Diana Hughes

Trying to get in the habit of posting on this thing, so for now, that means posting the occasional Interactive Writing assignment or linking to articles that come across my RSS and tickle my fancy. Someday, I will blog like a big girl, but for now, hey, at least my page isn't empty anymore. Little background: the assignment for this piece was to take a character, a place, and an event, and use those elements as the jumping-off point for a (very) short story.

Jason Astronaut glared at his guidance counselor for a full minute before responding. “No, I have no interest in becoming a pilot, atmo or otherwise,” he said flatly.

Jason considered this, then grinned. “Sign me up!”

I feel like there is a point in any event like this where the event ceases to be a forum and instead becomes a venue. By this I mean that after awhile, people are no longer really having a discussion where ideas are being aired, examined, and changed. At some point, they're just making speeches at one another until the moderator tells them to stop.

This is definitely my opinion, and I invite the opinions of others here, but as a student and as an artist, I don't feel like I really learned anything tonight. Going in, I think most of us agreed that games are an art form, that they deserve to be taken seriously, and that Slamdance was in the wrong to undermine this philosophy. After the discussion, I think most of us agreed that games are an art form, that they deserve to be taken seriously, and that Slamdance was in the wrong to undermine this philosophy.

So what did we learn? Other than having a nice big catharsis and giving people a chance to be mad at Slamdance in public, did we accomplish anything? For me, at least, the answer is no. If anything (and PLEASE, argue with me about this!), I think having a forum like this is actually a step backwards. By saying "let's all get together and discuss whether games are an art form and whether that art form should be equal to others" we are implying that there is doubt, within our own ranks, that these claims are true. I suppose it would have been different if we'd invited representatives from film, music, theater, and other arts to come and debate the point. That would actually be a discussion I would love to sit in on (nudge nudge, Scott). It also would have been a much different discussion if Peter Baxter had been able to attend, though I think even that would have degenerated into "we are right and you are not boo hiss." But for a group of game-focused people to get together and argue about it is somewhat beside the point. Of course we all agree on this, or why would we be here at all?

Side note: I do think it's a shame Peter couldn't join us. In situations like this, I feel like listening is FAR more important than talking; it's how you learn. Because Mr. Baxter was not there, we were all denied that opportunity to listen and perhaps learn. I'm guessing that he isn't some sadistic, slavering maniac who is out to destroy the idea of documentary games. I'm also guessing that he isn't a terrified coward who caved at the slightest hint of trouble. I would have very much liked to hear his point of view, instead of making him the villain based on what we DO know, and I'm disappointed that we didn't have that chance.

To move on to another point, the topic I was most interested in was, from the announcement on IMD's main site: "Where can provocative, independent games be seen and celebrated if not at venues such as Slamdance?" I know this came up briefly, especially in back channel, with mentions of other game festivals, the possibility of festivals that aren't game-exclusive, starting our own festival (heaven help us, what a task!), and the like. And these are all valid suggestions. I guess my question is, what OTHER venues are there, besides festivals? Because if our concern is that the general public does not regard games as a legitimate art form, are festivals (admittedly rather insular events, mostly for people already in the industry) really the venue we want to use? I don't pretend to have a definitive answer, but I will say that I think festivals are only one choice available to us. As Peggy pointed out, games have the advantage in that they are (relatively, compared to film and other media) cheap to produce and distribute...can we use this to get our messages out there in a more meaningful way?

I think this is a key question, and one that we should really focus on. As many people pointed out, there is the perception that games are not yet a mature medium. Maybe they are and maybe they aren't (and personally, I agree with those who suggested that SCMRPG is not the best indication of whether we're there yet). But if they are a mature medium, apparently that message has not reached the general public. And if they are not, then we desperately need more forums in which to display our work, critique it honestly, and learn as we experiment. Slamdance could have been a forum for this kind of discussion; clearly, it will not be in the future. So where do we go from here?

I think I've weighed in plenty here, so it's time to turn on the comments section and see what turns up. I look forward to hearing everyone's thoughts.