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I know this topic has been discussed so much that it has reached the point of irrelevance, but I'd still like to voice my opinion and hear the opinion of others. I myself feel that it is impossible for a video game to be art because its sole purpose, by definition, is to provide enjoyment for the consumer. Games are products created with commercial intent, and anyone suggesting otherwise, especially for mainstream releases by the likes of Bioware or TellTale, are wrong.

Thx for all the recommendations, Im currently reading the 1st book of Dexter (you can tell by my avatar that I love the series). I will check out those after I finish this one. Any books like Dexter will be also welcome.

I haven't read an entire novel in a long time, but if you enjoy cinema, I'd recommend M. It's one of my favorites by Fritz Lang.

I feel that multiple endings as a concept is not inherently flawed, by they are impossible to execute well in a mainstream title.

• The worst offender is probably the good/bad system, which basically lumps every choice you make into a counter and never makes you feel as if any of them actually make a difference. With systems like this, you might as well save the effort and put a screen before the opening asking "Are you a neo-nazi or a christ-worshipper today?" for all the thought any of the audience actually puts into the decisions.
• The second worst are the endings where the outcome hinges on  one choice made (JC WHICH ONE OF US DO YOU LIKE MORE), making it feel as if everything you did in the game was pointless when the only influence you have on the story is in one section.
• the most aggravating though, is the one where you only get the super special "WINRAR" ending if you locate the 43 invisible screenwriter portraits hidden throughout the game, color-coded each of them based on the frequency of each color in the flags of the former Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, take the 8th letter of the 3rd sentence in each paragraph of the walkthrough, read them backwards 3 times, and sacrifice a well-to-do family in tribute to the outer god Nyarlathotep.

    My advice is that if you want to put multiple endings in a game, NEVER make any one of them objectively better than the other. I would like to, daft as the analogy may seem, compare the philosophy of film to that of interactive media. To use an example, in ROTK, the ending is just another of those stereotypical "heroes win, villains lose, everyone is happy" affairs, which I always thought was a bit insulting to the audience after the gritty and melancholic tone established gradually over time. This, however, is a biased, subjective opinion. However, If you want to translate a story like this into game form, do not put a "good ending, bad ending" system in to give the game variety. Something like this would need a linear storyline, and giving the player choice is just going to make them want to get all the "right decisions," instead of the ones they actually want to make. How many people do you really think finished the final mission of ME2 and went "well, that was awfully tragic. Best not to save scum so I can preserve the integrity of my individual experience!"
    If you do want to include some depressing endings in your game because you feel it would better fit the overall tone, be careful to make them all equally (un)satisfying, and be extra careful to not make it seem as if any choices seem "better" than others. The mood could also benefit from having multiple choices all leading to similar outcomes, adding a feeling of helplessness and depressed contentment. In "Bicycle Thieves," a man losing his means of work exhausts every possible option in the pursuit of a already meager salvation that, as the film goes on, becomes increasingly clear is now unattainable. Still you follow his journey, hoping that any sort of positive outcome might come against all logic or reality of the universe, until the film ends predictably with all of the man's efforts in vain. A game could take the concept of Italian Neorealism and make it even more powerful, by putting you in the shoes of someone less fortunate so you may experience the monotony and lack of control anyone has over any of their day-to-day lives, despite all efforts to improve their situation. At this point in time, though, I feel games should focus on making more thought-provoking and meaningful experiences before they even attempt to again try to insert nonlinearity and other such unique concepts into games.

Ok Janos Ekdahl I'll be happy to acsept your help.

I would be happy to, just a couple questions.
1. Is English not your native language, or are you just not a grammatical perfectionist?
2. Would you like me to just edit some of the original post and PM it to you, or repost it on the board?

[A summary]

Well, this certainly seems interesting, I always thought this series was a bit overrated. While 5Days is certainly not the worst of the Chzo Mythos(I JUST WANTED TO GO INTO SPAAAAAAAAAAAA...), I also believe that it just isn't that good a game. I guess I'll have my first attempt at a rant here.
A summary

• Story: starts off rather tediously, but picks up at a steady incline as the events progress. I feel that by day 4 it had become somewhat tense and enjoyable, but completely fell apart at the end.
• Characters: this was another area where I felt that much improvement was needed. Beyond the living room exposition dump, we learn nothing about these characters that might actually make us care about them. There doesn't really seem to be any believable development as the story goes on and many of the actions taken by them are illogical and unrealistic.
• Puzzles: I'm not entirely sure, but these might be the worst part. If it weren't for the small game area of the "mansion," the backtracking might have been insufferable. As pointed out, many of the puzzles relied on either clicking on the one random thing needed to progress and blatant padding in the form of the "salty bear" segments.

Overall, the game was a mediocre, forgettable experience. I've seen much better just from this site alone.

It's still a hell of a lot better than most of the shit that passes for 'art' these days.  I don't even take that word seriously any more.

I wouldn't really be that irked if she was just citing it for its technical achievements, but she clearly thinks the film has some sort of artistic value beyond "Look how much our green screens cost!" She was also picking an option to represent the entirety of contemporary art, and as stated before, the selection was not limited to what you would see in a gallery.

[THIS]

I'm sorry, I can't stop laughing at that. She says out of all of the works of art created in the past 30 years, including painted, sculpted, drawn, filmed, animated, musical, and interactive,
[imgzoom]http://moarpowah.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/Star-Wars-TRAVIS-7.jpg[/imgzoom]
THIS is the best.

Take into consideration how popular you realistically expect your game to be, and whether you want to release it as a free download or charge money. If this game is something you're mainly doing for fun and learning experience, like the vast majority of AGS games are, I'd say just stick it in there with credit and don't worry about it. If your aspirations are a little greater than that, or the game's something you'd like to have in your professional portfolio, then definitely license, commission, or seek out free music.

In response to your question, I would say this project is not something I am doing just for fun or experience. While this is the first game I have ever planned to make, I have lofty, though hopefully not unattainable, expectations for the outcome. I would not say I have any intentions to commercialize it though, as it is still my first game, and a lot of the subject material is semi-autobiographical and contains varied and overarching themes. I would feel guilty about trying to monetize as my main purpose would be to provoke interest and hopefully instigate thought about the ideas presented within.

In response to Peder, I had looked it up, but I get the feeling getting a license from the company wouldn't be an inexpensive decision.

You'll be alright. Fair Use will cover you very well for 5-10 seconds worth. Best not to sell your game with it in though.

I certainly wouldn't plan on commercializing my first game. I would hope something like that applies to this.

With so much royalty free music around (or for a very small charge or you can buy royalty free music CD's) why bother using someone else's stuff without consent?

Having said that, I have been guilty in the past.

The problem with this is that, not to imply anything of others, but I always take soundtracks seriously. I really want songs that tie in with the themes of the game and also help enhance certain scenes without feeling manipulative.

Second asking around in the Recruitment forum. If you show people the scene and the song, they'll know exactly what you're looking for, and they might be able to reproduce the feeling of the song without outright ripping it off.

I already said that I would consider that, but not until I had something to show people.
[embed=425,349]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KBNz3mL9-Kg[/embed]
In case anyone is wondering, that is the song.

Just remember, many European countries don't have the "fair use" concept: its mainly an American thing.

Wishful thinking, I guess.

If he's Indie, then there's a pretty good chance he'll allow this.

To be a realist, I doubt it. His label has some other fairly notable musicians, and his work has been featured in a few commercials.

Check the "offer your services" thread. Contact the musicians and explain what you have in mind.

I might consider doing that, though I think I'll wait until I have something tangible to show for my efforts.

You could make a case for 5-10 seconds being Fair Use, and thus allowed.

Also, have you considered contacting the musician? Or is he too famous for that?

He is a popular independent musician named Daniel Johnston. He's released several albums, and I believe a documentary has even been made about his life. The funny thing is that he doesn't own a computer.

I figured I would get that response. Do you think I would be able to get someone to cover the song? All I would need is a recreation of the piano intro.

I'd just like to say that your spelling and grammar could use some significant proofing. If you want, I could edit some of the lines for you. 

I am in the process of creating my first game, and am almost done writing the story. However, there is a piece of music I know that would fit perfectly with one of the scenes, but I'm worried about using it. I want to insert a 5-10 second clip into the game, and give credit to the musician. Do you think, ethics aside, that this would result in any problems? I already know the most likely outcome, but I wanted other opinions.