Jaffe: Games don't have to be art

Developers have no duty to make games that are "art", says God of War creator David Jaffe.

Writing on his blog, Jaffe took aim at unspecified journalists who routinely criticise games for lacking "deeper artistic sensibilities, deeper stories, meaningful mature views of the world, or more realistic portrayals of women."

"Maybe some of us LIKE games that don't want to be art," he wrote. "Maybe some of us would rather be the Jerry Bruckheimer of games than gaming's Orson Wells. Maybe some of us LIKE portraying women in a more comic booky way (the same way - by the way - that the vast majority of male game characters are portrayed). Maybe some of us don't want to load our games down with political and philosophical discourse."

"If you really want to write about this topic in a fresh, meaningful way – and since some of you are so clear on the fact that if we were just more grown up as developers we could be making video game versions of Citizen Kane (don't f****** get me started), how about an article explaining exactly what you mean? Be specific."

Next up from Jaffe is Twisted Metal for the PlayStation 3, due for release in 2011. Speaking on his Twitter account earlier this year, he promised, "we're going to all bust ass to entertain the f*** outta y'alls!"

Oli Welsh contemplated this when he played Twisted Metal at E3.