Artist8: Jonathan Blow

Jonathan Blow is an artist obsessed with content. Commenting on the human condition and teaching his audience new concepts. Using science, math, philosophy, ethics and literature in his work, he builds a rich experience with his art and words. He disdains shallow and mindless tasks and has taken a personal vendetta against work possessing little or no content. He attempts to push boundaries, pushing those working in his medium as well as the medium itself. Jonathan Blow creates video games.

Many people don't consider video games a valid medium for artistic expression. They don't see the blossoming community of artist video game makers. With markets more often flooded with shallow games like Call of Duty, many games with something important to express go unnoticed by those uninitiated into the gaming world (I'm not necessarily criticizing 'shallow' video games here...I'm just stating a fact about trends and awareness). In his own blunt, sometimes narcissistic, often pretentious, and always engaging manner, Blow has taken up arms against this trend in the video game medium. Here's an interview where he addresses the issue. This is a good video of him discussing the human condition and and how game design can positively and negatively interact with this condition:

His game Braid, one of the most celebrated indie titles in gaming history, creates a memorable and engaging experience. The game centers around regret, human relationships, and, in particular, the concept of time. Each level is designed around some aspect of time, having the player learn to adapt to and exploit time to accomplish goals and progress, pushing the story and experience further. He's also working on a new game called The Witness, which is supposedly going to be equally as cerebral and engaging games in history. Blow is perhaps the most visible and well known video game creators who are also creating art. With his work, he's pushing video games toward becoming a known and accepted creative medium capable of making valid and momentous contributions to art.