Today's column is brought to you by Red Bull. "What is Red Bull," you ask, with a clueless look on your face and a bead of drool forming in the crook of your lip. I'll try to my fullest to summarize Red Bull in a manner that does it justice.

Red Bull is inspiration in a bottle. Red Bull is pure power in its liquid form. Red Bull is the Grand Unified Theory in a glass casing. Red Bull provides you with instant energy, like those machines in Chrono Trigger. Except unlike those wussy machines, when you finish chugging down a bottle of Red Bull you aren't hungry anymore.

To be more concise, Red Bull is the only beverage I know of that needs to be bought in import shops and is distributed by a company with "pharmaceutical" in the name. Red Bull is essentially every kind of legal (as far as I know) stimulant known to man mixed together with lots and lots of sugar to make an invigorating, if revolting tasting, drink.

I keep missing the keys with my fingers.

Note:

Despite the disclaimer, I'm not to use the "F" word in this column with any sort of frequency. To absolve myself of responsibility, I'm initiating a new policy: a special Tipper Gore icon will appear wherever the word would have otherwise occured. Let's try it out!

Looking good! Let's get this show on the road, then.

Drew,

art.

-lewsteran

Please print this letter. It is my 16th birthday today, and it would make an excellent (and free) birthday present from you. I suppose my letter should have SOME content, so I was wondering if it's true that in order to understand Chrono Cross you need to have completed Chrono Trigger. I suppose I wouldn't be as worried if Chrono Trigger wasn't released on the FRICKIN' SNES!!! GOD, not everyone has the money needed to buy a used SNES AND one of the most sought after cartridges!

-John Mora

Drew,

http://aol.eonline.com/News/Items/0,1,6931,00.html

"According to the Hollywood Reporter, ["Gattaca" director Andrew] Niccol, the writer-director who also penned The Truman Show, has opted to cast a computer-generated leading lady opposite Al Pacino for his next film....

"[Niccol] was reportedly awestruck by computer-generated effects in Sony's Final Fantasy: The Movie, and decided to go with the same techniques in creating a fully digital female protagonist."

-Chris Kohler

Dear Drew:

Software Etc is getting Chrono Cross tomorrow (I guess thats today now, hmmm...) I think that says it all.

-Sugoi

My definition of art is inspired by the famous quotes "Art imitates life" and "Life imitates art". (I don't remember who said it, and don't feel like looking)

"ART" is a principle of beauty that permeates the universe. The universe is the ultimate work of art. Human artwork is an attempt to glimpse that greater art, and share that vision with others.

More relevantly, I think that what we now call video games could one day be humanity's greatest form of art, because it is essentially the creation of small universes. It takes time for new art forms to be recognized; look at how long comic books have been around without gaining mainstream acceptance.

-Sanagi, aka A headache the size of a disco beat that shuffles mindlessly through the alleyways of that which makes me sick

And be aware this is a definition of art from an artist who plays way too many videogames! Har har!

My definition of art has always been very simple. Art has to have the spirit of the artist in it. In other words, I need to see the thought and intention behind a piece of art to view it as art. The art also needs to show something about the artist, about the way s/he sees the world and what s/he considers beauty.

So whether I personally like Jackson Pollock's "paint splotches" is irrelivant; he *did* have a good reason to do what he did, the art was the process of making it, and that is visible in his paintings. His splotches are the most intentionally placed splotches around; they aren't random at all. He knew exactly where he was painting just as much as someone who applies paint to canvas in more traditional ways. So it's art, whatever my personal taste is in the matter.

As for purpose, art is there to affect us, to let us see something in a way we may never have considered, and to help us understand our fellow humans by seeing the world through new eyes. At least, that's why I make art :)

As for how this relates to videogames: Videogaming is a new medium, so it's hard to decide just yet what the standards will be...but I would definately say there are games that fit my definition of art. It is easier to see the RPGs as such, as they are verbal, telling a story, and thus convey the spirit of the makers easier and more understandably than most games. That doesn't make every RPG art, of course. There are many RPGs where decided lacks in gameplay or too much 'clutter' clouded the intentions of the creators. And there are some games where I dare say the intentions were either ignoble or altogether absent.

Games of all types *may* be art, if they contain and express the spirit of the maker.

That's all I have to say about that :)

-Princess Artemis

Hey Drew, I'll make this as short as possible. You can't define art in general! The reason being is that art is extremely personal and individualistic, thus everyone has different opinions on what should and shouldn't be considered as art. Perfect example; I came across a picture of a stunning young women. The photographer made excellent use of light and shadows, the only thing is she was nude. I would consider this art regardless of the nudity, unfortunately others would cosider it pornography. To me art isn't a picture hanging on a gallery wall, but rather this feeling that I get when something touches me, whether it is something I see, hear or read. This relates to videogames in the fact that just as in books, music, or everyday life for that matter, videogames can reach deep down inside and amaze and astonish me like no painting or picture ever can. The feelings I still have for such artistic moments as the first time I saw Aeris' death scene in FF7, or playing through the opera scene in FF6 are permanately imbedded in my brain. I think you get the idea. These are just my opinions of what I view as art, everyone else has there own.

So here I am trying to actively campaign to Sony to get Vib Ribbon released here in the States. After all, why should Europe and Japan be allowed to revel in its musical crack-rabbit genius while us dumb American slobs be given the proverbial shaft up the ass? ... Again?

Anyway, I wrote one letter to SCEA and receieved a pleasant, if somewhat obtuse, non-committal and almost condescending response. At least it was a response of some sort, and it was heartening to receive (if not somewhat insulting to my intelligence). Not content, I proceded to rattle my shackles once more by sending another letter. A longer letter, this time, which included actual numerical facts and references to my earlier letter AND the response I received.

And what did I get in return? "We appreciate you comments and suggestions, which we have passed on to the appropriate department. Comments from consumers such as yourself have helped us develop into the greatest home game system around." The "letter," if we may call it that, continues with advertisements for the Playstation2 and their "game play assistance line," featuring their "terrific game counselors" who just happen to only exist as a bank of digital recordings on a computer-driven phone system somewhere in the dark bowels of SCEA.

The moral of the story? The only way to get Vib Ribbon, I'm convinced, is to take some important cracker at SCEA hostage with the serrated edge of a defiled (or would that be filed?) Beyond the Beyond disc and forced him to sit through endless showings of "Battlefield Earth" and "Pokemon 2000" until his brain matter oozes out from his ears like so much strawberry jam. Then place the localization order yourself; this way, you avoid lots of pesky paperwork.

-Justin Toon, who isn't bitter (I promise)

I've had a day to stew over a letter that was only printed for sarcastic purposes. I guess working a county job on third shift will make you cranky like that... but I'm going to bitch'n'moan anyway.

Marx was a fucking pinhead who didn't know his ass from a hole in the ground. The basis of Communism was the overly-simplified statement, "To each according to his needs; from each according to his abilities." And I suppose it would work out, if people weren't such greedy little thugs.

Look at the previous examples of communist-based socialism. Not one of those societies were anywhere NEAR wealthy at the lower levels (read: where you'd probably wind up if you brought the systems here). There was no opportunity for upward advancement, there was quite a bit of oppression, and fear was the secret word of the day. Meanwhile, the higher eschelons of government (the people with big guns) were considerably more wealthy and happy to keep the unwashed masses in line. Why? People are greedy.

Communism neglects the fact that mankind is essentially bad. People who think they can make it work because they'd be the ones in charge are essentially wrong. And people who want to dispose of my rights as a capitalist pig to move on to a communist economy are blatantly stupid.

Wow, overreacting to a two-day old letter on a videogaming website is fun! You should try it when Chris gets back, Drew!

-Some Random Jerk