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DS fans unsurprised at French view of games as art
Earlier this month, the French minister of culture declared that video games should be included in the industries that are considered for tax breaks in that country -- something limited to artistic endeavors. Yes, that's right ... in France, someone is moving for games to be declared bastions of art. That's quite different from what we've more often heard over the years, but it's not too new for France, a nation that offered up Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (awards for cultural achievement) to game designers, including our own Shigeru Miyamoto. But are we surprised by the move? DS fans know all about the art of video games; after all, it's our handheld that's leading the rebirth of games that are only there to tell a story -- games like Phoenix Wright and Contact, games that aren't so much about the gameplay as they are about what happens during gameplay. Sure, Halo has an intriguing story (albeit one ripped from the dozens of sci-fi franchises that came before), but in the end, Halo isn't about the story. It's about shooting things with weapons. And that's all well and good, but a compelling story adds a lot to a game. People aren't hoping for Final Fantasy VI redux (ala the update on FFIII) because of the gameplay, though as an RPG, it is hailed at the forefront of the genre. Still, fans want it for the game itself -- the rich world and compelling characters. It's that quality that we crave in a game and that so many products of the industry lack.France's move will, we hope, spur that further. When it comes to the question of art, games are often spurned as not serious, as brain-rotting fluff. Hey, sometimes, that's what makes a game fun. Mario Kart isn't, after all, an epic quest for the golden cup. It's about watching your best good friends shake their fist in the wake of your exhaust fumes. But there have been great examples of storytelling in games, and what's more, there have been ideas, kernels of stories that have been lost because hey, who cares about the story?
