computer

Murray mentions T.S. Eliot and the term "objective correlative," which is "the way in which clusters of events in literary works can capture emotional experience." She continues to argue that computers (and therefore their video-game descendants) create the same sort of objective correlative - a means of relating this simulated world to our tangible life. Every video game in itself is a system, with a set of rules that govern how, when and where the correlations will be made. Somehow, through interaction on the TV or computer screen, responses are triggered and anger, fear, laughter, and pride can be produced.

According to Murray, the interactive "video game" is simply a new art form, a new style of narrative, and an addictive one at that because of it's participatory nature (this would be the main distinction from literature, a painting, etc.). This raises the question, then - are all video games inherently art? Super Mario Bros.? Halo 3? If art is intended to produce a reaction and/or make a statement, don't video games qualify as well?  read more »

I think people were so fascinated by Eliza when it first came out because it was like a modern-day "Magic 8 Ball", able to tell you what you want to hear and could give you answers, but at a whole new level. Eliza was programmed to ask questions about Key words that it's "patient" talked about. For instance, in one case Eliza asks the girl to tell it about her family. The girl says that her family is very Motherly. Eliza replies with, "Who else in your family is Motherly?" It makes the girl think and she gets smart with ELIZA and asks it if it needs a mother. ELIZA says, " We're discussing you, not me."
Not really seen as a psycotherapist, but as an unbiased third party who patients can disect their life with. The text says that it is still used today. I think by talking to this digital therapist people find out how to free think and really look at what is going on in their lives. In another case, sophisticated users who knew that they were only talking to a computer, soon forgot and were getting upset by it, even though they knew it was not real, I think they wanted it to be.

In the preface of his book, Art of Computer Game, Crawford suggest that mainstream video games are trival at best. I Agree...to Disagree. He of course makes some important distinctions of art from an artist point of view but he fails to mention art from the eyes of the audience.

I AGREE:

..."that the computer has become a medium for emotional communication."
- The computer has allowed the audience to become part of the art itself instead of just interpreting the art, as it was commonly done prior to the industrialization of computers.

..."more invest of the game equals more emotional value to the audience."  read more »