Lucas and Spielberg: "Games Can't be Art"

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA—This Saturday, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg hosted a panel debate at an independent film festival the two had chosen to dedicate to themselves. At the event, the two highly praised filmmakers mostly talked about problems facing the world of cinema.

However, Spielberg and Lucas also dedicated a significant chunk of the event to talk about other mediums, expressing their skepticism to non-cinematic art forms.

[Satire]

[ShugaCane]

“No, I haven’t tried those games, but if they use a controller then they simply cannot be as artistic and daring as Indiana Jones IV.”

lol

EDIT : Nevermind. Everything is acuatlly false, I fell for it lol I didn't see "[Satire]", my bad..

[ArchangelMike]

Proves they are speaking from a position of ignorance, and therefore invalidates their statements. Go play The Last of Us, and come tell me that it's not better than Indiana Jones IV in every conceivable way.

[ShugaCane]

This interview didn't happen. It was all made up by the author, probably as a response to their previous statements when they said that games are not art, or something stupid like that.

The real story, few weeks ago :

http://n4g.com/news/1281368...

[Donnieboi]

Satire. Read before u post.

[mattdillahunty]

lol. for once i didn't even bother reading the blurb on this page, i just went straight to the article. so, when i started reading the justifications for why they said games can't be art, i was thinking, "really? these are the most pathetic reasons i've ever heard." lol.

good to know this is just satire. i do question why this even got approved, though. it's not news, it's not a real article, it's not even a very entertaining read. i'm not one to cry 'flame bait!' but that's pretty much what this article is; the website doesn't even deserve the hits.

[LAWSON72]

Maybe Indiana Jones 4, but not the first 3.

[MikeyDucati1]

You know there was other games before The Last Of Us. You guys are running that name into the ground...deep into it

[CommonSense]

While I certainly think many many games are infinitely better than anything Lucas has done in the last 20 years, TLOU is not one of them.

Naughty Dog are the Lucas (post original trilogy) of gaming.

[nosferatuzodd]

indeed they no nothing about games yet they keep opening their big mouth to talk

[pixelsword]

I personally don't think games are art just because of the way developers conform to the consumer, which means they are making a product; just like how people whined about Mass Effect's ending and they changed it, or how you get nickled and dimed for DLC.

[minimur12]

I'm starting to get pissed with all of these satire posts....

Is it just me?

I mean, yeah the first one I saw with Iwata punching someone in the face made me laugh, but then we had some other one whichI can't remember and it just killed it. Satire posts aren't funny anymore

[TheKayle1]

the last of us better than indiana jones?

i think u r too young or just too ignorant to understand what u r comparing ..lol

one is a myth...the other is a videogame that will be forget the next year

(this dosnt mean that a game cant be art!)...

ps. i love naugthy dog games

[DragonKnight]

WTF is up with all these lame "satire" pieces lately? It's as if douchebag syndrome has been plaguing the "gaming media" lately and people think their sarcasm is funny. Newsflash, satire is usually humourous.

Does N4G need to add a new Satire category now?

[blanket14]

they ruined indiana jones ; ( I mean seriously that movie was terrible the end where they found out the aliens and crap killed it for me! I know Harrison is getting older but yhey really had to bring a kid in. they better not milk the series out with shia labeouf! I was a huge fan and still am but not of the 4th installment.

[hankmoody]

C'mon, you really think that either Spielberg OR Lucas would choose Indiana Jones 4 from everything they've ever done as an example to compare videogames against?

[iamnsuperman]

"Nevermind. Everything is actually false, I fell for it lol I didn't see "[Satire]", my bad.."

Don't worry about it. I feel no-one in the gaming journalism world can do satire properly. If people are going to do it they need to do it properly

[Tommykrem]

Not to be hateful or anything, but I think a much bigger problem is that video game communities rarely take the time, or even know how to, read something properly.

I mean
"This Saturday, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg hosted a panel debate at an independent film festival the two HAD CHOSEN TO DEDICATE TO THEMSELVES."

Who reads past that sentence AND a [Satire] tag (which really should be unnecessary to begin with) still thinking this isn't satire?

Sites like this one and pixelgrater.com do pretty good jobs. Against all odds.

[admiralvic]

@ Tommykrem

A lot don't read the description posted on the site and just read the article. I doubt the article says satire, though the satire articles are stupid to begin with. Not everyone is looking to read an article, analyze what is mentioned, look into sources, verify it's completely false and largely a waste of time. There was a time (not to long ago) when NO SATIRE articles were on N4G too, so it's not like we've had countless articles to deal with either.

[Tommykrem]

admiralvic:

And who on earth has to "analyse" anything? You don't have to look into sources, the answer is right in front of you.
1. The things said in the article are ridic.
2. ...The description says satire.

If you don't have the time for satire, don't read it.

If these articles have done anything, it's demonstrate that the way N4G'ers usually jump into arguments are ridiculous. Commenting before even give the article a second's worth of thought. Or before reading.

[Dee_91]

@tommy
how often does satire get posted on here?
And you expect people to just know this like it posted on here daily ?

[Tommykrem]

@Dmarc
I'd expect that of an elementary school educated human being, yeah.

[Dee_91]

You think a child with only an elementary level education would know this was satire?Even though we didnt learn about satire til 7th or 8th grade and probably didnt comprehend the meaning until highschool?

I think its safe to say you have unrealistic expectations.

[Tommykrem]

@Dmarc
For some reason I wasn't expecting people on N4G to get it, but that really is their own fault.
1. There's a tag there that says satire.
2. "Hell, some mediums don’t have pictures at all"
3. "Boom Blox was intended to be a moving story about a man who suffers from the untimely death of his wife, and who has to reconcile himself with the idea of love. However, once the game controller was involved, Boom Blox turned into a game about blowing up blocks that look like farm animals."
4. When I first tried the Kinect I played in poorly lit conditions, so the device didn’t recognise all of my gestures. I got frustrated, then I started to feel upset, then angry. That camera made me feel. Now, that’s art
5. No, I haven’t tried those games, but if they use a controller then they simply cannot be as artistic and daring as Indiana Jones IV.

These quotes simply would not happen. I mean, literally, you'd have to write THIS IS SATIRE all over the page to go any further than the article already does. People should take some time (like, 8 seconds) when they first choose to read something. Otherwise there's not really any point to gaming journalism in the first place. Thankfully, a few did.

[fermcr]

Indiana Jones IV was a big pile of crap. If that's art, then no thanks.

[Mikeyy]

Indiana Jones 4 started awesome, was great half way through, then ended so terribly...

[DrRobotnik]

And yet Virtua Fighter sits proudly on display in the Smithsonian Museum.

[blennerville]

Are those two still alive:P

[NYC_Gamer]

I don't really care long as gaming provides me with entertainment

[fsfsxii]

Holy moly, i guess the infamous disagree ghost doesn't play games for entertainment.

[chestnut1122]

Spielberg and Lucas take these and eat it on Your mind, Uncharted Is Way Much better and more art than Indiana Jones, The Last of Us Is better than alot of Zombie Movies, Dino Crisis was more original than Your fucking Jurassic Park Circus, Resident Evil Movies Sucks compared to Resident Evil games Story WIse. Heavy rain and La Noire is better than Sherlock Holmes these days, I prefer Read Dead Redemption better than Wild Wild West. A lot of Movies these days are based on Games and Anime.Dead Space is much better than Alien Vs Predator. I prefer BattleField, Killzone and COD rather than WOrld War Movies -_- . HALO and Mass effect is much better than mars attack . And last but not the least, Joel Will sweep the Oscar's Best Actor Award if He is Real. There is so many to mention but These is enough for me to explain.

These is my response to Both of You.
"The Problem With Movie is there is No Controller"

[chestnut1122]

Oh f_ck. Satire. Bullsh_t Site. It burst out my disappointment with those mocking remarks -_-. Ignore my post.

Edit: Still they insult The Video Game Industry in these article so it serves them right -_- http://n4g.com/news/1281368...

[Nexus38]

Uncharted is great but indiana jones is on a whole other level. their classics, also this article is just more fake rubbish anyway

[megalonagyix]

Retard found.

[spaceg0st]

who approves these bullsh*t satire articles. what a waste of time. users who approve these articles should have their powers taken away

[admiralvic]

This or they should have their own tag / [Satire] in the title like reviews have site names.

Half of the people on this site don't read the actual post, they just read the statement that games aren't art and go from there. On a high note, at least that means those idiots aren't getting clicks.

[jcnba28]

Games are 100% art.

[rataranian]

F the both of these two ass holes!

[CrossingEden]

its a satirical article people, you can stop raging and foaming at the mouth now

[fsfsxii]

You could just say its a satirical article. No need to be a douche.

[breakpad]

..neither their movies...

[pr0t0typeknuckles]

Until I read satire,i was gonna be pissed,heck I had a crap ton of games to show for how games are art,and have better stories than those guys movies.

[Sketchy_Galore]

You can say we need to read past the title and understand that the article is satire but there comes a point when you're no longer joking around and are just making up controversial sounding titles for hits. If I start submitting my blog posts with titles like, 'The last of us glitch will break your PS3' it doesn't matter if the actual article is a crazy wacky joke about how monkeys fly out of Joel's anus and into your living room to tear your console to pieces, I'm still being an ass by purposefully posting a made up provocative title.

[Shad0wRunner]

Satire or not...Steven and Lucas really do feel that way, about gaming.

They claim that a video game cannot get the player "emotionally involved" or invested into the experience, in the same way a film can.

I disagree with this entirely. Heavy Rain was a perfect example of how the player gets sucked into the story, becomes attached to the characters and develops a strong emotional bond with them. It even made you sympathize for the bad guy. Quantic Dreams is proof that video games can compete with the film industry as art. Im sure David Cage would agree.

[Pintheshadows]

I think they can get you more emotionally involved than a film ever can. You are in the game. You are experiencing it as the protagonist.

[bocajbee]

They obviously haven't seen The Last of Us.

[Sketchy_Galore]

The funny thing about that is, if you watch a documentary named Easy riders, Raging bulls, it makes a pretty good case of explaining how Star Wars killed off the more personal, socially relevant storytelling pictures that had emerged in the mid to late sixties and refocused the film industry on high budget B movie action and adventure flicks.

Even before that whole wave of personal honest films the big blockbusters people went to see were usually the plot heavy epics such as Gone with the wind. The space adventure and treasure hunting flicks Star Wars and Indiana Jones were based on were the B movies, the light, easy to digest shorts before the main attraction.

I like Star Wars for what it is but the negative effect it's huge success had on the American movie industry cannot be denied. It's pretty much the main reason most high budget movies are based around explosions and merchandising and probably by extension the reason the games industry followed the same business model.

[linkenski]

Lucas and Spielberg are old and they should be the last to define gaming. Spielberg, we haven't forgotten about E.T. and Lucas... you've been ruining your own movies since you made Han Solo dodge the shot.

[MasterCornholio]

OKAmi?

Motorola RAZR i

[Smoey]

/Yawn.
"Works produced by such skill and imagination"

Pretty sure games do not make themselves.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

Here's a video of Spielberg praising one of the worst games ever made.

Nuff said!

http://youtu.be/zrB9TFnqWhM

[d_dogg2007]

Games are not art...buttttt i'll gladly take that nice check Microsoft gave me to make that Halo TV series do!!

[Spurg]

...making a TV show not a game....what you point anyways.

[d_dogg2007]

That's inspired from a game! So if TV is art, what's a show inspired from a game then??

[andibandit]

The artists creates the art, dosn't matter what inspired him, heck i've seen art inspired by Dog Poop....so whats your point?

[d_dogg2007]

My point is that it's hypocritical of them to insult the medium when they are doing a TV show of it and getting paid to do it! Learn to read you idiot!

[TXIDarkAvenger]

Isn't this old? I swear I remember reading this a long time ago.

[CrossingEden]

from these comments you can definitely tell who actually reads the article and who just reads the title smh, people really need to stop taking themselves and gaming so seriously these days

[Genuine-User]

Journey disagrees.

[coolasj]

Oh god. I just realized this is s satire. A very bad one at that.

[Moncole]

Why do people care what they say?

[kingmushroom]

i don't, no one should

[contradictory]

for the record i don't either.
this reminds me of something i heard from a wise gamer really long ago...

"everyone loves games, except old people.
but it doesn't matter, we don't care what they say in the first place"

that's rough translation of what she said haha

[OcelotRigz]

Whats with all the stupid satire crap these days?

[Spurg]

They make a fair point...when the controller is given to you its a different experience from watching a cutscene. Your mind is into shooting the bad guys...a different mode as when you were interested the cutscene. It like you're connected in the story for a while but then disconnected once you're controlling the character. There are several times in Last of us I have been disconnected with the story and that during the gameplay where i'm killing 100s of men with bricks. But I'm caring about the character much more during the cutscenes which is where last of us really prevails.

But games like The Walking dead and moments when the player talks in game sort of contradicts that.

And people need to stop being immature assholes but dissing their movies.

[Eyeco]

"Boom Blox was intended to be a moving story about a man who suffers from the untimely death of his wife, and who has to reconcile himself with the idea of love..."

LOL what, I don't even..

[Spurg]

Keyword is INTENDED....it failed because it was hard for Spielberg to engage the player into the story and gameplay.

[Pintheshadows]

Slags of games. Making a Halo TV show. Spielberg, you are a fool.

[M1chl]

Who cares about these oldtimers? They made awesome movies, but that was some time ago and they clearly just saying some popular things and I bet they never played any game, maybe aside from angry birds and other "quality titles"...

[Foxgod]

If movies are art, then games are art, both of them share many of the same software tools to create them.

[windblowsagain]

Go to say foxgod i totally agree.

Alot of big budget films have so much CGI in them, but it has to add to the actual movie. Take Avengers. It has good actors, decent story and excellent cgi.

For me Uncharted has those as well. (my fav ip)

But there are so many films that don't have any CGI that are fantastic.

It should only be used, if that part of the movie cannot be done without it imo.

[kostchtchie_]

probably why there films are garbage now days, haven't got clue really, and that is funny considering most them are all CGI computer generated ha ha

[ion666]

if someone thought it up,took time to draw it with there hands. with tools.like a camera,pencils , and paint or a computer etc. it is ART !!!

[Locknuts]

I'm so glad games aren't art. Art is clever, but boring.

[GUYwhoPLAYSvideoGAME]

i came to comment rage, then i saw comments

[blacktiger]

nothing is art until someone accepts in many ways. Artist job is to present, if they can't it won't matter wether it's art or not, other than himself.

[ibroman]

Spielfreakingberg and lucas (cant figure out a pun lol) Play the last of us see if that isn't art! That game almost had me crying lol.

[ibroman]

And he should play Journey.

[stragomccloud]

Not exactly the best sattire piece... but... meh.

[StevenvEekeren]

I honestly don't get satire articles. So let me get this straight, people can just make up some random bullshit and it'll still get approved? Why? N4G stands for News For Gamers right? How is a downright lie accepted on here?

*goes to write article saying GTA5 was cancelled
muhahahahaha*

[MiasmaDodo]

Ill put it this way

Im going to pay $65 for Infamous Second son.
I havent given these 2 a dime in 10 years.

Video Games > Movies (IMO)

[Soldierone]

This explains two things

1 Why video game movies will never work until the big wigs are aged and outed.

2 Why Hollwood movies will continue to suck until the big wigs are aged and outed.

[oxcar1]

Fuck you Lucas & Spielberg!!!!!!!!! You don´t know a shit about videogames, not only your stupid movies can be "art"

[tetsuhana]

Satire is the new troll/flamebait article. Can we please kill this retarded trend now before it gets out of hand?

[badkolo]

games are a form of art, plain and simple, some are more art then others but a expression nevertheless

[SuperBazza]

People that didn't get the joke, listen: they both have been involved with a ton of games!

THAT is the joke.

Hell, George Lucas even created a company to make games. And Spielberg went as far as directing many of them, praising the medium in countless situations.

Don't believe everything you read, guys.

[Khronikos]

George Lucas shut your fat stupid mouth. The last thing you will ever do is actually create art. Spielberg is getting damn close as well.

[level 360]

Can't believe their comments about games not being an art form or fact of the matter a collective art form just like cinema or animation.

For goodness Spielberg/Lucas came from the same place and thinking as people who are into games and animation yet they deny the gaming industry as an art form?.. simply because of an innocent yet useful game control pad?

For sure a lot of artists' ( me included ) in this industry would be so ashamed of these people and their mis-informed ideas/comments and judgement.

My respect for them has indeed lessened.

[thelaughingwiseman]

Quantic Dream and Naughty Dog say "Hi."

[Kenshin_BATT0USAI]

Can satire pieces just be banned again? They aren't new, rumours or anything, just false bs. In fact, it can be argued as it being fishing for hits.

[Ogygian]

I'm getting really annoyed at satire articles being near-indistinguishable upon first glance from news.

Can people start putting a "(satire)" bracket before headlines/text or something?

Perhaps some form of shortened uniform code "(st)" would be more appropriate for adding to the actual title of an article?

[TheMutator]

Even Duke Nukem Forever have better story than Star Wars Episode 1 , 2 and 3

[ufo8mycat]

I think they are both angry because they are complete failures now and washed up and havent delivered a great movie in years and secondly, games have overtaken movies in art and story.

Just look at The Last Of Us - That tells a story and makes you feel for the characters more then any movie in the past decade, simply because it allows you to interact with them, adding an extra level.

Theres more story, emotion, creativity in that game then any movie in a very very long time.

[AHall88]

Can the satire crap get moved to a different place? Getting sick of seeing it.

[tigertron]

Wow, we're getting trolled by this site.

[BABY-JEDI]

Games cannot be art if Spielberg & Lucas have anything to do with them. Go play Ico or SoC you old gist & learn about gaming art!

[KingKevo]

Stupid and ignorant people are stupid and ignorant.

And whew, at least Spielberg will now make Halo real art with his TV series. Thank you sir. /s

[Einhert]

“When I first tried the Kinect I played in poorly lit conditions, so the device didn’t recognise all of my gestures. I got frustrated, then I started to feel upset, then angry. That camera made me feel. Now, that’s art.”

Enough said about these has beens.

Sorry Steven stop attaching yourself as producer to titles like Transformers 2 and then we can start talking about art.

Lucas? lets not even go there, you should resurrect Irvin Kershner so we can have a good Star Wars film again.

Nothing to see here, just two old has beens trying to hang on to their dying medium

[tigertron]

Guys, I will admit I got fooled myself, but when I saw the other articles on the website I realised it was a troll site. Simply satire, nothing more.

[SoCalledMe]

No they can't , they can be more , they can be interactive art ! :D

[Picnic]

STOP CALLING IT SATIRE.

Animal Farm is a satire. You replace one thing (humans) with another thing (animals) to expose human follies.

These articles are nearly always SPOOFS. They mimic a very plausible real world scenarios. They don't do it in the abstract, metaphorical, kind of way that would have made it a satire.

Well, as plausible as it can be with the comment about Indiana Jones IV at the end. Even Speilberg wouldn't think that. But it's still a spoof, not a satire.

[N2NOther]

The Player by Robert Altman is a satire.

satire
  Use Satire in a sentence
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sat·ire
[sat-ahyuhr] Show IPA
noun
1.
the use of irony, sarcasm, ridicule, or the like, in exposing, denouncing, or deriding vice, folly, etc.
2.
a literary composition, in verse or prose, in which human folly and vice are held up to scorn, derision, or ridicule.

This article is satirical by definition.

[whamlollypop7]

Did anyone expect anything different? I'd like to see the scientific studies that Spielberg referenced.

[N2NOther]

Wow. Either people didn't read the article or they have not even the basic understanding of satire.

[Phils_Libra]

"Videogames are the comic books of our time." "They are an art form and anyone saying differently is a little out of touch because they are a narrative art form."
-Director Guillermo del Toro.

There is no logical way one can call one entertainment medium, like film, "art" and yet not say the same for another, like video games. Film, music, books, paintings, and yes, even video games, I feel they're all "a narrative art form" as del Toro accurately stated.

[overrated44]

There should be a "Satire" subtitle or something on articles like this, it confuses people.

[Thomaticus]

Art is whatever I consider it to be.... and right now I consider video games as ART.

[MadMen]

I highly disagree, imo, its because these guys did not grow up in an interactive generation of I\O.

[zugdar]

Because these guys have created nothing but masterpieces the last 15 years. You had a good run but go home you're drunk.

[dantendo]

Wow, They are certainly intimidated by the way video games have evolved.. They are masters of film, not games.. This is none other then a defense of their profession. I think they should sit down and play through the Last of us from start to finish and then express their opinions..

[Tzuno]

well getting old sucks.

[Orionsangel]

Here we go again. When old people trash the newer genre. Because their genre was better. Instead of being opening minded. They become ignorant dicks. I would expect it from Lucas, but Spielberg? He's praised games before, I thought he'd be smarter than these comments.

[Jamaicangmr]

“When I first tried the Kinect I played in poorly lit conditions, so the device didn’t recognise all of my gestures. I got frustrated, then I started to feel upset, then angry. That camera made me feel. Now, that’s art.”

So the camera not working properly in those conditions is what Mr. Lucas considers as art because it made generated an emotion? Am i the only one who thinks this is a slightly dense outlook? *Rolls eyes*

“No, I haven’t tried those games, but if they use a controller then they simply cannot be as artistic and daring as Indiana Jones IV.”

I've lost alot of respect for Mr. Speilberg based on this statement alone. Great director but his opinion outside of that is vastly lacking proper logic.

[Cid33]

so getting angry because the controller "kinnect" was unresponsive and getting pissed is art???
why not play a game whith half the buttons not working that should be an masterpiece..
Just look at his films with that imagination you must be smoking something

[WheatBread]

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of time is art

[OmegaShen]

I recall anything can be art, they are just mad that video games are selling as or better then movies.

Some games have a deep story like most tv/movies have and some have just breath taking look to them (and sometimes both).

[TacoBurrito]

So movies arent art, because I use the DVD remote?

[S2Killinit]

I always felt that Spielberg was a very racist individual. I'm not sure why I get that from him.(maybe the way he reacts to things that happen in the Oscars?) Also don't get why they feel the need to comment on gaming? Make you movies and if you don't like gaming, good for you, no need to insult other artists.

[360ICE]

Next time I'll just go ahead and put [Satire] in the title. And I promise that I'll keep the more provoking stuff off N4G. Somehow, I though this wouldn't be that provoking. Can of course not promise that anyone else won't post it though. This has gone a few rounds around the interwebs.