Nothing more inelegant or ineffective than an art conceived in another art’s form. (Robert Bresson)
Stumbled upon this quote, strangely appropriate for the discussion about games and art.
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My name is Jesper Juul, and I am a Ludologist [researcher of the design, meaning, culture, and politics of games]. This is my blog on game research and other important things.
That’s knowledge—if Bresson were alive today, he might have some serious issues with the ending of Metal Gear Solid 3. Too many cinema scenes!
Two of my other favorite Bresson quotes, both of which could be extended meaningfully to games:
To TRANSLATE the invisible wind by the water it sculpts in passing.
The soundtrack invented silence.
Robert Bresson is correct for written works, but, but as Michael Berens and Pablo Picasso are both quoted as saying
“Good artists borrow, great artists steal”
Which has been used as the basis of many VG industry talks. And it is true that many games borrow from one another as indeed Dan Scherlis is quoted as saying:
“Genre is what we call one hit game and its imitators”
This would be a good topic for another book don’t you think Jesper?
Yes, definitely a book in that, and in how genres develop – I have an article on matching tile games coming out hopefully soon that discusses that.
Inefficient, perhaps, but inelegant?, ineffective?
What of Leonardos last supper, a piece that quite clearly depicts what was conceived as a 3-dimensional sculpture in a 2-dimensional picture?
Or am I misunderstanding the quote?
I took it to mean (in a round about way) that one must find each mediums’ unique voice, and learn to wield it… which, yes, by association could be taken as a bit of a side swipe at Kojima and “Frustrated Directors”/”Filmic Fetishists” within the games industry. Why use an inherently interactive medium for a passive, unbending message?
etc.
*Snoooore*.
Aubrey beat me to it – that was also my reading, with games trying to be film the most obvious examples.
The truth, when I think about it, is that at least Kojima did some things to “interactivize” the cinema scenes in MGS3. And it was not just an afterthought; the optional Snake’s-POV shots added all kinds of complexity and subtext to the story. And I loved the gameplay, though The End really freaked me out.
Bresson was writing mostly about his frustration with cinema being in thrall to the theater. He held himself to impossibly high standards (most of “Notes on the Cinematographer” can be read as a set of rules for himself) because he took the unique attributes of his medium so seriously.
Finding and emphasizing the aspects of film that distinguishes it from other art forms is something film scholars and creators have spent a LOT of time on over the years. And it’s both an interesting and necessary pursuit in my opinion, but at the same time it should not be forgotten that film is a multimedium, combining pictures, text, sound, music, and of course those aspects particular to film (mainly movement) into a complete work. You can’t forget that because it is one of the things that seperate film from other media.
I think it’s the same with games: To make a great game, you must master the multimedia, the combination of film, text, music, interaction, and what-not that makes it a game. I guess my point is that I – like most of you – agree with Bresson insofar as one does not completely ignore the influence of previous media on your own. A little cutscene now and then is not necessarily a good thing, but it must be carefully implemented : )
And of course I mean it’s not necessarily a BAD thing. Duh. This comment system needs an edit button :P