Are Video Games an Art? Looking at the Witcher’s Journey

From Myth to Reality

---

Just a few weeks ago, I started looking at a number of recent video games and tried to understand why the creative form is not yet considered an “art.” Despite the strides made on the visual, narrative, and musical fronts of the industry, this art form is still not considered anything meaningfully timeless in an artistic sense. Maybe its the lingering public stigma of gamers and gaming, maybe its the capital prerogative that holds it back. Whatever it is, gaming has suffered from being a superficial creative form since its inception.

But holy smokes, all of that might change in the next few years.

The spark to my optimism comes from the announcement last summer that Netflix would be developing a full-budget television series dedicated to The Witcher lore and narrative. Originally a series of fantasy books turned into an epic development of video games, The Witcher would be debuted internationally as a mainstream piece.

In today’s post, I’ll go through a bit of why this single ecosystem might change the landscape of all media and art, and open opportunities for games to really impact a cultural imagination.

CD Projekt Red’s Masterpiece Project

---

There are only a few examples of when any kind of media overlaps into video games. We often see book to movie adaptations, movie to TV, book to TV, and so on, but so very rarely with video games. Major exceptions are superhero comic books and the occasional Final Fantasy CG film.

• Source: PMC Variety

Technically, there is a long list of game-to-show adaptations but these are almost entirely cartoon games into cartoon shows. These are spin-offs with no expectations of being an artful contribution in any way.

That’s why what Polish indie gaming company CD Projekt Red did was so incredible. They took the 90s novels of Andrzej Sapkowski, which told the story of ‘Witcher’ Geralt, a professional monster hunter in a medieval landscape. Geralt draws upon his supernatural conditioning and fighting prowess to take on bounties on harpies, phantoms, golems, witches, and even the occasional corrupt human.

The series has a TV port before but it was met with horrid reviews. That was almost 20 years ago and we’ve got a brand new opportunity to do a full makeover in the age of breath-taking CG.

• Source: Game Hype

The first of the three Witcher games came out in 2007. It and it’s second rendition, Assassins of Kings, were both met with high positive reception. The stories were in-depth, highly consequential, and immersed the player in a vivid and compelling world. Playing as Geralt felt heavy and real, a much different prospect than even the Fallout or the Elder Scrolls series that basically placed a blank canvas in your hands.

• Source: CD Projekt Red

And finally, in 2015, the company released their latest and greatest edition - The Witcher 3. Everything about this game changed the landscape of Role-Playing ambitions. Every decision made left a lasting impact on the world that you explored. Main characters could be destroyed, betrayed, or held onto, all within a tight narrative woven by the developers. No quest was mundane, and no inch of the medieval world didn’t hold some surprise. The Witcher 3 was awarded Game of the Year by many review platforms and is still regarded as a classic game of a generation.

And thanks to this masterpiece, we now have a new prospect of games becoming art eternalized.

The Netflix Factor

---

Over the last several years, Netflix has become the de facto competitor of age-old production studios to transform the idea of TV media. They have been able to take material sourced directly from popular request and change the nature of narrative development. The perfect example is House of Cards that took in much more than just a single scriptwriter’s imagination to drive the storyline.

And now, Netflix is trying their hand at The Witcher.

Who do you think should play Geralt?

Not many details, other than the producers, have been released thus far but I have very high hopes for a Netflix-quality production of the book/game series. Netflix has also proven to be a production platform that doesn’t shy from adult themes and extreme gore, two elements that are pivotal to The Witcher’s representation.

Above all else, I’m just excited to see who will play Triss Merigold…

• Source: Deviant Art

What do you think? Will this change the way games are treated in the domain of creative work? Do you think Netflix can pull this off? Let me know your thoughts below!