VA11-Hall-A: But is it Art?
VA11-Hall-A (pronounced Valhalla, a stylized spelling of the Norse afterlife) is a visual novel and bartender simulation set in a hectic dystopian cyberpunk future. A stylized game full of homage and references, it is surprisingly relaxed in gameplay. It follows bartender Jill as she serves synthetic alcohols to a unique blend of characters. Released in 2016 by indie developer Sukiban Gaming, VA11-Hall-A quickly gained critical acclaim for its narratively complex characters and retro art style. It was quickly ported over to Playstation and Nintendo systems by 2017. Gameplay provides a way to connect to an audience and remixes PC-98 graphics interfaces, cyberpunk literature, and Japanese anime. However, there has been much debate about whether gaming should be considered a part of the fine arts, with gamers passionate about its acceptance, and critics reluctant to agree. VA11-Hall-A challenges the definition of video games as art; not quite breaking into the boundary yet remaining something beautiful.
The VA11-Hall-A world is introduced through character dialogue, but dystopian strife permeates through: nanomachine diseases, riots, and android discrimination. There are certainly real-world similarities that can be inferred from this.
Jill, the player’s character, is struggling through her own problems. She must find another bartending job, reconcile her crush on her boss and professional relationship, as well as cope with the death of her girlfriend, Lenore, two years prior. It is not just Jill who is jaded, every customer has problems. For example there is Streaming-chan: a girl whose entire existence is online 24/7. Only after a week, do the player/Jill discover the manic depression and need for attention Streaming-chan desperately wants. Another is Dorothy, a child-like android sex worker. The dissonance between child appearance and sex work is not lost here. VA11- Hall-A does cover adult topics that can make players uneasy. Yet it is not there to be edgy or even polemic, merely there to show complex people. It is easy to become attached, NPCs here are subtle and nuanced.
However, this is not a game review, nor am I the person to do it. The problem concerning video games and new media is can it be called “art.” In his essay ‘Video games can never be art’, Renowned film critic Roger Ebert thought “”No one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great poets, filmmakers, novelists and poets.”” He has a point. There are no video games that reach to Shakespeare, Orson Wells, or Van Gogh.
When I’m woken up by my apartment neighbor at 2:00 am squealing like a little girl and swearing over a missed headshot, I find it hard to believe that he’s appreciating “art.” Players who control a character aren’t following a narrative, like a film or novel, but rather living out a power fantasy making choices in a virtual world.
Yet even the more storied video games are not without merit. Aesthetically, games can be pleasing; large companies have entire divisions of art design. Doesn’t that, by derivation, make games artwork? Video games certainly can elicit emotional responses, just ask any nostalgic twenty-something. I think that the more progressive video games can right now be best summarized by a line from Rudyard Kipling, “It’s pretty but is it art?”
So that is the state of the medium of video games. Not quite a serious art form, but even Ebert admits that “never is a really long time.” The progression of media will eventually get there. All new mediums have this problem, yet the march of time perfect each medium.
And that is the unique thing about VA11-Hall-A. It is by no means a Rembrandt, but some elements make it a progressive piece. The genre of the game is a visual novel. Odd, considering a novel is considered “art.” Most entries in the visual novel provide multiple dialogue options. A player has autonomy to become god within their gameplay. VA11-Hall-A’s story is linear, there are no dialogue options. It sounds like a boring game, but in a certain sense it functions more like a movie or a book’s linear progression. According to lead developer, Christopher Ortiz, this was intentional. In order to make Jill, a believable character separate from the player’s own beliefs and intentions, the conversations had to be her own. This diverts from the traditional dialog gamers where the player and main character are one and the same.
Nevertheless, players are still motivated to bond with clients that come through the door, even for some players memorizing drink recipes and NPC routines and preemptively mixing drinks before they show up on screen. While the dialogue may be linear, the drink mixing is the simulation aspect of the game. There is not any time limit, no failure option. It feels relaxing and Zen to mix drinks. It puts the player at ease. If the consequences are not there, then is it a game or an experience? I would lean more towards an experience. I think Ortiz sums it up best, “We try to make the player feel small.”
Is VA11-Hall-A art? I don’t know. Overall, it exemplifies the curious nature of all forms of digital media in the ever-changing cyber world of gaming. It encourages a relaxed but introspective narrative, inviting players to get to know the non-player characters as they develop what relationships really mean to themselves as an individual.
