We like Games and Art here at GameCulture, so needless to say we were fascinated with a DragoArt.com piece on how to draw LittleBigPlanet's main character, Sackboy. People tend to draw game characters all the time, with relative degrees of success, but you don't often get a how-to.

The description is a relatively simple 5-step process and even I was able to get a fairly decent representation following the directions. Give it a try!

A rogue videogamer has taken to stenciling Mario-inspired symbols into the bike lanes on North Williams Avenue in Portland, Oregon.

While the majority of bicyclists commenting on the art in a blog post on Bike Portland.com seem to enjoy the distractions, most are claiming that the power-ups are proving ineffective in terms of impacting real-world bicycle prowess.

The fun part about the photo site Flickr is that you can always find interesting and fun photos about people's passions. Frenchieart.com posted more than 100 images in a gallery of video game related art, ranging from Mario to Zelda to Gameboys. Some of the art seems to be for sale by the artists.

Take a stroll through the images. They bring back some good memories for older gamers.

More than a year ago, it was announced that a massive tome on the art of Rockstar Games was in the works, but a recent post over at Wired has revealed that the $450 three-book package has been canceled.

Called Digital + Analogue: The Art and Science of Rockstar Games, the book was to go in-depth and behind the scenes of the usually closed and tight-lipped gaming company. However, according to Wired, a new project is in the works on Rockstar to be handled by book editor Eva Prinz.

Distributed Arts Publishers was to have published the original, but will not be involved with the new book, DAE's Alexander Galen said.

It's always nice to see creativity at work, especially when devoted to games. An eBay seller named Stocky2.0 recently put up a wood carving of a Nintendo NES system where everything is made of wood except for the cables.

The unit did not get any bids, which is a shame since it is so intricate and well done. According to the seller's eBay page: Read More

The second annual Game Play festival begins on July 9 at Brooklyn, New York-based non-profit Brick Theater. Game Play features some interesting stuff using such games and systems as Grand Theft Auto, Game Boy, and Donkey Kong. The point of the event is to explore whether or not is art playable or if video games can be cinematic using a variety of mediums including machinima, smartphones, real-world stages and more.

The Brick's GAME PLAY: A CELEBRATION OF VIDEO GAME PERFORMANCE ART takes place July 9-25, 2010. Details on some of the happenings at this event can be found below. For further info, check out www.bricktheater.com/gameplay2009. Read More

More than 30 local and international artists will be participating in an event in Montreal on July 1 to pay homage to classic videogames.

The event, entitled Press Start, is sponsored by the Headquarters Galerie & Boutique and will run until the end of the month. On July 8, there will be a launch party with a DJ playing 8-bit music.

Source: GameSetWatch

Game | Life points out an interesting an indie developer is taking to raise some cash. Indie game developer Jonatan “Cactus” Söderström created some limited-edition physical copies of his latest game Norrland up for sale on eBay Tuesday. Cactus hopes to raise a little bit of cash with the ten copies he put on eBay. But true to his nature, after these items sell he plans to release the game as freeware. This is his modus operandi, and the only reason he created the discs was to raise a little cash to have fun this summer. Read More

There is an interesting interview with videogame writer Tom Bissell on Salon that delves into the popular GameCulture discussion about videogames as art. Using a New York Times review of Red Dead Redemption as a springboard, the interview tackles several subjects, including Bissell's book, "Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter."

From the interview: Read More

The debate still rages wbout the games as art movement, and a lightning rod in the debate piped up again last week.

Roger Ebert was in gaming news again when he revisited his "Games can bever be art" rant of a few years ago, using a TED presentation by developer Kellee Santiago (seen in the YouTube video above) as the impetus. But in combing through his updated editorial, I came upon an interesting point:

Why are gamers so intensely concerned, anyway, that games be defined as art? Bobby Fischer, Michael Jordan and Dick Butkus never said they thought their games were an art form. Nor did Shi Hua Chen, winner of the $500,000 World Series of Mah Jong in 2009. Why aren't gamers content to play their games and simply enjoy themselves? They have my blessing, not that they care.

Do they require validation? In defending their gaming against parents, spouses, children, partners, co-workers or other critics, do they want to be able to look up from the screen and explain, "I'm studying a great form of art?" Then let them say it, if it makes them happy.

A valid question. Personally, I think games can be art because of the way great games can evoke emotion as we play. But what is it about human nature that makes us think that others must agree with us? So Ebert doesn't agree that games are art. So what? Is it a gamers insecurity that makes people bash him for his point of view?

Love him or hate him, his question is definitely one worth considering.

What do you get when you cross Michelangelo and Nintendo? You get the Death of Mario, courtesy of artist Kordian Lewandowski.

Michelangelo created his original, called La Pieta, in 1499 and depicts the lifeless body of Jesus in the lap of the Mother Mary. The sculpture now resides at the Vatican. Kordian's sculpture, done in polystyrene foam and called Game Over, shows Mario dying in the arms of princess Peach.

The art can be found on the artist's Deviant Art page. Other pictures are on display at the artist's personal site, showing how he created the life-size sculpture (click on the image of the sculture, then go to photos). A few shots show the actual creation process.

From a commenatry at the ForeverGeek blog:

While La Pietà is based on a religious icon, it still is a masterpiece done by one of the biggest artist to have lived on earth. And Kordian’s piece reminded me that we live in a age where everything revolves around technology and the old art form is slowing dying out. Now a days we appreciate the art of an iPhone design or the new iPad, I never anymore come across a recent painting or sculpture that has potential to survive centuries.

Some may call it sacriligious, but I find it clever and interesting. The piece was originally done in 2008, and it's a shame I haven't seen it sooner.

Voice work in video games is coming under more and more scrutiny. As games become more involved and deeper productions, the role of the voice actor plays an increasing role. To that end, we contacted Mark Estdale, a casting director and founder of Outsource Media in the United Kingdom. He has worked on games since the early '90s and pulls no punches about his frustration with existing practices in the industry. He set up Outsource Media in 1996 to bring the audio craft in film and TV production to games. He has worked on such games Need for Speed III, Pac-Man World 3, Wipeout (Fusion, Pure and Pulse), Timesplitters 2, TimeSplitters: Future Perfect, Pro Evo Soccer, Wallace and Gromit's Grand Adventures, and many more. As you can see from his answers in this interview, he still beats a production values drum:

GameCulture: What is the general process a video game company goes through to get voice actors involved in its project?

Mark Estdale: I'm a casting and voice director, I also provide character and dialogue development support to developers and publishers, as well as coaching professional actors for working with games. Although I started off as an actor myself and occasionally get in front of a mic, my main roles are directing, casting and coordinating voice production.

It is common (and bad) practice to seek voice actors late in the development process when the script is almost finished when "getting the voices in" is high on the agenda. The process: get game working, rewrite voice script to match final gameplay, cast actors, record actors, get voice assets in game and get it mastered before the deadline.

A high percentage of my time is spent talking with dev teams and publishers regarding best practice as this common practice, deemed expedient, doesn't lead to good results. Read More

I've touched on the issue several times here in the past, mostly with posts about Game Art exhibits, but this time, we have an actual discussion in the Games As Art debate.

Nathan Hardisty over at Platform Nation states in a headline that "Games Can Never Be Art," but then goes on to debate the topic in his article. He brings up points that force you to stop and think about the issue, particularly involving such radically distasteful games such as RapeLay from Japan. He points out that controversial games such as this tend to add to the black eye that the industry already gets in the mainstream media:

Games don’t really get represented as well as films do in the press. The only brief instances we are represented is whenever a celebrity face shows up at a awards ceremony, controversy leaks from our pores or one giant game release which will swallow all of our lives whole. We’re not represented maturely, I’d still argue we’ve been represented the same as we were twenty years ago – as toys.

He also takes on the intricate story of BioShock and compares it to Super Mario Galaxy and discusses the merits of each as works of art or potential art. But near the end, he pounces upon what I think is a key point: Read More

To follow up on the "games as art" and "art history" post of yesterday, we unearth a colorful and enigmatic variation: Videogame Street Art.

Courtesy of GamerCrave, more than 20 examples of art are documented, from Frogger on a sidewalk to Katamari Damacy. Oh, and lots of Mario. The art ranges from simplistic chalk to mosaic tile to intricate painting. But all of it is fascinating and fun to look at. 

It began on Dec. 18. It won't let up until Feb. 21. The Space Invaders have arrived.

An art exhibit at the Foundation for Art and Creative Technology in Liverpool, England, looks at the boundaries between the videogame space and real space. The exhibit, entitled "Space Invaders: Art and the Computer Game Environment," looks at games from Flower to Grand Theft Auto to examine how game designers are pushing the boundaries of videogame industry.

In a description of the event at Liverpool.com:

Mark Essen, a rising star of video game art, will develop a brand new commission for FACT. Essen’s brutal, lo-fi video games earned him a place as the youngest of the 50 artists in the New Museum’s "The Generational: Younger Than Jesus," the international exhibition exclusively showcasing the work of artists aged 33 and under.

Cao Fei, one of China’s most acclaimed young artists, presents his film installation COS Players (2004). COSPlay, short fo 'Costume Play' captures this growing trend in Asian countries of bringing virtual battles to life. Set in the artist’s hometown of Guangzhou, the video follows a group of teenagers who act out an elaborate drama dressed in martial arts from their favourite computer games and animations.

The exhibit also offers plenty of playable games for attendees, as well as retro videogame arcade cabinets.

More gaming art exhibits, two more cities.

The first is in Las Vegas and the art and games are make-believe, but no less interesting.

The Winchester Cultural Center Gallery is showing off "Flick of the Wrist," a display by Michael Baker, that combines make-believe video game box art with simple black art on the walls behind the podiums display the box covers. There are seven make-believe games in all ranging from "Smart Storm" to "Wings of Deceit: The World's first Pigeon Simulator."

The Las Vegas Weekly did a critique of the exhibit and offers quite a bit more information than the Gallery's web site:

“Smart Storm” allows for doing battle ... with weather patterns, engaging a subtext of destruction that almost fits more seamlessly with conventional trends. More overtly geared toward developing creative skills and decision-making are titles like “Track Tracer: Draw & Drive,” in which the player must build a racetrack while the race is happening. “Pro Yolk” and “Concentra” promise to be experiments in Zen-like focus, completely defying the norm.

The exhibit is on display through Feb. 5. A "Flick of the Wrist II" has been promised by the artist.

The second is in Burlington, Vermont, at the Firehouse Gallery, where the exhibit asks if videogames can be art. The display is entitled "Game (Life)" Video Games in Contemporary Art" and opens tomorrow.

Chris Thompson, curator of the exhibit, has made an argument that games are art, according to an article in the Burlington Free Press:

Jakub Dvorsky (designer of the game “Machinarium”) creates computer images that resemble beautiful paintings, Thompson said, while Jason Rohrer (“Passage” and “Gravitation”) and Jenova Chen (“Flow” and “Flower”) strive for poetry and “sublime emotional experiences.” Others in the exhibition go for the more controversial, social-commentary side of art, according to Thompson, such as the “over-the-top” violence favored by Mark Essen (“The Thrill of Combat”).

Several lectures, set up through Burlington City Arts and the game design program at Champlain College, have been set up to accompany the exhibit, which runs through Feb. 13. Among the guest lecturers will be:

• Jason Rohrer, designer of Passage and Gravitation, on Jan. 15-16
• Heather Kelly, designer of Sugar, on Jan. 22-23
• Jonathan Blow, designer of Braid, on Jan. 29-30
• Randy Smith, designer of Spider, Secret of Bryce Manor, on Feb. 5-6.
• Paolo Pedercini, designer of Faith Fighter and The McDonald's Videogame, On Feb. 13.

The exhibit will be designed like a pixel-based computer game with "violently green" cubes suspended from the walls and ceilings. Thompson said the effect will be to teleport visitors into a "computer game come to life."

There has been an ongoing debate as to whether video games can be considered art or not. Well, in this particular case, the answer is defintely yes.

One of the largest art sites on the web, deviantART, allows users to post their own art creations. One user, ceemdee, has created numerous Halloween pumpkins with video game themes. Among them are Sam & Max, Crusader: No Remorse, Plants vs. Zombies, Shadow of the Colossus and Pipboy from the Fallout series. In all, she (her profile says female) posted 12 different carvings, each offering an incredible likeness to the characters or logos of the game.

According to her profile, one of her favorite artists is Shunya Yamashita, who has been a character artist at Square-Enix, where he worked on Final Fantasy XII and Valkyrie Profile 2.

We've requested an interview with ceemdee, and we'll post her answers if she agrees. Stay tuned ...