Certain small video games have been the lost and under appreciated art forms which can benefit from more positive publicity, purely because of the fact that the mainstream developers and publishers have the market in their grip and just wont let go.

The words violent, or addictive and artless have been often associated with video games. but there is so much more to the gaming industry than the mainstream market. there is so many different countries who see the mainstream as a money making machine, and a negative influence. from Sweden to Ukraine to even the middle east, developers have been trying to embrace artistic approaches to video games, and the results have been majorly successful.

Video games are all about embracing the player in the digital world, everything else is just there to help mold the experience into a working piece of digital interaction. when the focus of creating this world shifts from artistic approaches to the love of money, things start to turn sour and generic, and ultimately into a restrict parents wet dream, or nightmare, depending on how you look at it. pointless violence, endless killing, the glorification of the US military, or the over use of iconic video game brands all come under the famous formula of:

Copy and paste + Brainwashing advertising = endless $$$

Don't get me wrong I’m all for violence and killing in video games, if done in the right way and not just for the sake of it, all I’m trying to say is too much focus on pointless violence creates boring and desperate attempts at making a video game. And a lot of people have started to catch on and realize this and are getting bored of what was once their favorite, and probably the only game they used to play and enjoy. But why cant gaming be about the passion for experiencing new titles and worlds and being completely embraced in a beautiful personal experience? and lets be honest going on a brutal killing spree online and then shouting abuse down a mic might sound embracing for some, but it certainty isn't a beautiful or artistic.

Many video game developers are extremely in touch with their artistic side, especially new and upcoming indie developers from countries like Sweden. The extreme focus on the artistic soul of the games results in producing some very abstract worlds. these worlds would just not be immersive enough as a painting or a movie. to be able to walk around an abstract world and be in full control of your point of view while the powerful music holds your hand and walks with you causes an experience you can’t go back from. If done properly 3D digital landscape can be a very beautiful photographic experience.

Games like Flower (above) are simple, beautiful and abstract. the look, music, feel and drive of the game all come together beautifully to allow us to get lost in the world, even if the world doesn't have too much to throw in our face. The feel of being lonely and insignificant opens a new door for the gamer to have a more personal experience, this can be seen in a lot of these indie games. scale plays a huge part in this clever trick.

The smaller you are or feel, the bigger the experience. Games like Shadow of the Colossus execute scale beautifully and make the character (player) feel very vulnerable and insignificant against the giants of the world.

Video games can do what movies can never ever do, And that is to make the viewer engage and be a part of the world, therefore it relies heavily on having perfect art design and 3D environments, and developers can see this and understand it better than us. They can achieve great things if they had the money. So really when you think about it all we need to do is stop wasting our money every year on the same titles over and over, and be more open minded about how far little experiences with smaller games can take us.

Although realistically that would never happen, and the mainstream would always burn and pillage our mind and wallet. But all we need is awareness about the existence of these creative small teams. with awareness comes people who have been waiting to support and give donations for the cause of making artistic, abstract and educational experiences a main focus for games.

It’s rare to come across creative games, but not impossible, there is still a lot to look forward to, probably now more than ever, I’m really looking forward to some new developers turning the tables on mainstream games.

A prime example of a small upcoming developer is Tale of Tales.

Their latest project called ‘Sunset’ which focuses on bringing out the horrors of war, but with a different and creative take. trying to show us that gaming doesn't need to be so hung up on boring shooters, and that with a little bit of artistic design and creative story telling, the impact a game can have on an individual would be 100 times more than a generic bland war game.

If you are interested in indie developers have a look at these guys, as they do rely on our support to fund future projects.

Website : http://www.tale-of-tales.com/

Kick-starter: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/taleoftales/sunset-a-first-person-videogame-thriller

Written by: Houman Kandar

https://www.facebook.com/houman.kandar