I thought that game explored the mechanism pretty well, but I don't play a lot of flash games -- mostly because they tend to disappoint me or piss me off, so I can understand where you're coming from. Rehashing ideas (or gimmicks) is totally fine. It's really how games have developed over the years "Yeah, Doom is cool, but we can do better now". Still, most of these knock offs don't really do anything better or new at all, but I can't conceptually be opposed to their existence. People are so caught up on singular gimmicks these days thanks to stuff like Braid or portal or whatever. Have one clever idea = ART AND SUCCESS AND LOVE WOO.
Only not really. Narbucular Drop isn't a classic. Portal, or Braid, or whatever get their respect by being great, polished games that make their idea shine. Really, gimmicks are just neglected, uncooked ideas that people think are ready. As for art games, I hate them from the same reason you were hating on gimmick games. These aren't ART. They're pale impersonations of art. Not because games can't be art or anything dumb like that, but practically none of these motherfuckers try and they all circle jerk themselves about how clever they are.
A lot of conversations I've had about art and games have lead to IWBTG being 'art'. I find this funny but I also sort of accept the possibility at this point. I think people look at art in regards to games wrong. Patito said something crazy the other day when hanging out with me. "La-Mulana is art, but Braid isn't". Digging deeper into that, Braid WRAPS ITS SELF UP like art. Oh, painted backgrounds, classical music, lots of text. It dolls it's self up as a work of art, but it's artistic value isn't any of that. La-Mulana is about video games. It is about the medium. It is clever and sophisticated and masterfully executed (Braid does have masterful execution too, but thats not why people look at it as art). If I were to pick out the games I considered the most "HIGH ART" it would probably be Super Metroid and Mario 64. These games are probably the most masterfully designed games ever. They create emotions (SM: Loneliness, fear. M64: Awe and wonderful and 'fun'), have sophistication (the rules of the game and their worlds have a lot to dig into) and are also significant in the context they were created in. Sounds like every piece of high art to me. I mean, if you look at DeVinci or Michaelangelo, what do you see? ILLUSTRATORS. They are famous both through context and through the mastery of their craft. Not by invoking images of racism or teaching life metaphors. So videogames are there already. As games have more 'movements' of sorts, we'll see more and more styles of what can be art.
