

NEA now making grants available for video game developers - primesuspect
http://gaming.icrontic.com/article/nea-video-games-are-an-art-form/

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schmittz
This is a huge mistake. I don't want to argue that videogames can never be
art, but in general, no matter how good they look, they aren't (Radio is also
highly suspect on this list). The problem is that "the arts" (in a more
traditional sense) in the US are infinitesimally close to being criminally
underfunded. Opening NEA funding to even more applicants will only further
detract from more traditional applicants that should receive funding.

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joshklein
I disagree. How "good they look" is irrelevant; one can easily make the
critique of famous painters, say, who have totally missed the bar on creating
"good looking" painting, yet create harrowing or revelatory social
commentaries nontheless. The same holds true for all these categories.

I'm not going to attempt to define what art IS here, or what its purpose is,
but I can say it must go beyond high art and aesthetics.

There are games that challenge and expand our understanding of society across
a number of different axes, the most recent and obvious of which being
collaboration and socialization. Or look to classic games for incredible
examples of storytelling (Kings Quest), making choices of morality (Ultima),
and so on.

And certainly there are radio programs that are art; Radiolab and This
American Life come to mind, although those are already publicly funded.

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schmittz
Ah, I didn't mean to imply video games must have an aesthetic to be considered
art (I said this because, and you do have to admit, the prevailing attitude
for those who believe they are art is that they are of a supreme aesthetic).
I'm not quite sure what you mean by high art. The NEA is in a unique position
to fund people who will probably fail, that is people who are challenging the
current popular forms. Popular art directions can more easily get private
funding and don't need as much public support. I agree that video games can do
this, but when you're associated with a multi-billion dollar industry and
building a product that can be replicated and sold by the millions of copies,
it's hard to justify why you need public support to develop it. I LOVE This
American Life, but I completely disagree that it is art. It is tremendous
journalism, which reaches millions of people. I donate every year to keep This
American Life running and every listener should too, because they are
receiving a great gift of passion and effort in every episode. However, there
are more than enough listeners to support the program if they each paid for
the service they receive. I do not believe they need public funding and if
they did, the NEA is not the organization that should be providing it.

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sedachv
Can we have government funding for Free Software instead?

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Impossible
Afaik, this grant will still cover Free Software. The software would have to
be an art piece, so you couldn't get funding for non-artistic work. The grant
is pretty broad though, it covers web, mobile and general "interactive art" as
well as video games.

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OstiaAntica
It is tragic that we are borrowing money from China for such utter frivolity.

