@lhson: I brought up my thoughts on the "honest art" concept to show that despite my much of my comment being intentionally dismissive and unintentionally glib, it was neither thoughtless nor reactionary. I also assumed that to regard the "kidnap and torture" bit as more than silly required reading the "honest art" bit as more than dismissive, so I felt compelled to clarify that it was only that. (In hindsight, the word "torture" is probably too loaded to be used so lightly.)
As far as the "kidnap and torture" bit being a notable reaction of what I saw in this Quick Look goes, I must reiterate it was the result of my mind wandering. After concluding that this game probably doesn't support the idea of the "honest art" concept being as useful to those who consider art as it is to those who make it, I became distracted by the notion of how realizable the island and its puzzles are, especially given the rising popularity of puzzle room experiences. Then I thought that as neat as that sounds, I would be terrified to suddenly wake up one day in such a place. And so on.
If you're interested, thinking about this game at work produced some less frivolous thoughts:
Is the island analogous to a brain?
Is the game an interactive demonstration of how semantics can be derived from a mastery of abundant syntax, which in turn allows players to observe the genesis of intelligence from simple rules?
Is this game chronicling how a true AI could emerge?
@lhson: Wait, what? That's not how I get when I'm intellectually challenged. That's how I get when my mind wanders. When I'm intellectually challenged, I'm more like "Hmmmm."
And to clarify: I wasn't disparaging Blow's "honest art" concept. I dismiss it as a useful descriptor or metric for artistic value, sure, but I don't see my comments on it indicting it as bad or stupid. I'll even go as far as to say the thoughts and discussions it draws out are compelling and worthwhile.
On it's own, however, it's empty, at least as Blow described it to Austin. Whether Blow thinks this game represents honest art or not will only have a chance of affecting the game experiences of those who follow him, and even that will have less to do with the game itself and more to do with how those people receive him.
Thus, my mind quickly wanders from considering if this game substantiates the "honest art" concept to considering the implications of making this island and the experience to be had within in the real world.
So this is what "honest art" looks like, huh? Art that focuses more on "being something" than being concerned about being seen as "being something"? Fair enough, though I can't help but wonder what "something" this thing is. Right now, it looks like someone's kidnap and torture fantasy. If parallel universes exist, I'm sure J. Blow used his Braid money to buy an island in one of them.
I hope this doesn't become Brad's Ori this year. It looks neat, but it also looks like one of those games that can develop an obnoxious fan base.
I hope Brad apologized to everyone after this. His demeanor ran the gamut from insufferable to outright rude. (When he snapped "WHAT?!" at Alex my whole body tensed up.) I don't blame anyone for needing a drink to get through it all.
Thankfully, Austin's adeptness at recognizing, analyzing, and addressing arguments served as a great counterweight to Brad's petulance and disrespect. I also enjoyed the genuine curiosity and professionalism Jeff demonstrated toward Austin. It's clear to me that Jeff highly values his insights and opinions, and that's pretty rad.
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