I can’t believe it, but there is a second article in the December issue of Gameinformer that applies to my the concepts of art that we have talked about before in this class. “I remember how I felt when I first played Final Fantasy VII. I suspect my reaction was not unique–I came out of that game feeling, for the first time, like I’d played a movie. I think that’s the first inkling I had of what was to come, what is still coming. More and more, it seems that traditional lines between entertainment media–film, book, game, song–are bleeding together. I think that video games hold the future of what we might call the “uber-media” form. The combination of all traditional arts into a single experience, mixed with the new art of the 20th century–the art of guided participation.” After reading through this editorial, I was curious as to who wrote it. It’s often that the editorial for the magazine is actually written by one of the staff, presumably because nobody writes in anything worth publishing–if they send in anything at all. However, the level of writing for this editorial seemed higher than normal, so I checked to see who wrote it. Brandon Sanderson wrote it. He is an accomplished author, who is currently in the process of completing the Wheel of Time (one of my favorite book series) after the original author, Robert Jordan, died.

It was extremely interesting to see somebody who works in a different media of art to discuss the merits of video games. Sanderson goes on to reference two other games as examples of “the future of art”. This has been a theme in many of my posts, because I am very intrigued by the evolution of art. While I do not like many of the new forms of art (especially in music), I do respect that they are art. However, I have played a few games that I would call art. They were able to sustain a story that kept me interested in the characters–like a good movie or book–with appropriate music, believable voice acting, and amazing graphics. However, rather than praising these games, they make me look to the future and think how amazing games will be in a few years. As Sanderson says, the “art of guided participation” seems like it is the art of the future. Since I draw, play music, write (both english and music) the possibility of being able to create art that combines all of these different facets of art is very tantalizing.