A) What does the term AVANT-GARDE mean?
The French term ‘avant-garde’ is a military jargon. It was used to designate the detachment exploring the unknown field to prepare the advance of the army.
Later, the term changed its meaning, but it kept a link to its origin. Avant-garde is a complex term which, broadly, defines the expression of the new replacing the old. Therefore, an avant-garde is not a traditional or common work, it is a major change bringing new orientations, it is radical, unorthodox. It tells people what to expect from what is coming (Ciocaniu, C.).
In the historical sense, avant-garde is an artistic phenomenon that has occurred at the beginning of the 20th century, affirming some movements connected through their similar characteristics: the radicalism, the total rupture of tradition, the obsession of absolute art, the aggressive tendency. The most important avant-garde movements are the futurism, the abstract expressionism, the dada, the constructivism, the cubism, the pop art, the Bauhaus and le nouveau réalisme (Onofrei, M.).
Avant-garde Jazz painting by Leon Zernitsky
B) Is it still possible to be truly ‘AVANT-GARDE’? If so, provide game examples.
The game industry has been widely developed during the last couple of years (Stuart, K.). Despite the fact that the design of a game is always different than the other’s, I do believe that lots of games are similar. When I think of an avant-garde video game, I think of a game that doesn’t only offer a new design and idea, but also a new experience for the player.
I believe that Donkey Kong (1981), for instance, was an avant-garde game for its period, because it was the first platformer game, bringing a new perspective over video games (Perish, J). Likewise, Duck Hunt (1984) could be an avant-garde game since the first-person perspective hasn’t been used before. As the demand of video games increased (history.com Staff), more and more games have been created. New ideas, designs and perspectives have been approached. Nowadays, we are able to choose from a tremendous range of video games.
Donkey Kong (1981), Nintendo – 2D perspective
Duck Hunt (1984), Nintendo – First-Person perspective
During the last years, game developers took inspiration from everything, always trying to approach new ideas so that the player has a new type of experience. Ideas can always be changed, new, fun, having such a wide range of inspiration sources, but I think that the perspective the player has in a game has a crucial role. I can’t imagine any perspective (other than 2D Side Scroller Direct/Angled, 2D Top-Down, 2D&3D Hybrid, 3D First/Third person, which have already been used in many video games) that could make a game possible to play.
In conclusion, I strongly believe that one can fully enjoy a game that was built on a new idea, but I think that in order for a game to be truly avant-garde, it needs to bring something more than an idea, it has to be fully innovational, making visible a radical change. Therefore, I don’t believe that it is still possible to be truly avant-garde, since all the perspectives that make a video game possible to play have already been used.
References:
- Onofrei, M.: Romanian Literature: Baccalaureate – essays, Booklet, Bucharest, 2008
- Ciocaniu, C. (coord): Romanian Language and Literature, Niculescu, Bucharest, 2014
- Stuart, K.: The digital apocalypse: how the games industry is rising again
- Perish, J.: Five Critical Moments in Platform Game History
External Links:
http://www.dictionary.com/browse/avant-garde
http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/definitions/avant-garde-art.htm
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/may/17/video-game-industry-changing-virtual-studios
https://www.gamespot.com/forums/games-discussion-1000000/what-was-the-first-platformer-26639878/
http://www.usgamer.net/articles/five-critical-moments-in-platform-game-history
http://gaming.wikia.com/wiki/First-person_perspective_video_games
http://www.history.com/topics/history-of-video-games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1NyIsZXeqU
https://mozzastryl.wordpress.com/2013/01/20/types-of-game-perspectives/