Convincing my art teacher that video games are art

[ArcossG]

So I've been in an art class for 2 years now I need to make a נןע finishing work in the third year, so I decided to make a video game


So I've spoken to the head of the art subject in my school and she wants me to send her an explanation as to why video games are art(Which is at least better than outright dismissing video games as art, like most people I know do).

I watched the Extra Credits episode on introducing people to gaming and I know she ls fascinated by the renaissance era so I am using Assassin's Creed 2 as an example



Any advise or opinion would be welcome

 

[hitman_7]

Try also Bioshock and explain to your teacher the philosophy and the metaphorical statments behind it or even psychonauts on how traveling into someone sub conscious also L.A. Noire gives a nice view of old Los Angels.
Hope this helped

 

[hitman_7]

Ups i forgot Shadow of the Collosus

 

[Catchy Slogan]

Well, you could wait untill Deus Ex comes out. It's looking to be pretty promising in the 'art' depertment.

 

[Robert Ewing]

The concept art is most definitely art. So that's a start.

Chose arty games as well like Limbo, or Braid, Okami, that sort of stuff. I did a lot of art courses in college, so In my experience you need to waffle on about, for example.

"Limbo uses a dark and dank tone, with a grainy camera filter and flickering rays of light to put across the message that the boy is truly alone in this world, and that he is a small insignificant person, in a large and dangerous world."

You need to relate the graphics and aesthetics to what the mood of the game is trying to imply.

For Assassins creed, I suggest you show him some screenshots, or concept art of it. Showing the sheer amount of detail used in crafting the world that Ezio roams. Show him some videos (Not of the fighting... teachers hate that stuff) of him hopping from building to building, point out the fluidity of the building hopping animations. And show him how graceful the world around him is. Show him that the world is bustling full of people that have their own lives, that they aren't just props in a world to be used once or twice. Show him the developers video's too, that may give him an insight on how the world was created, and what sort of problems they had to deal with.


Hope this helped, good luck!

 

[Voration]

Use any games that are visually fantastic as examples of games as visual art. As for it being art in other ways, a game is something you can enjoy for many hours and there are lots of types for different people. The problem with contempory art is that you can look at a picture in a second and see all that there is to see. With a game (and books) it will take many hours to take it all in and even then things may be missed...
Hope my ramble helps a bit. The nature of art is something I think about a lot so I have a few reasons ready at all times

 

[Ashz0r]

I managed to convince my university that games had enough artistic merit, so I could write a dissertation on them. I don't think it's too difficult to do from a literature perspective, since it combines, filmic, literary and artistic form, but concentrating on one, may be harder.

Games like Limbo, and the aforementioned Psychonauts would be a good case however to put forward, so try them. Explain Limbo's contrasting tints and shades within the gloom and depression of the evolving childhood in modern day times, as a child moves from a eco-centric lifestyle into an increasingly technological infection.

Damn I want to do this assignment for myself now.

 

[Voration]

Another hint: Defining what art is may help you explain how games are an art form to your teacher.

 

[Zhukov]

Ask your teacher for a precise definition of "art".

Take it from there.

 

[BrailleOperatic]

Is painting art?
Is music art?
Is writing art?
Is story telling art?
Is performance art?
Does the application of code truly counteract any of these things? Games are art through simple Gestalt, if nothing else (and given the complexities a nuances of computer code, I'd go so far as to assert that it too is art) and every game is art. Not every game is GOOD art mind you, but judging video games by Mortal Kombat is a lot like judging books by Twilight, and no one is questioning the legitimacy of literature as a medium.

 

[RagnarokHybrid]

I actually wrote a pseudo-research paper (for no reason, really) to that effect. Or, at least, that videogames are no different from music, literature, and films and she be treated no differently.

Anyway, to answer your question, I mentioned Red Dead Redemption's storyline and cinematics. For non-violent videogames, I mentioned LittleBigPlanet and Scribblenauts. (There are others but I've lived under a rock for a while and guns were my only entertainment.)

I went on to mention that videogames utilize many new technologies--no different from films and music--to better tell their stories or immerse the player. (Example of this: LA Noire with the MotionScan technology.) Videogames hold deep messages and symbolism (Metal Gear Solid 4, despite how convoluted) and, thus, are subject to interpretation more than just, "line up crosshair and press R1." Finally, videogames, like art, teach as well. Leapfrog products are videogames, if I'm not mistaken, and their sole purposes are to teach. Not to mention you can learn from mainstream titles, too, like problem-solving from Portal.

Hope this helps/is accurate.

 

[Robert Ewing]

The concept art is most definitely art. So that's a start.

Chose arty games as well like Limbo, or Braid, Okami, that sort of stuff. I did a lot of art courses in college, so In my experience you need to waffle on about, for example.

"Limbo uses a dark and dank tone, with a grainy camera filter and flickering rays of light to put across the message that the boy is truly alone in this world, and that he is a small insignificant person, in a large and dangerous world."

You need to relate the graphics and aesthetics to what the mood of the game is trying to imply.

For Assassins creed, I suggest you show him some screenshots, or concept art of it. Showing the sheer amount of detail used in crafting the world that Ezio roams. Show him some videos (Not of the fighting... teachers hate that stuff) of him hopping from building to building, point out the fluidity of the building hopping animations. And show him how graceful the world around him is. Show him that the world is bustling full of people that have their own lives, that they aren't just props in a world to be used once or twice. Show him the developers video's too, that may give him an insight on how the world was created, and what sort of problems they had to deal with.


Hope this helped, good luck!

Listen to this man and don't show off a shooter or you might get your head bitten off...

The Void is another good example:

Dear god so true, never show a game that was designed to be entertainment using ONLY violence and warfare. They may have the best graphics, but that's not what always matters. To make something art, they need to have a reason to have the graphics they do. And the FPS, is to make killing more realistic and pretty.

 

[The-Epicly-Named-Man]

I personally wouldn't choose AC to demonstrate that games are art, it's more of a blockbuster style game than really what would be described as an "arty game". Like pretty much everyone else, I'd recommend Bioshock, Limbo and Braid (not Okami, it's only considered an arty game for it's art style, outside of that you can't argue over it's "artistic merits"). Yeah, you could argue thy're a bit pretentious, but what's important about them is that they leave their plots open to interpretation, which is a trait I would attribute to art.

 

[Haz88]

Prepare for a storm...
On topic: Try out a game that says something about the human condition. Love, hate, stress, despair, friendship, anything goes. Personally I have a fondness of Lovecraftian horror (staring into infinity realizing how meaningless existence is etc.). Missile Command, Limbo and Amnesia: The Dark Descent I think are great at making the player feel powerless against the game world. If you are trying to find smaller games try out Kongregate [http://armorgames.com/]. The platformers are generally good places to go.
Two favourites of mine: Small Worlds [http://www.rathergood.com/chasm].

 

[FreakSheet]

Tell her to play Okami.

If that doesn't convince her, we can conclude she is dead inside.

 

[tlozoot]

It's not enough to have a pretty looking game. You have to pick a game where the mechanics and actual play link in with the message and atmosphere. Off the top of my head...

Limbo - Hostility, isolation and futility are conveyed through the initially perplexing puzzles, the myriad of things that can kill you and the gruesome and often nature of your death. The mono-chrome, minimalistic aesthetic adds to these things, but aren't entirely responsible for them.

Bioshock - Less so than Limbo, because I think a bigger game like Bioshock has trouble keeping concise but it's still there. Bioshock is telling two stories, one is the here-and-now story of Jack and the other, more interesting one, is the story of Rapture. The story of Rapture is told through the environment - an environment that you can pick through and experience on your own terms. Mention that control is never wrested away from the player during cut-scenes to keep the link between player and avatar intact. Also, the twist in Bioshock is a pretty neat and meta as fuck deconstruction of linear narrative in gaming.

Mass Effect / Fallout NV / Heavy Rain - Any game that allows you to make a choice and explore the consequences of those actions. No other medium allows us to face the consequences of our own actions. In film or literature it's always someone else's consequences we witness - seldom our own. Acknowledge that gaming still uses smoke and mirrors to create the illusion of choice, but that it's getting more varied with improved technology.


Just remember that bringing up a game with an epic soundtrack, pretty graphics and vistas, or just awesome concept art is not enough as these are 'stolen' elements from other medium. For a game to even be considered as artistic the mechanics need to work seamlessly with everything else in the game. Red Dead Redemption may have had great characters and a good story, as well as atmosphere, but I think it's comparatively weak when it comes to mechanics enforcing this.

 

[Griffolion]

So I've been in an art class for 2 years now I need to make a נןע finishing work in the third year, so I decided to make a video game


So I've spoken to the head of the art subject in my school and she wants me to send her an explanation as to why video games are art(Which is at least better than outright dismissing video games as art, like most people I know do).

I watched the Extra Credits episode on introducing people to gaming and I know she ls fascinated by the renaissance era so I am using Assassin's Creed 2 as an example



Any advise or opinion would be welcome

The simple fact you have to convince your art teacher of this means they're not worth your time. If they, an artist, cannot see games as that art form they are, then they are not worthy of their position of teaching art. In short, don't waste your time.