Sessler's Soapbox: Video Games and the Venetian Masters

Posted: November 29, 2011

After a trip to a museum Adam is reminded of video games and how the technology of the time is used by artists to express their ideas and amaze the audience.

Games in this Video:

Max Payne (PC), Max Payne 2: The Fall of Max Payne (PC), Max Payne 3 (Xbox 360), Max Payne 3 (PlayStation 3), Max Payne 3 (PC)

Rent at GameFly

Tags:

Max Payne, PC, Action, Dreamcast, Playstation 2

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MLoad

Ok I kid you not... I tried to do my senior thesis for my visual art degree and they turned me down! ( I ended up "Concepting the Norse Gods) ...but I really wanted to compare how sculpting and painting techniques happened in much the same way video game graphics and gameplay had those same advances.
One of my examples was how sculptures 3000 years ago did not have much negative space cut away but then after 1000 years much more negative space was cut away and poses became more and more dynamic. The same thing happened in video games and the example I used there was comparing the original Lara Croft in game model to Chloe from Uncharted.
I am still in a rage that they turned me down because I think it is such an interesting subject and I can't believe more people are not writing about it!

Posted: January 17, 2012 7:49 AM
MLoad

Ok I kid you not... I tried to do my senior thesis for my visual art degree and they turned me down! ( I ended up "Concepting the Norse Gods) ...but I really wanted to compare how sculpting and painting techniques happened in much the same way video game graphics and gameplay had those same advances.
One of my examples was how sculptures 3000 years ago did not have much negative space cut away but then after 1000 years much more negative space was cut away and poses became more and more dynamic. The same thing happened in video games and the example I used there was comparing the original Lara Croft in game model to Chloe from Uncharted.
I am still in a rage that they turned me down because I think it is such an interesting subject and I can't believe more people are not writing about it!

Posted: January 17, 2012 7:18 AM
alexander.boyd40

Use small words XD I know excatly what your saying and something about your penis on a table?!? Keep it up adam your great and dont forget about us DirecTv people I can't survive on Feedback, Soapboxs, AOTS shorts.

Posted: January 16, 2012 9:20 AM
alexander.boyd40

Use small words XD I know excatly what your saying and something about your penis on a table?!? Keep it up adam your great and dont forget about us DirecTv people I can't survive on Feedback, Soapboxs, AOTS shorts.

Posted: January 16, 2012 9:19 AM
MORTUI-REX

I know it's a dead feed...but just watched it...mostly because I wasn't paying attention, and it auto-started while I was busy with something else...but anyhow...

I love this guy.
The uncontrollable excitement about absolutely EVERYTHING he talks about is just infectious.

Thank you so much for being you bro.

And oh yeah...finding a way during this wonderful rant that began with warning against parental computer assistance...to making a connection between Renaissance art and video games was awesome.

I too hope that the "finer things" are paid more attention to in the coming years...and happen to believe that you will see a down-turn in the complexity of games, while making room for those little things like "actual fun".

Take care all.

Posted: December 31, 2011 1:43 PM
Revanhavoc

Adam Sessler watching you makes me smarter.

Things I looked up today:

-erudite

-Tiziano Vecelli (Titan)

-Dionysus (Bacchus)

-"The Assasin" by Tiziano Vecelli

-Italian Renaissance & Venitian masters

-iconography (pertaining to art)

Thank you and make more videos!

Posted: December 5, 2011 10:55 AM
Fryman1991

Sess your the man! I love watching your soapboxes not because I always agree with you 100%, but because you present your topics with such clarity and sense. I would love the chance to sit down and have a conversation with you (It wouldn't even have to be about video games). So keep doing what your doing and remember no matter how many trolls and fanboys there are on the internet there are still good people out there that are actually listening to you.

Posted: December 5, 2011 12:33 AM
Bourbon_Chaser

Loved this. Though It makes me wonder If I'm maybe taking my hobby for granted. Interesting stuff.

Posted: December 3, 2011 11:42 PM
KingOfAllWinners

Why do we insist on legitimizing our favorite hobby/pastime as an art form or sport? Is it just so we can justify spending countless hours on our asses instead of doing anything remotely productive. I'm sure everyone playing 10 hours of Skyrim a day are just huge art aficionados. Can't we just enjoy it for what it is? Is a board game like Monopoly a work of art? The layout of the board and the graphics were all designed by artists, but does that make the finished product art? Is a children's book a piece of art? The illustrations within were all created by an artist. Is a television commercial art? Is an M&M's wrapper a piece of art? I 'm sure one could argue that every example I've given could pass for art, but it seems to me that many of us are simply insecure about how we spend (too much of) our time...Now, let the downvoting commence.

Posted: December 3, 2011 10:29 AM
Luck702

Wow, I've never compared gaming with anything so artistically loved as the renaissance period of art. Very awesome soapbox Adam.

Posted: December 3, 2011 10:29 AM
dinnertoaster

@bigboi21: There are bad games coming out all the time. But good games are always going to sell better than bad ones. 2011 is a great game year, and 2012 and the following will probably be as well!
Then when the new generation comes, there�ll be many graphics related stuff but still good games to come out, for the PC anyway.

Posted: December 3, 2011 9:21 AM
bluejay345

Fantastic episode.

Adam Sessler is too good for G4. He needs his own special on Discovery channel.

Posted: December 2, 2011 6:04 PM
alivealie

This was a remarkable, insightful soapbox. I feel relief knowing there are entertainment journalists like Adam out there.

Posted: December 1, 2011 4:59 PM
manwich10

Adam your a boss.

Posted: December 1, 2011 3:45 PM
Guerro77

I think Adam has a great take on alot of subjects related to gaming. That being said, sometimes I wonder if he likes to hear himself talk or rather, he feels the need to display his classical education. Really, what is the point of this dissertation but to inform us, the insipid public, that video games can be art and we have reached a level of technological sophistication to bring video games to "life."

Yes, video games can be master pieces. But honestly, can you name one? Most so called GOTY's are only 80-90% there, at least in this day and age. These games could have been master pieces but seem to always be hampered buy money and/or time constraints. Rushed at the last minute, ie Witcher 2 or the latest, Skyrim. Yet, you folks in the marketing arm of the industry are always to quick to proclaim GOTY or 10/10 when a game is moderately playable with decent graphics...even when its an over-abused franchise that brings nothing new to the industry.

How about some honesty for once in reviews? If a game is lacking say so, if it sucks say so, if its hampered by nauseating bugs say so, rewarding and praising bad developers, regardless of size and how much they pour into G4, does nothing for the industry and just encourages poor games and profiteering. But hey, this is capitalism and I get it...

/emotive diatribe off

Posted: December 1, 2011 1:53 PM
cry_of_paine

I think video games as a media have the potential to surpass any other form of art. The best art is something that speaks to the viewer. It's something that makes the viewer an active participant, whether it's by drawing out the viewer's emotions, or by forcing the viewer to find their own interpretation of it. In that way, art becomes a very personal experience. Video games have the potential to combine the best of all media into one ultimate experience. You have epic storytelling, moving music, and grand visuals all merged together, and then you add in the ability for the user to make it really their own. Games like Skyrim, or anything Bioware puts out, where you design the look of the character, and you decide their actions. It would be as if you were able to sit down with da Vinci or Shakespeare and not only watch as their work unfolds, but get to interject your personal touches. There's no reason why 100 years from now, some video game out there, or yet to come, couldn't be in a museum somewhere along side the Mona Lisa.

I think the only thing holding us back is our culture. I think that if the technology had existed back during the Renaissance, that we would have epic games penned by Shakespeare, designed by da Vinci, and scored by Mozart that would stand up next to any of the works we know of them without any inadequacies.

Posted: December 1, 2011 2:11 AM
SquizzieSqueek

awesome soap box very interesting thoughts

Posted: November 30, 2011 9:13 PM
Narutough07

This is love at first sight!

Posted: November 30, 2011 7:53 PM
Wozman23

I would say we are in a period where too many people are focusing on putting their penis on the table and creativity has taken a backseat. With technological advances people want to make realistic experiences and strive for photo-realism. In doing so, I think creativity, uniqueness, and absurdity has suffered.

That's not to say there aren't creative games out there. Rayman Origins was a breath of fresh air. I just wish the split was 50/50 instead of 80/20.

Posted: November 30, 2011 2:51 PM
Cali_Joe

Wow, good job Adam, I've never been into paintings but listening to the obvious enthusiasm in your voice as you talked about those paintings makes me want to get to a museum and take in a little culture myself. This was definitely one of your better Soapboxes.

Posted: November 30, 2011 11:42 AM