泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 _ Are video games art?

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

Are video games art?

 

December.26.2013

Recently I read an article about why video game is not an art. Summarizing the critical review, video game must reflect its artistic side to become part of a culture, however, game graphic is just a skill which lacks elements of art and video game story doesn't have literary value on the lower level of collect and edit without any meaningful factors.

In fact, I never knew the game critic who wrote the story. He is a total stranger and it's nothing personal against him. Both as a gaming industry employee and as a person who loves games, I just want to say a few thing about it which is, I guess, being ignored.

To begin with, I don't agree with a proposition which states that artistic aspect is essential for defining as a culture. Should a culture reflect artistic side? A culture embraces an art and a culture is not a subset of an art. We use a word of culture not art referring to the gift-giving culture to exam candidates—conventionally Chapssaltteok (glutinous rice cake) or Yeot (Korean hard taffy)—when the college entrance exam is just around the corner in Korea.

Furthermore, the opinion that game graphic is just a technique is no different from the view that fashion design, character design, industrial design, and motion graphic design etc. are just a skill. Video game graphics bring together character costumes, concept art, items, mechanical design, and character motion graphics etc. And they are the fruit of teamwork of a lot of designers. Of course I assume that not every game shows result with artistic value. But I don't agree with the opinion that all essentials for game graphics are only a technical skill far from arts. This is equivalent to calling everything painted by an artist not works of art. I could ever agree to the idea "game graphic is a skill" in a situation where many game designers create works of art with their concept arts, sometimes famous artists join a game-making project, and there are exhibitions of concept arts.

Lastly, he jumped to conclusion that video game stories don't have literary value just by analyzing a small number of local online games. There is Resident Evil, the film adaptation of a game story and Enter the Matrix, the first game based on The Matrix series of films and there are some games with video game characters of famous movie stars. Game story is one of the most important factors for game and users sometimes are extremely impressed by the story itself. Of course game story is not essential for some games or specific genres and there are some games with poor structure of the story. Nevertheless, the hasty conclusion that game story doesn't have any literary value is a hasty generalization.

I assume that it will take long time for video games to be valued as an art by the public. Many genres of pop culture were viewed by people as being trivial and dumbed-down before finding consensual acceptance form the mainstream. Photograph, cinema, and popular music came under heavy criticism for the first time. Not too long ago, there were many people with more negative perceptions toward comic strip, however, it is already accepted as a legitimate art—the "ninth art" in the '90s across the globe regardless of the others' evaluation of the artistic and literary value of the cartoon. Video games recently turned sixty and there is a long way to go.

I guarantee that video game is a culture with plenty of artistic factors. It only needs time to be accepted as an art by the public. Therefore, gaming employees should examine themselves and make great efforts.

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

   (http://www.khgames.co.kr)

    Translation by Kim Ki-hui

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 _ If Kakao market is opened

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

If Kakao market is opened

 

December.12.2013

Recent news about KakaoTalk's acquisition of T store has become a hot issue in the gaming industry. KaTalk and SK Communications both stated that there was no foundation for the report, however, where there's smoke, there is fire. I carefully guess that there should have been general ideas about it. I don't want to discuss whether it is true or not here. As the old saying goes, "You hold the memorial service at a chance to see the rice cake", I just pictured what it would be like if Kakao market is actually opened.

In fact, people have already talked about the possibility since summer that KaTalk would manage the store itself. But it's not easy choice. The reason why it's hard to directly operate it is very simple. Because there is a possibility of failure of the market like T store or Olleh Market with poor market share. And it also needs to learn knowhow required to run it and accept initial cost by trial and error. Therefore, the buyout of T store can be a suitable alternative if KakaoTalk manages it firsthand, regardless of whether it's true or not.

Then, What does it mean for KaTalk to directly run the market? To begin with, it can boost sales. The IT company forecasts to earn sales of 100-200 billion won this year. Over half of the income is expected from video game division. It means that video game companies have paid commission, about 100-200 billion won a year, to the other stores where charge 1.5 times higher the fee than KaTalk does. Since T store's current annual sales is predicted to reach 20-30 billion won, the tech company partnered with KakaoTalk can expect an additional revenue from the new market.

In addition, it will generate more revenue with lower commission than now. KakaoTalk get a 21% commission on game sales at present, while the other markets charge 30% for the transaction fee. As a result, game companies consequentially have 49% of revenue. But if KakaoTalk runs the market itself, it can expects 1.5 times the current sales with just commission. Furthermore, if it charges 40% of market commission and platform fee in total, it can anticipate generating 2 times the present figures. Either is acceptable for game developers and there is no reason for them to object to the lower service charge. Of course it won't be easy for KaTalk to persuade customers to use its service.

Lastly the competitive factors in the domestic market will benefit the developers. There must be new attempts in the area where competition is fierce. KaTalk has attracted so many users and its proven ability will reasonably force the other competitors not to create revenue as they get now once it opens its market. When they get to that point, the rivals will inevitably try to change this difficult reality in many different ways and any attempts can have positive influences on the game developers.

'Dinosaur', 'Mobile giant', or 'Unstoppable force' became to call the mobile messenger application company of late. These epithets indicate that it is considered as big business and people think its commission is too expensive. But KakaoTalk is only a startup company with 100-200 billion won of sales a year. I give the startup a big hand which has helped to expand to local mobile game market and I hope that it will be a flagship of the Korean IT industry to win recognition overseas based on consistent growth. 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

   (http://www.khgames.co.kr)

    Translation by Kim Ki-hui

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌 _ The Exodus in the gaming industry

泥中蟠龍's Game愛歌

[A love song for games of the dragon waiting for an opportunity]

 

The Exodus in the gaming industry

 

November.26.2013

It was at this time two years ago. Nexon, the best video game publisher in Korea, went public on the Tokyo Stock Exchange on December 14, 2011 and Nexon Korea Corporation became one of its subsidiaries. Now Nexon is seen as a Japanese company rather than a Korean company. 'The stroke of genius' of Kim Jung-ju, the chairman and CEO of NXC Corporation, is much talked about nowadays, and the atmosphere in the gaming industry is self-deprecation.

I've got a chance to visit "G-STAR 2013" recently. It's not merely the biggest game exhibition in Korea but the international trade show for computer and video games industry which a lot of famous foreign game makers take part in. The event has become bigger every year, but it was looked be less splendid this year. As a lot of large-scale gaming firms gave up to join in, many booths were filled with local governments and even law firms. I was heard of an unexpected news in such a situation. In 'Korean German Business Seminar for the Games industry', Germany made great offers free office and software and 100,000 euros per a game project to a startup-to-be which will set up a NRW(North Rhine-Westphalia)-based corporation. And it also stated that the German government don't see video games highly addictive and companies will be on the inside track to enter overseas markets because there are no regulations for game development in Germany.

We have read an article where there are some concerns over the issue of overseas relocation of a local firm whenever chairman of the conglomerate is under investigation by the public prosecutors' office and the business circumstance is worsened. But I've never read about an article where the high-value added gaming companies which get 20-40 percent of net income, in comparison with 10 percent or less of net profit of many domestic firms including conglomerates, relocate their firms to overseas.

There's a saying, "Hollowing Out". It is the deterioration of a country's manufacturing sector due to rising costs in developed nations when producers look to less-developed countries to set up low-cost manufacturing facilities in hopes of reducing costs and these developed nations are being "hollowed out". Digital content industry is high value-added and the gaming industry is located at the very end of it. Which industrial fields in Korea achieve world first or second in the area? Korean Gaming industry ranks number one or two in the world and is among the best in the world. The government's policies about game regulation running against time are very much disappointing. In the remarks about South Korea's Game Addiction Law of Michael Morhaime, the founder of Blizzard Entertainment, who is widely considered to be upgrading a game to an art, I think the law is embarrassing for the country.

Last year I saw that a lot of game developers wanted to release 18+ games by rating systems of GRAC (Game Rating and Administration Committee) to circumvent the minor-related regulations. If the new law is passed, gaming employees have nowhere else to go. As with the nation's largest game publisher Nexon moved its head office to Japan, there is also the possibility of the next Nexon. Korean game companies between America and Japan; the current big players, and China; the new emerging force to catch up with them, may leave for some countries in Europe or Southeast Asia where the governments have done a lot of work to boost the gaming industry. Remembering now a few years later, I don't want to write a column about the gaming industry compared to some light industries have been closed.

 

※ This is from Kyunghyang Games column by 泥中蟠龍 since September 2013.

   (http://www.khgames.co.kr)

    Translation by Kim Ki-hui