Yoshi cross stitch analogy lost me though...

[Cold Meat Platter]

If Adolf Hitler were a gamer.

So you're saying that Adolf Hitler was fundamentally correct?