The Grammys showed Video Games’ Dystopian Future: Safe Art

Art has never been safe. It has always try to play on the edge of what is acceptable. Sometimes it goes beyond what is acceptable and ventures into uncomfortable. That is when art is arguably the most powerful: when it makes you reflect on things that make you feel a person whether on a technical, artistic, political or emotional level. Pieces such as Candid, Thriller, or Schindler’s List strive to attack normal convention and show a different side you never knew.

"Pong" by User:Bumm13 - Originally upload at en.wikipedia.org [1]. Licensed under Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons.

That is one of the problems with video games right now. Video games, in recent history, has been playing it safe. Many would content on that point because of multiple controversies as well as the concept of the game itself. People would be wise to remember that the history video games has just begun and because of it just starting up, it has been able to get a pass on what counts as safe. For the longest time, because it was a burgeoning medium, we saw tons of games that progress the media. They played it dangerously because at that point in time there was very little to play with in the first place. If someone made Pong, someone made Galaga, or Space Invaders, or Tetris. All of them uniquely different and against what counts as safe for said medium.

"Fatality" by Source. Licensed under Fair use of copyrighted material in the context of Fatality (Mortal Kombat)">Fair use via Wikipedia.

Mortal Kombat for instance played it dangerously. Midway at the time created a violent but stylized fighting video game. This made gamers a bit uncomfortable but not for the right reasons. It made gamers have to confront the United Staes Congress about their medium. However, that was a great opportunity seized beautiful by the industry. In that moment video games was not only recognized as artistic medium, but to gamers and is well as everybody outside of the medium it offered up the following question: at what point is a video game content extreme enough that it warrants to be labeled for adults.

That led to the ESRB, it led towards more people testing boundaries of where to put things in video games in terms of content. It also create a political statement about multiple different companies such as Nintendo and Sega and even Midway at the time. Overall, it lead for the progression of the video game medium because the content did not play it safe.

"Gone Home - Zine" by The Fullbright Company - http://www.thefullbrightcompany.com. Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons.

Another example is Gone Home. Gone Home made gamers absolutely uncomfortable and arguably for the right reasons. It made people question what makes a video game and arguably pushed for the question for the medium: what is a video game. Moreover it created a plot like that otherwise tended to conflict with what norm for the average game. Make no mistake, Gone Home progressed the medium, and when looking back years later it will be one of the key points to show how video games are art.

So then what about Hatred? All signs point towards it not necessarily progressing the medium because of the intent of the content the developer wants to push. However we will have to wait and see before we got final judgment call.

So what happens if games plays it safe? I mean it brings in cash for people, people have fun with game, everyone’s happy right?

When you have art that plays it safe, it perpetuates the status quo. It makes the status quo happy because they do not have to feel uncomfortable and can isolate, not escape, themselves from reality. It silences outliers that have a potent story to tell that can make people think about life differently. It stagnates the progression of what it means to create said art. It destroys the intellectual conversation that can be held for the medium. It makes the medium boring. That is the future of gaming if we do not heed the lessons from the Grammys: condoning safe art.

Last night at the Grammys Kanye West almost made a verbal statement. However his actions show the intent. He came up there as a protest against safe art. Beyonce’s album from an artistic, technical , even release conventions, was not safe. Unfortunately, if we as gamers do not change our attitude on gaming soon, that can be our horrible future. A future where safe art and status quo is tolerated when it never has been the case for art and human life in general. A future that may lead to a Let’s Player doing the same thing for video games at a video game awards show. Let us hope gaming never gets to that point.

Originally published at www.polygon.com on February 9, 2015.