If your looking for an example to show games as art, Blek is a pretty safe bet. This is because Blek uses a very simple and elegant design that presents itself more as interactive art than an actual game. After all it touts itself as a game about imagination.
At it’s very core, Blek is a puzzle game and a pretty smart one to boot. Each puzzle requires you to draw a free flowing line on your Gamepad that will avoid and navigate around obstacles while continuing through the path representing the solution. The obstacles are represented by black dots and the solution is represent by colored dots. When you begin to draw your line, the slower you draw it the shorter it will be, the slower it will move and vice versa. This is essential because the puzzles Blek presents will have you weaving in and out, over and under, and through maze like paths and the only clue to the solution is the general arrangement of the dots on screen. It is completely up to you to figure out a pattern of movement to solve the puzzle.
This is where Blek becomes it most frustrating and ingenious. Frustrating because the solution to the puzzle may not be as obvious depending on how your brain works, causing the game to have a inconsistent difficulty curve. Ingenious in the fact that the solution can be attained various ways. From drawing very straight or angled lines to create a path to the solution or using small circles using the exact same pattern of movement. When experimenting with how you draw patterns and creating one that works Blek really can be a beautiful sight in motion. Otherwise it can be an exercise in frustration as you watch your line constantly run into an obstacle because you cant see a pattern that will solve the puzzle.
The Recomendation
If you “get” what Blek is and what its trying to do you will enjoy it and may even end up loving it. If you don’t Blek will only frustrate you and leave you wondering why you purchased it in the first place.