Should game designers names go on their title’s boxes? A recent article from The Economist gives perspective on our traditional notions of “authorship” in a work of art: 

The notion of the artist as the sole creator of a work of art is actually relatively recent. In pre-Renaissance times the artist was rarely named at all, and artworks were not signed. Creation was seen as coming from God alone.

Divine inspiration aside, this idea raises some striking parallels with our current attitude towards videogames. After all, with the exception of some smaller indie titles, we rarely if ever think of games as being created by a single author.

And many of us do often have an almost reverent respect for some of our favorite games. Most importantly, in videogames, as in classic Renaissance art, the significance and meaning are placed on the work itself.  Now I’m not saying that videogames are comparable to some of the great masterworks of the Renaissance (at least not yet), but you have to admit, the parallels are spooky.

[via The Economist]

-Patrick Lindsey