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Specific Games
by John Mawhorter on 08/01/09 07:55:00 pm
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Posted 08/01/09 07:55:00 pm
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Inspired by this old Something Awful article,
I believe we need more specific art. Not more obscure, but more
specific. So much stuff is produced every day that you’d think more of
this would exist. I want art about standing in line at airport
security, brushing my teeth while taking a piss, falling over and
skinning my knee, and turning on light switches. There should be a
whole album called “Burning My Tongue On Hot Coffee” and a whole
gallery dedicated to Awkward Moments In Class. There have surely been
successes in the game world, like JFK Reloaded or those millions of beat up President Bush
or kill Osama Bin Laden flash games (how many target Bush and how many
Osama?). Or perhaps Whack-A-Mole. Specific games must be more specific
than flight simulators. There should be pushing people out windows (The
specific word for this is defenestration. The more you know.)
simulators. They could bring you the experience of base jumping into
the Golden Gate Bridge (and trying not to get stuck), or accidentally
hammering your thumb instead of the nail, or navigating the labyrinth
as Theseus and killing the minotaur, or riding a dirtbike up/on the
Great Wall of China. These are not 40 hour games, but neither are they
40 hour experiences. You play until you master the particular mechanics
and then ride away into the sunset, content that you now can now cut
virtual peoples hair into weird shapes and have them pay you for it
(barbering is a life skill, trust me) with the best of them. Music and
other art forms could just concentrate on evoking the feeling of
tripping over your untied shoelaces or slamming a door in a salesmans
face or whatever else hasn’t yet been immortalized on canvas or vinyl.
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