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Indie dev Andrew Allanson claims that gamers can’t appreciate art because they didn’t like his game

Whitesnake

Banned
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The guy behind YIIK: A Postmodern RPG, an indie RPG currently sitting with a Metacore of 66 out of 100 and a user score of 3.8 out of 10 on Metacritic, has recently claimed that he was mistaken in thinking that games can be art and implied that gamers can’t appreciate media that is meaningful or thought-provoking.

This isn’t the first time YIIK or its director have faced controversy, such as when it was revealed that he used the real-life tragedy/mystery of Elisa Lam as part of his wacky video game plot, or when he acted as if he was going to push the JRPG genre forward and that he knew better than the JRPG greats that came before him.
 

thief183

Member
We.. user score of 3.8 out of 7 reviews.... Maybe he should have waited a little bit....even tho...I didn't knew about this game until now...
 

thief183

Member
Ok, Now that I've been lurking the web for something about the game... looks like people didn't like the fact that he used Elisa Lam murder as an ispiration, it is kinda creepy but at the same tiem I'm curious now. I'll add to my watchlist.
 

Saber

Gold Member
Didn't he knows that not everyone can like certain types of arts?

It's just like pizza. I love it, most people love it. But there are others who don't. Does that means they dunno how to appreciate food?

I think this guy should sit and reflect for a while.
 
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SweetShark

Member
I played the game and sadly I didn't like it.

However I didn't had any kind of issue with the protagonists at all. It was refreshing to see someone's true feelings even those are ugly.
Plus the main hero wasn't the only asshole as well. The majority of them were equal terrible as well.

I didn't liked the game cause of the awful time consuming fights and the QTE in them...
 

daveonezero

Banned
well good think art is open to interpretation, opinion and subjective. So his opinion doesn't matter.

I think there is a reason why this community is enthralled by this interactive medium. There is an exchange between the creator(s) and consumers. It is a very unique medium. For that I think its safe to call it art. The sheer amount of hours that goes into a great game to be enjoyed by millions of people is just such a fascinating thing to me.
 

Nymphae

Banned
A game about an asshole who is transformed by the end of the story. Such a bold piece of narrative artwork. I'm not digging into the context further, but it's like, there are plenty of people out there who would appreciate a game like that, if the game is made well it will get played and appreciated. This guy probably lives on twitter and saw a few negative tweets and is closing his studio over it I guess.
 

Virex

Banned
He's completely right. Games aren't art. I'm all for getting rid of all the artsy bullshit it games and go back to the most important thing. Fun and as much fun as possible. There's a reason older consoles are still being played till this day. Because it wasn't art bullshit. It was about gameplay and fun.
 

MagnesG

Banned
Good for him. I'd say it is a good learning experience, know your market and accommodate them per your taste.

Real question, did he really get a good feedback though?
 

Scopa

The Tribe Has Spoken
Lmao I've seen this ugly ass earthbound/persona/undertale clone everywhere.
Looks like shit. Fuckin cringy ass hipster bullshit from 2012.
>that "tip: videogames are not a waste of time" at the end
Looks like they were after all fam LOL



I’d rather drag my balls over burning coals and broken glass than play this game. That looks like complete shit.

Get the fuck over yourself pretentious hipster douche dev.
 
I agree 100% that videogames are not art per se. They are kinda a sub-art made for entertainment., some get closer than others to being pure art but none are.
 
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TLZ

Banned
Lmao I've seen this ugly ass earthbound/persona/undertale clone everywhere.
Looks like shit. Fuckin cringy ass hipster bullshit from 2012.
>that "tip: videogames are not a waste of time" at the end
Looks like they were after all fam LOL



What is this weird game? What am I watching?
 

StreetsofBeige

Gold Member
Problem with guys like this is, is he thinks just because he makes it, everyone has to buy it.

In most companies out there, what you make is based on consumer demand, data sets and trying to fill a void to bank money. There's some kind of structure of getting a product from idea to store shelves.

Artists are often different. They shotgun whatever idea they have into a game, a painting, a clay vase etc...... and then pray the public will like it and buy it. They might. They might not.

And even worse is when said artists have expectations people should be forced/obligated to like it because he or she made it.
 
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V

Vader1

Unconfirmed Member
There are probably just a lot more artistic games than that one tbh
 

zenspider

Member
I tried to be open-minded about YiiK, as much as it felt like a millenial hipster take on Earthbound/Undertale, maybe I'm an out of touch oldhead - was waiting to see if it got good reviews.

Came across this youtuber just evisceraring it:



This isn't the fun Phil Fish or Jonathan Blow kind of pretention where you run your mouth sometimes but deliver the goods.
 
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SonGoku

Member
Calling your own character a piece of shit, yeah that's going to end well...
Dev has such a pretentious soyboy voice.
 
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Ixiah

Banned
Wow its like when you intentionally make a protagonist an unlikeable piece of garbage, people still react to them as if hes an unlikeable piece of garbage....
Just because you intentionally burn your food and then serve it doesnt mean that Customers wont vomit or get angry, hello Evangelion.
 
Problem with guys like this is, is he thinks just because he makes it, everyone has to buy it.

Millennial Soy Hipster attitude. Gives nothing, expects everything.

The irony of the Hipster Millennial is that everything is about them - just look at the shitty representation of himself in the clip above.

Typical shit ironic postmodern crap.
 
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Petrae

Member
He's completely right. Games aren't art. I'm all for getting rid of all the artsy bullshit it games and go back to the most important thing. Fun and as much fun as possible. There's a reason older consoles are still being played till this day. Because it wasn't art bullshit. It was about gameplay and fun.

So. Much. This.

Not everyone will agree, but I sure liked video games a lot more before they became pretentious/artsy/up their own asses in self-importance. Fuck, I’ve read the argument from more than a few people that video games don’t have to be fun because they’re art— and indie devs lead the charge.

If I want to indulge in serious art, I’ll go to a museum or take in a classical music performance. Video games, for me, are about fun and enjoyment. I avoid “artsy” games like the Plague.
 

Spukc

always chasing the next thrill
Just because someone makes huge shit based paint enema’s on a giant piece of paper. Will not mean everyone think it is art.
The fuck is wrong with this dude?
 
Okay I haven't played the game because I think it looks like shit, but I think he's right.

When you want to sell a video game, you have to sell it to kids and teenagers, you can't really go deeper than a Marvel movie for this stuff, but that's okay, I don't expect video games to be any other thing than that, for me they actually are toys for children but I have fun with them, just like I have fun watching Dragon Ball Super despite being 28.

I just care about games being fun and having good gameplay, nothing else, if an artsy game comes out and it's actually good, and I mean good and not just "good for a video game", sure, I will try it. But it's not what I'm looking for, and I actually think it shouldn't. I'm not interested in a world were games stop being fun to play.
 

Geki-D

Banned
Okay I haven't played the game because I think it looks like shit, but I think he's right.

When you want to sell a video game, you have to sell it to kids and teenagers, you can't really go deeper than a Marvel movie for this stuff, but that's okay, I don't expect video games to be any other thing than that, for me they actually are toys for children but I have fun with them, just like I have fun watching Dragon Ball Super despite being 28.

I just care about games being fun and having good gameplay, nothing else, if an artsy game comes out and it's actually good, and I mean good and not just "good for a video game", sure, I will try it. But it's not what I'm looking for, and I actually think it shouldn't. I'm not interested in a world were games stop being fun to play.
I don't think ICO, Journey, Gris, Braid, Machinarium, Ori and the Blind Forest and a load of others have much "Marvel movie" appeal to them yet they're all successful "artsy" games.
 
D

Deleted member 738976

Unconfirmed Member
Oh boo hoo. Give me a team of programmers and I'll make a game world that isn't full of unlikable hipster dipshits.
 

Outrunner

Member
I agree that video-games are not art. I agree video-games are toys that can be targeted to all ages. I think that the reason why gamers didn't like it it's because it is a steaming pile of garbage, it's not a good video-game and it's definitely not art. But, sure. Make a bad product and put the blame for it's failure on the consumers.
 
Personally, I felt that you choose a particular medium to express yourself. How you express yourself in a book is not the same as a painting or a film. They each have their strengths and weaknesses. A lot of "art" games I see try to be a book/movie in video game format. I could be really off, just how I see it. Gaming's biggest strength is the experience.
Horror gaming is, in my opinion, the superior way to make the audience feel fear. They can't just close their eyes to skip the scary bits. You could read or watch a film about life in an oppressive regime, or you can experience it with something like Paper's Please. This War of Mine tries to make you feel the desperation of being a civilian in a war zone. So I feel that gaming can be an art, not that it is art, just a matter of how you use it.
This guy clearly failed.
 
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#Phonepunk#

Banned
Who ever said this loser’s lame meta rpg was art in the first place?

At some point we have to get over this need to call everything art. Dadaists destroyed the idea of objective art 100 years ago but the general public never got the memo
 
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