Notes: The Art of the Video Game

   Tavinor, Grant. The art of videogames. Malden, MA: Wiley-Blackwell, 2009. Print.

 Tavinor in the 1st paragraph of his book admits to the secret guilt of taking pleasure in comitting acts of genocid and sociopathic behavior. along with acts of violence against animals and human beings, all within the game experience. He mentions that surely other gamers must have the same feeling of guilt. from there, he moves to discuss the amazing visuals of the video games in our current times in comparison with the age of pixalated games of the older times.

He refers to video games as the new "cultural form" and highlights the thrill of the "first time game experience" that has no substitute as he moves to discuss the "artistic high-points of  recent gaming".

A philosophical exploration of the art of video games is overdue. In the space of little more than forty years video games have developed from rudimentary artifacts designed to exploit the entertainment capabilities of newly invented computers , into a new and sophisticated form of popular art. Tavinor P.1

For many people, I suspect the image of videogames is still one of rather crude digital entertainments: pixalated space invaders moving jerkingly across a screen, yellow discs munching glowing balls, and tiny men climbing ladders and jumping barrels might come to mind. But recent times have seen the technical and artistic sophistication of games grow to an amazing degree. Tavinor P.1

Many Video Games are now simply stunning in their graphical and auditory depictions. "In a manner similar to the development of representational techniques in other art forms, digital artists and craftspeople have explored the artistic potential of the new medium and are now producing results arguably equal to the other representational arts. Tavinor P.1

But what makes "Oblivion" so engrossing in that the fantasy world is presented in an extraordinarily beautiful way and with such a complete freedom that exploring Cyrodil is an engaging , emotional and aesthetic rewarding experience. Tavinor P.2  

"Oblivion" sets both of these features-the linearity of the dungeon adventure, and the dismal appearance of the dungeon itself- in an abrupt juxtaposition with an open, unconstrained , and strikingly beautiful environment. Suddenly the player is in open air, confronted with a wonderfully rendered pastoral scene including misty green hills, rippling water, and an exciting ancient ruin on a nearby shore. Tavinor P.2 


Travinor talks about the excitement mixed with bewilderment that he experiences as a player in an "open environment" sand box game. "what should i do? Exactly what would I do? Was the game environment really as big as it looked? (it was). All of those are questions that players are set by the game creators to ask. as the game play itself in that type of games that takes hundreds of hours of game-play:"only over time did i answer these questions through exploring the world and its potential for adventure". Tavinor P.3