Books, Art, and Games

I am taking a popular literature class this quarter. We are reading several genres, including detective, horror, fantasy, and thriller. I just finished reading "The Hedge Knight" by George R.R. Martin, the author of the Song of Ice and Fire series. "The Hedge Knight" is actually a sort of prequel to that series, taking place in the same world. I have played A Game of Thrones, the board game, and so I have heard the names of the houses like Lannister, Baratheon, Tyrel, Stark, and Greyjoy. The short story was quite enjoyable, if not particularly thought provoking, and I am considering buying the series.

This got me to thinking about books, reading, and my enjoyment of them. I used to read a lot when I was little, but towards the end of high school I ceased reading for enjoyment, main because I was reading a lot for school. Lately I have begun reading again. Over Thanksgiving and Christmas break I read “Ender's Game,” “Speaker for the Dead”, “Xenocide,” “Children of the Mind,” and “Ender's Shadow,” which leaves only two books, excluding the unreleased one, that I have not read in the Ender series.

All this thinking got to me and I began thinking more about art in my life. Last night I saw Memento and my previous post discusses that. I have never considered myself terribly artistic, nor do I care much for "classical" art or the "greats." Whatever those terms mean I do not know. Certainly their literal English meaning does not suffice. But, to get back on topic, I realize I could very easily be one who enjoys arts. Lately I have been spending a bit of time appreciating drawings and paintings I find online. At a later point I will link to my favorite artists. Of course I also appreciate music, but really, who doesn't? I will say that I seem to often look for music that is fresh and not simply the the most popular.

All this thinking about my artistic interests, literature, paintings, and music, got me to thinking about what I am. Am I an artist? I have often considered games art. Movies are considered art, to an extent. In places other than the United States, boardgames have an author, just like a book or a painting would. Are game designers and programmers, "artists?"

If they are not, will I be an artist if I design and develop games? What must I do in order to distinguish myself and be an artist? Is it even possible? I would argue that creating games is an art, for that is the most romantic view. Romanticism itself has roots in art, of one form or another. And does not considering myself and artist hold myself to greater standards as I design games? My passions for designing games is not simply to make something that will sell.

I believe a quote by Stephen King, from the foreward of Nightwatch, a collection of his short stories is appropriate.

In society we have an unspoken agreement to call our obsessions "hobbies."

Sometimes the hobby can become a full-time job. The accountant may discover that he can make enough money to support his family taking pictures; the schoolteacher may become enough of an expert on grave rubbings to go on the lecture circuit. And there are some professions which begin as hobbies and remain hobbies even after the practitioner is able to earn his living by pursuing his hobby; but because “hobby” is such a bumpy, common-sounding word, we also have an unspoken agreement that we will call our professional hobbies “the arts.”

Painting. Sculpture. Composing. Singing. Acting. The playing of a musical instrument. Writing. Enough books have been written on these subjects alone to sink a fleet of luxury liners. And the only thing we seem to be able to agree upon about them is this: that those who practice these arts honestly would continue to practice them even if they were not paid for their efforts; even if their efforts were criticized or even reviled; even on pain of imprisonment or death. To me that seems to be a pretty fair definition of obsessional behavior. It applies to the plain hobbies as well as the fancy ones we call “the arts” -- if coin collecting were outlawed tomorrow, the astronomer very likely wouldn’t turn in his steel pennies and buffalo nickels; he’d wrap them carefully in plastic, sink them to the bottom of his toilet tank, and gloat over them after midnight.

I think King is right on in what he writes. What is it that makes “art” stand out? I believe it is simply because “some” elite class has declared it so. Try defining literature sometime. It is terribly difficult to do, from any perspective. Objectivity has no place in such a discussion. Based on such ideas, who is to say that I am not creating art when I create games, and I am not an artist?