Video Games = Art?

[Chameleon]

Do you guys consider video games as an official form of art? like, music, photography, paintings, writing and stuff...

I think it could be considered as such because it has a lot of things going on. From some games' beautiful graphics to the epic stories, to wonderful music... what do you think?

 

[Kirino]

Of course. Stories told in some video games are far better than most movies, and many games have graphics that are gorgeous, and could easily be considered art. The music in some video games is absolutely astounding. Perfect example of art in video games are Okami, Metal Gear Solid (the entire series), and Journey.

 

[tysonrss]

I consider some games a work of art. If it has a fantastic plot, great music and great characters that develop well with the story and game then in my eyes, its a work of art. Gameplay just adds bonus points to that but it is important.

I was just talking about how some video games were a work of art, go figure. I'll name some for the sake of goodness.

Assassin's Creed
Kingdom Hearts
Final Fantasy 7
Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword/Twilight Princess
Metal Gear Solid

and there are plenty of others. And no, Call of Duty is definitely NOT a work of art. many FPS aren't. Because all you basically do is shoot and kill to get to the next objective.

 

[Kirino]

And no, Call of Duty is definitely NOT a work of art. many FPS aren't. Because all you basically do is shoot and kill to get to the next objective.

This isn't true for all FPS's. Just look at Bioshock. The incredible atmosphere makes that game a real work of art. I forgot to put it in my original post, but the atmosphere, the characters and their diverse beliefs, and the whole world of Rapture make this game something special.

 

[Ventus]

To determine if a video game is indeed a work of art, first we have to find some working definitions of the word art itself. And as such, let me quote a fantastical site by the name of dictionary dot com:

1. the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance.
2. the class of objects subject to aesthetic criteria; works of art collectively, as paintings, sculptures, or drawings

Huh, either definition works for this subject. I myself will go with the first definition. The fact that some game can be appealing to one and not the other (look at any game in existence) simply shows that video game is indeed art.

For those of you who say the Call of Duty series is not art, I suggest you check your definition of art with the dictionary definition. You might reconsider things. CoD has a story (somewhat decent one actually), it has great graphics (art style), has some music...yeah! All things that are art in themselves!


Source: Art | Define Art at Dictionary.com

 

[Dragoncat]

Video games are art. That's my stance

 

[Draymorath]

Video Games are art. In fact, I remember hearing an article on the radio about how an art museum actually created an exhibit for video games. They included things such as Pac-Man, Zelda, and other famous works.

 

[Cfrock]

I consider some games a work of art.

And no, Call of Duty is definitely NOT a work of art. many FPS aren't. Because all you basically do is shoot and kill to get to the next objective.

I agree that some but not all games are art but I wouldn't write off all first-person shooters based off one series. I mean, based off your reason you could argue that Metal Gear Solid isn't art since that game can consist of shooting and killing people to reach an objective too.

Dracomajora brought up the excellent example of Bioshock and depending on which aspects of a game's overall design we focus on you could also argue games like Halo: Combat Evolved or TimeSplitters 2 or even Duke Nukem 3D (although I doubt many would hold that one as an example) are works of art. I suppose it just goes down to our personal definitions of the word 'art'.

Anyway, some games I personally consider as art (for various reasons) are:

The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Braid
Grand Theft Auto (any of them, really, but particularly Vice City)
The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind
Spyro the Dragon
Psychonauts

 

[Chameleon]

well, the thought is good but the point is: for example, music can also be amazing but can be crap. But it is still considered art. So, as a whole, are video games art? That's the real question i think.

 

[Hanyou]

Are movies and stage dramas art? Most people would say yes.

The only difference with video games is that they're interactive. I don't think the collaborative nature of gaming--between designer and player--is enough to remove that status from games. If anything, it just provides them with a different dimension.

So the answer is "of course." And objectively, it doesn't matter if the game is Pong, Journey, Final Fantasy, or Call of Duty--it's all art.

 

[Xinnamin]

The most basic and broad definition of art is a "skill" or "craft". Art refers to the study of, use of, product of, and experiences derived from a creative skill. In this sense, virtually anything that is a product of human minds can be considered art, leading to phrases like "the art of battle" or "the art of medicine" and other such things. So to discuss whether video games are considered art (they are) in this sense is not very interesting.

But then there is the distinction between art and fine arts, which is where the art/literature/music/etc canons referred to in the OP fall. I think a simplistic definition of fine art is a vehicle for communication of the artist's ideas and emotions, a way for the artist to communicate with those that appraise it, and of course it has to succeed in doing so.

Video games are basically a conglomeration of many other art forms brought together in an interactive experience. It is the product of the creators' imagination that communicates to the players the world that the creators envisioned. Video games as a whole have the same potential as other forms of fine art for the expression of emotion. So yes, video games are artistic. But communicating with the players is not the primary purpose of video games, entertainment is. And of course, while games like, say, Okami are almost certainly considered "art", that obscure 8-bit game from the 90s no one has ever heard about probably isn't.

There are such things as "canon" in the different genres of art, literary canon for example. Shakespeare's plays are considered "art", your middle school classmate's poem for english class is not, but both are forms of literature. I don't think "on the whole" any art form can be considered fine art.

That being said, there are many games I would call fine art in a heartbeat.

tl;dr - Yes video games are art, but depends what kind of art you're talking about.

 

[Random Person]

There are different definitions of art, but the one I choose to go by I first saw on learn-to-draw.com in that it is human expression of human thought. The definition I like the most was a separate version that I can't find which stated art was an idea that is systematically created to a physical form, the key word being systematically. If something is an idea and is just Randomly created, then it isn't art... its a creation. Video games originally start out as an idea and then have a systematic way of creating them, ergo, they are art. I have actually had this conversation with others who don't believe that definition because its so broad. But that's the interesting about art, it covers such a wide variety of concepts.

Honestly, before I got into art, I didn't and still don't understand how its hard to see video-games as an art. They incorporate a good deal of major arts including literature, music, drawings, sculpting, etc... and even games that don't incorporate that, the decision to not include such features is an artistic decision itself.

So yeah, I do see video-games as an art form... easily.

 

[Hsien Ko]

Video games are quite fascinating. They are quite something instead of being music, art, and story, it's all of it.

 

[Castle]

Art is a very subjective term, but I think video games fit the bill. Just look at games like Myst, whose aesthetic appeal is the prime draw of the game. Or Ico, which presents heavy emotions through its minimalist graphical portrayal alone. Or games such as Mass Effect, which (last in the series notwithstanding) offers an extensive narrative and an original fully fledged science fiction universe in scope to rival that of Star Wars and other renowned science fiction settings from other creative mediums. The interactive nature of video games make them a unique form of art, once in which the designer and audience can both be artists.

To what extent are certain video games art? Good question. The obvious answer to me is that the artistic integrity of video games has seriously dwindled as of late. To reference Mass Effect again, Bioware lost all artistic integrity in a shameful display of carelessness that resulted in an extremely sloppy product that I can hardly consider "art". They even used "artistic integrity" as a means to justify it, as lazy and sloppy artists so often do. Art must display a level of care and thought put into its creation. IMO, that is all it needs. The Sims is ugly. The graphics look like vomit and the interface looks like it was ripped out of MS Spreadsheet and the noises it makes are a godawful assault to my auditory nerve. But I still consider The Sims art because it is unique in the world and much creativity and effort was put into its design and development and it allows users to creatively express themselves in ways that few other tools can.

The Smithsonian Institute and the United States Supreme Court recognize video games as art.

So yes video games are art, as far as I'm concerned, but only if the "artists" making them want them to be.

 

[Austin]

I consider something art if the creator set out intending it to be art. Therefore, any games designed with that in mind would be art to me. Games that are likely designed as a cash grab (I'm thinking more sports games than the usual answers here) wouldn't count. I apply the same standard to movies, books, music, etc.

Of course, it's an entirely different discussion whether some of these things are /good/ art.