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General discussionBeyond Gaming - Artgames on GOG mix(21 posts)(21 posts)
(21 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted September 04, 2017
I'm not exactly sure about your criteria for artgames, so I'm not sure what to suggest..."games that go beyond gaming" is a complex description, because the games DIDN'T go beyond gaming. They're still games, but that doesn't make them any less so.

But going technically by your definition, walking simulators would be artgames? :D

Mentioned, but not on your list, I'd like to echo Bastion...not at all for the awesome aesthetic and the cool voice acted progression, but for the incredible emotional punch it delivers near the end. Likewise for the Walking Dead season 1 (the only Telltale game that was able to deliver that reaction, before their stuff became formulaic) and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

Most of the other games I can think of aren't available on GOG...stuf like Qora and Proteus and Spec Ops: The Line and The Stanley Parable.
Posted September 05, 2017
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Starmaker: Hotlime Miami
Spelling-pedant bait, or the latest parody game to have been pooped out onto itch.io from a game jam? =D
Posted September 05, 2017
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BotaZnohy: Whoa mate! Thanks for the effort you've put into such a long list.

But honestly, my criteria is a bit too strict for most of those games to make it to the mix. The main thing is that I'm trying to include only the games that actually do go beyond gaming, not just pretend to do so, or just try to be artsy. I'd like it to really work as a tool for the like-minded players to find a good art game.

I've already played quite a bit of the games you suggested. Some of them are great games which aren't really art. Some are shit games that try to be art. But there are some I didn't know and I'm gonna give them a shot, namely: Kentucky Rout Zero, Night in the Woods, The Way, Stories Untold and maybe Anodyne.
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Starmaker: Of course I didn't mean it like "this is the definittive list of art games, you better put all of them into your mix OR ELSE", I intentionally took every definition of art under the sun that's at all restrictive and rolled with that. Serious game is serious? Art. Ooh shiny? Art. Developer announces they're going To Make Art? Art. Participatory clicker? Art, because there's not much game and what else is left? (Then I thought, ew, looks like linkspam, I better add some descriptions). I wouldn't even put all of those into *my* hypothetical mix. If I were to use a strict definition and drastically trim it down to a list of recommendations, it'd look like this:

Cuphead: best traditional visual art in a videogame. I'm looking at screenshots and I can't believe this exists as computer graphics.
Kingdom: best videogame-specific visual art in a videogame. It's a fun and relaxing minimalist game, but it's also a source of immensely, unfairly, scandalously pretty screenshots. There's a lot of pretty pixel art out there, but only one (well, two -- the original and New Lands) dedicated pretty pixel art screenshot generator.
Defcon: serious game is serious but not preachy.
Night in the Woods: for the feels and magical realism. Kentucky Route Zero could go here but I'd rather nominate a game that's actually finished. <.<
either X-COM or Alpha Centauri, to showcase the unique capability of specifically computer games to tell certain kinds of complex stories. Paradox grand strategies could go there if they 1. were on GOG and 2. had any creative vision beyond "MOAR!"
Well Cuphead isn't out yet and while in really looks like an one-of-a-kind game which pushes the boundaries, I'm afraid it will have to wait I'm, since there is now so much games on my wishlist I'm not sure where I'm gonna find the funds and time to play it all.

I'm starting to think it might not be a bad idea to put some of those games on the mix even before I play them (and make it clear their place there is based purely on recommendation/estimation).

Kingdom is one of the games on your list I've played quite a bit. I admit the atmosphere is certainly there and the game is a looker, but for me Hyper Light Drifter and Owlboy are even prettier still. It comes down to personal tastes, right? Anyway, I thougt about it (because I like t game a lot), but in the end I didn't find enought to justify putting it on the mix.

NIght in the Wood is high on my to-play list.

I still haven't had a closer look on Defcon, but certaintly looks original.

And, all right! That Alpha Centauri is sitting in my library for almost a year now. I guess the time has finally come. I'll install it this weak and see the wonder for myself.
Posted September 05, 2017
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babark: I'm not exactly sure about your criteria for artgames, so I'm not sure what to suggest..."games that go beyond gaming" is a complex description, because the games DIDN'T go beyond gaming. They're still games, but that doesn't make them any less so.

But going technically by your definition, walking simulators would be artgames? :D

Mentioned, but not on your list, I'd like to echo Bastion...not at all for the awesome aesthetic and the cool voice acted progression, but for the incredible emotional punch it delivers near the end. Likewise for the Walking Dead season 1 (the only Telltale game that was able to deliver that reaction, before their stuff became formulaic) and Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons.

Most of the other games I can think of aren't available on GOG...stuf like Qora and Proteus and Spec Ops: The Line and The Stanley Parable.
I don't think I actually offered any definition:). Well, if you could easily describe what art is, it probably wouldn't be art in the first place. And yes, technically games will always be games. However, not all games are the same, right? And sometimes they do intermingle with other forms, most commonly literature and cinematography. Honestly, Sunless Sea is a book to the same extend it is a game, that does go "beyond gaming" at least a little bit, no?

But yeah, it is very complicated and... wide. This way at least I'm getting a lot of suggestions.

It will always be hard to judge what is art and after all, that is not the goal of my little mix. Not everyone will agree with my choices and that is fine too. I'll even include a game I don't really think is art from my perspective if someone makes a good case for it. You for example, now gave Bastion a good chance, cause previously I din't even consider playing it...

Anyway, I chose this title because it simple seem to me as the most fitting one. It remains to hope that others will (roughly) understand what I had in mind.

As for Walking Dead - while I enjoyed it, I honestly find it too mainstream to consider it to "go beyond".

Brothers: A Tale of Two Sons is on the list.

All the games you linked looks really interesting. Let's hope they'll find their way to GOG.
Post edited September 05, 2017 by BotaZnohy
Posted September 06, 2017
Another worthy candidate: Harvester (1996)

This is a point and click adventure which mixes 1950 Americana kitch with extreme gore. It feels more like a really strange underground movie than a game.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omdm7p6ZpkE

Early teaser from 1994, the rough prototype visuals make it even stranger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cknG6YHkqdM

Edit:
GOG has an interview with the original producer:
http://gogcom.tumblr.com/post/78954868646/harvester-interview
Post edited September 06, 2017 by KasperHviid
Posted September 07, 2017
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KasperHviid: Another worthy candidate: Harvester (1996)

This is a point and click adventure which mixes 1950 Americana kitch with extreme gore. It feels more like a really strange underground movie than a game.

Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omdm7p6ZpkE

Early teaser from 1994, the rough prototype visuals make it even stranger:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cknG6YHkqdM

Edit:
GOG has an interview with the original producer:
http://gogcom.tumblr.com/post/78954868646/harvester-interview
Added to wishlist:).

By the way, thanks for the Vangers guide. I'm playing it right now and I can say it's certainly difficult to get into this game. Can't imagine playing it with the original controls.

One thing in particular is causing me troubles though: I'm loosing my cargo(including my gun) after getting hit by a couple of shots all the time. Any tips on that?

But I've managed to get to the incubator on the 4th try, finally:D.
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General discussionBeyond Gaming - Artgames on GOG mix(21 posts)(21 posts)
(21 posts)