Has the word "masterpiece" lost it's meaning in the modern gaming landscape?

Has it truly lost its meaning in regards to gaming?

  • Total voters
    144
How come? A masterpiece is merely a culmination of many aspects culminating in a work that transcends it peers. It has lost it's meaning perhaps due to sponsored media outlets that without uttering such a phrase and meaning to a particular product are more or less prone to dow world spiral in relevancy ie income. I guess?
 
Last edited:
Well one thing for sure. On average games are alot better than 20 to 30 years ago. We have masterpiece today like we had In the past tho.
 
Bioshock Infinite, GoW 2018 and Ragnarok, TLOU 1 & 2 and FFVII are all masterpieces to me. They stand out against their peers in outstanding ways.

I would argue you see less today because publishers are chasing the flavours of the day as opposed to quality it takes to make masterpieces. Not every game needs to chase that either, however.
 
Topher said:
An opinion is subjective. A diamond being rarer than a pebble isn't an opinion.
Click to expand...
It is. Everything is atoms. Silly as it sounds, everything we know is based on someone's opinion on how to classify it.

Tell me, would you say that the original Tomb Raider games have better movement than Marvel's Spider-Man?
 
Thoughtful read. With the author's logic, GoW 2018 perhaps shouldn't be considered a masterpiece with the apparent influences from TLOU which preceded it. While I understand the logic and agree that the term's usage is excessive lately, I'd be hard-pressed to categorize GoW 2018 as anything other than a masterpiece.
 
Bragr said:
Tell me, would you say that the original Tomb Raider games have better movement than Marvel's Spider-Man?
Click to expand...

I can say Spider-man moves faster than Lara Croft when he is web slinging. Whether or not I or someone else finds that movement "better" is completely subjective. Personally I would have to play the game again after so many years to form my own opinion.
 
Topher said:
I can say Spider-man moves faster than Lara Croft when he is web slinging. Whether or not I or someone else finds that movement "better" is completely subjective. Personally I would have to play the game again after so many years to form my own opinion.
Click to expand...

Most games from the past fall apart if you replay them today. And controls are big part of that.
 
bender said:
There are planets in our universe with mantles comprised solely of diamonds with nary a pebble in sight. Free your mind of the limitations of your immediate surroundings and you'll soon recognize that Balan Wonderworld is a masterpiece and that Yuji Naka arrest for insider trading is merely a coverup because he dared transcend the multiverse to delivered a game so profound that it will take decades for mere mortals to comprehend.
Click to expand...
Oh My God Wow GIF by reactionseditor
 
Not at all, and masterpiece is too often attributed to old games out of nostalgia when they really weren't that good, even if influential. Easiest to copycat shouldn't be the bar for the medium artistically. A game can be a perfect blend of existing mechanics and be a masterpiece.
 
Fabieter said:
Most games from the past fall apart if you replay them today. And controls are big part of that.
Click to expand...

I'd probably agree with that. But you can throw that on mountain of subjective opinions that folks will probably agree with in general.
 
The only modern game I played that could eventually have the title is Outer Wilds.

Otherwise, the video-game landscape is pretty bland, especially AAA games. Nothing of interest here.
 
cireza said:
The only modern game I played that could eventually have the title is Outer Wilds.

Otherwise, the video-game landscape is pretty bland, especially AAA games. Nothing of interest here.
Click to expand...

The Witness also comes to mind... but it's a very rare stamp I'd put on a game
 
It's always been a subjective term. Consensus only goes so far in defining art. You like what you like. Design trends and aesthetic trends come and go, it's all relative.

nial said:
Art is a creative showcase meant to be experienced, not controlled/played with.
Click to expand...

There is interpretation and debate in 'non-interactive' art. Explicit cause-and-effect interaction doesn't negate the concept of art, far from it.
 
Topher said:
I'd probably agree with that. But you can throw that on mountain of subjective opinions that folks will probably agree with in general.
Click to expand...

Yea that's true. In the end its just a matter of opinions but that's also the reason discussions can be fun
 
I can think of at most 3 games in the last 7 or so years that could deserve the distinction. Which is probably about right if we're taking the term seriously.
 
kunonabi said:
I can think of at most 3 games in the last 7 or so years that could deserve the distinction. Which is probably about right if we're taking the term seriously.
Click to expand...

Yea but the problem is that another person wont have the same games as masterpieces as you
 
Film critics point out every single bit of detail and score a multi million dollar movie a 40%, while game critics are impressed by whatever. It could have a crap story, weird puzzles, or a terrible ending and it gets a 10/10. It might as well end up like the movie industry where no one cares what gets a perfect score and whatever does is questioned for years. Where the true classics took years to become a classic.
 
Topher said:
I can say Spider-man moves faster than Lara Croft when he is web slinging. Whether or not I or someone else finds that movement "better" is completely subjective. Personally I would have to play the game again after so many years to form my own opinion.
Click to expand...
No you don't, it's perfectly possible to compare products and equate. Just like any other product, quality derives from comparison. The iPhone outcompetes the old Nokia. I love Super Mario 64 over most things, but I am perfectly capable of judging the camera as outdated compared to the competition in terms of what it offers the player. My opinion does not override the quality of the system. Just as the movement of Tomb Raider Vs. Spider-Man.
 
A masterpiece is a piece made by a true master of his craft, a single person. So most videogames can't be masterpieces by definition. The term is reserved for works of art anyway, and we can't even agree on if games are art or not.
 
Probably, but the distinction on the landscape hasn't changed in a very long time. That is to say, most people have overrated things for a very long time. Pretty natural consequence of "7" becoming "average", etc.

Most things kinda suck with few real standouts.
 
HerjansEagleFeeder said:
A masterpiece is a piece made by a true master of his craft, a single person. So most videogames can't be masterpieces by definition. The term is reserved for works of art anyway, and we can't even agree on if games are art or not.
Click to expand...
Citing definitions then saying only works of art qualify which is false. Works of skill/craftsmanship also can be masterpieces, such as armor. Creating a masterpiece is what qualifies someone to have the title of master, such as a master blacksmith.
 
Bragr said:
No you don't, it's perfectly possible to compare products and equate. Just like any other product, quality derives from comparison. The iPhone outcompetes the old Nokia. I love Super Mario 64 over most things, but I am perfectly capable of judging the camera as outdated compared to the competition in terms of what it offers the player. My opinion does not override the quality of the system. Just as the movement of Tomb Raider Vs. Spider-Man.
Click to expand...

I don't necessarily disagree with anything you said except that yes, I would need to refresh my memory on Tomb Raider. It's just been way too long. I'm sure I'd probably agree with the opinion that Spider-man has better movement if I did though. Other than that, yeah you can compare objective facts of those phones such as processing speed, screen size, etc. Your personal enjoyment of Super Mario 64 doesn't change the fact of the camera position either. So sure, not disagreeing with any of that. Some things remain in the realm of objective facts. Others are just a matter of personal preference.
 
WoJ said:
Totally. I love Days Gone, but it's not a masterpiece.

It isn't as much that people say things are masterpieces too much as it is people are more sucked into recency bias thinking every new game is the best ever.
Click to expand...
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow was a masterpiece to me, but when I take a step back and look at it objectively, I can see that it is not. Its just a game that I loved for my own reasons. Didnt push the genre forward, no one took inspiration from it, no one even talks about it. Nowhere near a masterpiece... The same is absolutely true for Prey. Its simply not a masterpiece, you just love it.

Vick said:
For sure more deserving of such title than The Last of Us Part II.

Represent. Represent. deal with it.
Click to expand...
Gentlemen...Days Gone is a forgotten, never talked about 7/10 game that I doubt inspired a single developer on Earth... "Masterpiece" lol
 
Last edited:
Handel said:
Citing definitions then saying only works of art qualify which is false. Works of skill/craftsmanship also can be masterpieces, such as armor. Creating a masterpiece is what qualifies someone to have the title of master, such as a master blacksmith.
Click to expand...
A piece of armor is not art? A table or a chair are not? I don't believe say Michelangelo is considered a master of his craft because he made David. David is one work of this particular master.
 
Ian Henry said:
the writer discusses how the games listed as "masterpieces" are all similar and how they don't truly provide any innovation.
Click to expand...
Innovation (adding new things) isn't related at all with being a masterpiece (having a top, supreme quality) or not. A game can be a masterpiece with zero innovation, and a super innovative game can (and in most cases are) a complete turd.

Ian Henry said:
Seems to believe that modern video games are way too focused on being acknowledged by hollywood.
Click to expand...
This means that the writer has no idea about the insane diversity type of games that are available in the market. And also being great in quality and sales.

Ian Henry said:
The writer goes further into saying that games are following the leader and not bringing their own flair to the game.
Click to expand...
Any product of any market look at what people like and what it works to use it as reference. Publishers and developers would be retarded and irresponsible if they would spend hundreds of millions of someone else money without taking into consideration what it works.

Ian Henry said:
Not trying to summarize, so it's best to read yourself. Do you guys think that the word "masterpiece" has become warped in this era. Let me know what you guys think.

Full Article:
https://www.thegamer.com/the-word-masterpiece-has-lost-all-meaning-in-modern-gaming/
Click to expand...
I think the writer doesn't know that different people has different tastes or what a masterpiece means.

Also acts as if introducing new stuff would be something good, when new things can be bad things and being a masterpiece means top tier execution, not top tier creativity. Also acts as if big blockbusters needed or should to make big changes when they don't: if games like TLOU, BotW or GoWR get great sales and reviews it's because people love them. Sure, no game is perfect and always can be improved but games like these three are a masterpiece because of their outstanding top quality show that they mastered that, not because they are so innovative and created something new.

As an example, BotW and GoWR don't add anything new: everything they did was already done by other blockbusters before. But they are masterpieces because what they did they did it in a masterful way, at a level of quality that nobody or only a few did before.
 
Last edited:
HerjansEagleFeeder said:
A piece of armor is not art? A table or a chair are not? I don't believe say Michelangelo is considered a master of his craft because he made David. David is one work of this particular master.
Click to expand...
Not traditionally speaking, no. You were contesting video games being art, so I didn't take you as someone who would consider armor art. Not surprising though because almost everyone contesting video games as art are low grade trolls.
 
Topher said:
I don't necessarily disagree with anything you said except that yes, I would need to refresh my memory on Tomb Raider. It's just been way too long. I'm sure I'd probably agree with the opinion that Spider-man has better movement if I did though. Other than that, yeah you can compare objective facts of those phones such as processing speed, screen size, etc. Your personal enjoyment of Super Mario 64 doesn't change the fact of the camera position either. So sure, not disagreeing with any of that. Some things remain in the realm of objective facts. Others are just a matter of personal preference.
Click to expand...
But camera systems do affect personal enjoyment. I would enjoy Mario 64 more if had the camera of Mario Odyssey. There are also parts of the level design on some of the later levels (clock-fuck tower) that hurts the game as the design of 3D platforming levels have increased. Again, subjectively I enjoy it because of nostalgia and personal biases, but overall I can see the objective problems when I compare it to later games.

The more you play and the bigger your comprehension grows, the more you can spot parts of certain design decisions that hurt the game, just like the more you watch movies the better you get at noticing the truly creative and unique parts of certain movies.
 
What recent games would you fine gentlement consider an actual masterpiece? For me, Cuphead comes to mind, but can't honestly think about anything else. You may like it more or less, but when it comes to it, everything is perfectly done: the graphics and music 100% complementing the gameplay which is the main focus, with just a little bit of story to keep you going.

I guess Elden Ring had the potential, but ended up not reaching that point imo. Still an awesome game ofc.
 
Bragr said:
But camera systems do affect personal enjoyment. I would enjoy Mario 64 more if had the camera of Mario Odyssey. There are also parts of the level design on some of the later levels (clock-fuck tower) that hurts the game as the design of 3D platforming levels have increased. Again, subjectively I enjoy it because of nostalgia and personal biases, but overall I can see the objective problems when I compare it to later games.

The more you play and the bigger your comprehension grows, the more you can spot parts of certain design decisions that hurt the game, just like the more you watch movies the better you get at noticing the truly creative and unique parts of certain movies.
Click to expand...

All very true statements when forming your own personal opinions.
 
When I see something as painfully average, awfully paced and very badly written as GoW Ragnarok being blindly called a masterpiece by so many supposedly professional press outlets, you sure as hell can bet that the word has lost all sense of meaning through and through.
 
Flabagast said:
When I see something as painfully average, awfully paced and very badly written as GoW Ragnarok being blindly called a masterpiece by so many supposedly professional press outlets, you sure as hell can bet that the word has lost all sense of meaning through and through.
Click to expand...
I'd love if someone explained to me why they think that game is an actual masterpiece. With actual arguments.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Has the Switch 2 lost its mobility?
2
99
854
Seomel replied
Fromsoft has the best artists in the gaming industry, and it's not even close (PICS HEAVY)
Opinion  2
94
1K
SlimySnake replied
I cant wait for the next masterpiece
2
76
394
ShadyAcshuns replied
If your new game has the word Fall in the title, I'm not fucking buying it.
2
60
3K
StereoVsn replied
Am i the only one who hates the use of dithering in modern games?
4
5
nkarafo replied
Top Bottom