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Barker lays smackdown on Ebert about games not being art
Speaking with Scott Steinberg on the latest Digital Trends podcast, horror guru Clive Barker calls Roger "game's can't be high art" Ebert a "pompous, arrogant old man" and says "he's not going to stop us from making games or enjoying them or... making them art." Barker even says that he planned to write a nasty letter to Ebert, but then backed down after discovering Ebert had cancer. Well, at least Barker has a heart and isn't completely about ripping them out while they're still beating.Barker goes on to say that he thinks one day games will be viewed as art just like old Disney animated films are now. There's a lot more in the podcast about the topic. We're not that concerned about the "games as art" debate because we're sure in time the critics will come around. Although we're not too sure if Barker's Jericho would be on that art list before Shadow of the Colossus or Katamari Damacy.[Via GameDaily]
Classic games reimagined as art
From the 8-bit art show to E3's Into the Pixel exhbition, game-inspired art is nothing new. But while the works in these shows use the characters and scenes from popular games, they usually create a visual aesthetic all their own. Which is why it was kind of refreshing to stumble across these works by visual artist Jeremiah McNichols that go the other way -- inserting other artistic elements into familiar game scenes.The scenes came from McNichols' experiments making desktop wallpapers out of real wallpaper sample, and the effect is pretty freaky. We especially like this Frogger piece that makes it look like our froggy hero is trying to cross an oriental rug. McNichols blog has similar examples that draw from Contra, Gauntlet, Pitfall and more.[Via Boing Boing]
