Comments on: GDX 2009: Ian Schreiber, Duchamp, Pollock, Rohrer: Games as the Next Avant-Garde

By: Darren Torpey

Darren Torpey — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 16:48:00 +0000

"What if instead of selling it after the fact, what if you sell it during production to finance the rest of the project? [Mount and Blade did this.]"

I've become very interested in this idea as a growing trend for indies. Cortex Command has been doing this for quite a while, from what I understand.

We had a good chat with Nels Anderson and some folks from Stardock about this at gamerDNA's Tweetup at GDC '09...
I think people will be willing to "invest" in the niche titles that indies are making for them (people like them, specifically) because they can easily identify with a small company/production, because those companies/people can keep in touch more intimately (through media like email, Facebook, and Twitter), and because the "investors" have personal stake in it -- after all, the games are probably niche precisely because they're catering closely to the desires of their target audience.

Indies will be wise to experiment with this kind of relationship with their potential (or existing, "alpha") players because it allows them to flex their competitive advantage over the AAA market and really capitalize on the power of making games more more strongly-targeted audiences (even if it's only niche to begin with due to an initial exposure problem -- see the history of Harmonix Music)

By: Ian Schreiber

Ian Schreiber — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 00:49:00 +0000

I should have been clearer in my presentation about this, but my intent was not to ask a bunch of "how would you make a game like this" questions just to have them answered... but rather to get people to ask their own questions along the same lines. Look at the system that is driving me to ask these questions, and ask your own.

For the purposes of those of you who want to google some of these artists, here are the correct spellings:
Marcel Duchamp (creater of the urinal "Fountain")
Clement Greenberg and Harold Rosenberg (art critics)
Joseph Beuys (shaman / spiritual guide / artist)
Sherry Levine and Richard Prince (appropriation artists)
Richard Serra (known for his huge, imposing sculptures in rolled steel)

@Michel: what does art history tell us? It gives us answers to some of the questions we're struggling with. This may be a new artistic medium, but ART is old, and frankly we are so wrapped up in this whole mindset of "it's all new" that we re-invent the wheel and try to solve artistic problems that have already been addressed centuries ago. Those who do not study their history are doomed to repeat it, and all that.

Today's captcha word is 'pecis', which is so close to being dirty. Pecis.

By: Michel

Michel — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 01:51:00 +0000

"That points out the stupid things endemic to that genre? Not by making fun of them but by epitomizing them."

Metal Gear Solid series.

I agree with Jason. I'm not sure what Art HISTORY has to teach us about where to take this brand new medium.

By: solipsistnation

solipsistnation — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 21:41:00 +0000

Game what points out how stupid games are by epitomizing the stupidity: Serious Sam.

Game that makes you feel insignificant, helpless and afraid from the scale: STALKER, to some extent