The Works of Fumito Ueda E-Book

Damien Mecheri

• Herausgeber: Third Editions
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 425

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2019

Beschreibung

Go behind the scenes of the creation of the Fumito Ueda trilogy !

Fumito Ueda has worked on 3 games: ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. Each of them was able to express the depth of their author's reflection, his love of purity and showed a real poetry.

Are video games art ? This study of the Futimo Ueda's work focuses on the question of the artistic essence of video games.

EXTRACT

When the game ICO was released in 2001, it had several decades’ worth of video games behind it. The game itself was significantly influenced by video games that had touched its creator, Fumito Ueda: Another World by Éric Chahi and Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner. Yet, when a player takes the ethereal Yorda’s hand, when they feel this physical contact through the vibrations in the controller, something happens. Something new and profound. Something that can only exist through a video game. A simple idea, attached to the R1 button, and digital interaction opens a new door. Of course, this insignificant-seeming gesture is but a small representation of what can really happen. Its strength lies elsewhere; it draws from everything that makes up ICO: its art direction (everything in chiaroscuro), its vanishing lines, its simple and clear game mechanics, its lack of visual interface, its quest for physical realism, its minimalist narration, its extraordinary sensibilities. It is an opening to an evocative otherworld that lets our imagination soar. Contemplative, slow and nearly speechless, ICO offers an uncommon, poetic adventure, rejecting traditional video game standards while still drawing from them. Many remained indifferent to it. Just as many were touched as rarely before.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Passionate about films and video games, Damien Mecheri joined the writing team of Gameplay RPG magazine in 2004 and wrote several articles for the second special edition on the Final Fantasy saga. With this same team, Damien continued his work in 2006 for another publication known as Background, before continuing the adventure online in 2008, with Gameweb.fr. Since 2011, he has written and co-written numerous works for Third Éditions, including The Legend of Final Fantasy X, Dark Souls: Beyond the Grave and Welcome to Silent Hill: Journey to the Center of Hell and actively participates in the “Level Up” and “Video Game Almanac” collections from the same publisher.

Leseprobe

The Works of Fumito Ueda: A Different Perspective on Video GamesBy Damien Mecheri Published by Third Éditions 32 rue d’Alsace-Lorraine, 31000 TOULOUSE [email protected]/en

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All rights reserved. This work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in whole or in part, without the written authorization of the copyright holder.

Any copy or reproduction, by any means, constitutes a copyright infringement subject to the penalties authorized by French Law N°. 57-298 of March 11, 1957 pertaining to copyright protection.

The Third Éditions logo is a registered trademark of Third Éditions, registered in France and in other countries.

Edited by: Nicolas Courcier and Mehdi El Kanafi Editorial assistants: Damien Mecheri and Clovis Salvat Texts by: Damien Mecheri Proofreading: Christophe Delpierre and Morgane Munns Layout: Pierre Le Guennec Classic cover: Jordan Grimmer Collector’s edition cover: Johann “Papayou” Blais Translated from French by: Meghan McCallum (ITC Traductions)

This educational work is Third Éditions’ tribute to Fumito Ueda’s video game series. In this unique book, the author retraces a chapter in the history of Fumito Ueda’s video games by identifying the inspirations, background and content of these games through original reflection and analysis.

ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian are registered trademarks of Sony Computer Entertainment. All rights reserved.

Cover art is inspired by the artwork in Fumito Ueda’s video games.

English edition, copyright 2018, Third Éditions.

All rights reserved.

ISBN 978-2-37784-036-6

Damien Mecheri

Passionate about films and video games, Damien Mecheri joined the writing team of Gameplay RPG magazine in 2004 and wrote several articles for the second special edition on the Final Fantasy saga. With this same team, Damien continued his work in 2006 for another publication known as Background, before continuing the adventure online in 2008, with Gameweb.fr. Since 2011, he has written and co-written numerous works for Third Éditions, including The Legend of Final Fantasy X, Dark Souls: Beyond the Grave and Welcome to Silent Hill: Journey to the Center of Hell and actively participates in the “Level Up” and “Video Game Almanac” collections from the same publisher.

Preface

Are Video games Art?

This fundamental question has fueled debates for years, and the conversation continues today. While the medium’s cultural value is undeniable, this topic nevertheless evokes strong opinions, just as much among players and journalists as developers–not to mention critiques from those unfamiliar with the field.

What makes this concept of art so terrible for some? Is it the fear of this popular medium being praised and reappropriated by the higher cultural classes–a social issue? Or, is it because art–this three-letter word–is so loaded with connotations and misunderstandings that it brings us back to a type of bourgeois issue of contemptuous and snobbish elitism? What if video games were considered art? Would this mean the end of their role as entertainment? Above all, would this implicate each of their many forms?

Intellectualization is practically a swear word–even more so today, when the concept of a critique has been abused and emptied of all substance. Yet, reflecting on a work, a medium, a form of art is not a vain or self-righteous activity. Reflecting means trying to understand, to learn and discover. It means honing in on what’s most important. It’s not mutually exclusive from emotions, feelings or pleasure. Quite the contrary! Reflection is stimulating.

When the game ICO was released in 2001, it had several decades’ worth of video games behind it. The game itself was significantly influenced by video games that had touched its creator, Fumito Ueda: Another World by Éric Chahi and Prince of Persia by Jordan Mechner. Yet, when a player takes the ethereal Yorda’s hand, when they feel this physical contact through the vibrations in the controller, something happens. Something new and profound. Something that can only exist through a video game. A simple idea, attached to the R1 button, and digital interaction opens a new door. Of course, this insignificant-seeming gesture is but a small representation of what can really happen. Its strength lies elsewhere; it draws from everything that makes up ICO: its art direction (everything in chiaroscuro), its vanishing lines, its simple and clear game mechanics, its lack of visual interface, its quest for physical realism, its minimalist narration, its extraordinary sensibilities. It is an opening to an evocative otherworld that lets our imagination soar. Contemplative, slow and nearly speechless, ICO offers an uncommon, poetic adventure, rejecting traditional video game standards while still drawing from them. Many remained indifferent to it. Just as many were touched as rarely before.

Since then the medium has changed, and many developers have adopted this then-unprecedented artistic approach, coming from a man who, before working in video games, studied art. A man whose mission and that of his team was simply to offer something that didn’t really exist. Overall, to dare, to innovate. This approach set the road map for each of his creations: ICO, Shadow of the Colossus and The Last Guardian. Three works that share the same aesthetic, the same game design philosophy, and even the same universe. Three works that are distinguishable, however, through their unique concepts and approaches. Three works that bored and bothered some players, but left others deeply moved, brought to tears by the nuanced and subtle emotions they evoked. These emotions owe much, not only to the meticulous art direction and stories that draw from the essence of myths, but above all to what defines video games: interaction.

Because of their originality and the permanent mark they’ve left on certain players, Fumito Ueda’s works are often cited in debates on art and video games. But confusions abound. Are detailed visuals, a “poetic feeling” and emotions enough to make a work an art form? The “ICO trilogy” contains some parts of an answer to this question.

However, to uncover them, we must first introduce the three games in detail. We must explore the background of their creation, what story they tell and how they tell it. Only then will it be possible to enter into the heart of the debate, to bring together opinions from numerous creators in the field, to ask the right questions. After all, before even asking if video games are art, we also have to first define what art is. The bad news is that art theorists themselves have never solved the question. The good news is that video games open new paths for reflection.

At the heart of the question are Fumito Ueda’s works as a whole. Because his three games are indeed the reflection of a coherent, personal, unique whole, which has profoundly touched certain players and marked the history of video games. The reflection of a vision.