Poll: Games are art?
- Thread starter Arkhangelsk
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Hmmmm. Deja vu. I suppose I can give the same answer that I gave in the other thread asking the same question:
Yes, I believe games are art. It however does not automatically mean that they are compelling and mature by default. I love gaming, but it has a long way to go before compelling storytelling and innovation become the norm. Gaming is quite young though, so there's hope.
Yes, I believe games are art. It however does not automatically mean that they are compelling and mature by default. I love gaming, but it has a long way to go before compelling storytelling and innovation become the norm. Gaming is quite young though, so there's hope.
I think people just assume that art is supposed to have this Compelling and Beautiful Message and Look to it. There is a guy on Deviantart.com who just draws Dingo's wearing army stuff. I think its retarded but im not going to tell him its not art.
Games can be art in the same way that movies or novels can be. They're a creation designed to get across some idea or message.
EDIT: Shoot. I ended that first sentence with a preposition. My most sincere and humble apologies to all those who read this.
EDIT: Shoot. I ended that first sentence with a preposition. My most sincere and humble apologies to all those who read this.
First, you need to define art, and the definition changes from person to person.
For me, art is something created with the purpose of being regarded as art. This is very important: if you do not intend your creation to be art, then it cannot be art. Also, this piece must also be meant to provoke or amplify some emotion or feeling in the viewer. This emotion can be fear, interest, curiosity, laughter, sorrow, even just awe at the technical skill of the artist.
Technique doesn't make art, though! Technique is what allows the artist to project the image in his mind into canvas (I'm using "canvas" as a big blanket word to mean anything that allows you to view your art: a CD with your music, an actual canvas, a reel with your film, a piece of paper, a wall, even Office Word).
With that said, I think most games (99,9%) are not art. Some may be artistic or artsy (Okami, Prince of Persia) but aren't really art because the focus is on the gameplay, which is essentially computer code, and programming isn't an art. What you create with programming, however, can be.
Here are some examples of games that I consider to be art. Notice the similarities between them: Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. Ico makes you marvel at the art style, SotC made me drop my jaw in awe at the size and beauty of the Colossi. The Longest Journey was the gaming equivalent of a book you can't put down, and Dreamfall practically broke my heart during a certain part that was entirely optional, easy to miss, but the game had obviously been built up to reach that part.
EDIT: Another example is Today I Die. The ending brought a huge grin to my face, and the soundtrack fitted everything perfectly. That game is truly interactive art. Poetry in motion.
For me, art is something created with the purpose of being regarded as art. This is very important: if you do not intend your creation to be art, then it cannot be art. Also, this piece must also be meant to provoke or amplify some emotion or feeling in the viewer. This emotion can be fear, interest, curiosity, laughter, sorrow, even just awe at the technical skill of the artist.
Technique doesn't make art, though! Technique is what allows the artist to project the image in his mind into canvas (I'm using "canvas" as a big blanket word to mean anything that allows you to view your art: a CD with your music, an actual canvas, a reel with your film, a piece of paper, a wall, even Office Word).
With that said, I think most games (99,9%) are not art. Some may be artistic or artsy (Okami, Prince of Persia) but aren't really art because the focus is on the gameplay, which is essentially computer code, and programming isn't an art. What you create with programming, however, can be.
Here are some examples of games that I consider to be art. Notice the similarities between them: Ico, Shadow of the Colossus, The Longest Journey and Dreamfall. Ico makes you marvel at the art style, SotC made me drop my jaw in awe at the size and beauty of the Colossi. The Longest Journey was the gaming equivalent of a book you can't put down, and Dreamfall practically broke my heart during a certain part that was entirely optional, easy to miss, but the game had obviously been built up to reach that part.
EDIT: Another example is Today I Die. The ending brought a huge grin to my face, and the soundtrack fitted everything perfectly. That game is truly interactive art. Poetry in motion.
Even a lone psychedelic game developer like Jeff Minter puts the playability of the software he creates first. So, entertainment.crazyhaircut94 said:
games have great potential as not just art, but also as a story-telling device. problem is its undermined by money grabbing cu**s that make it risky to put something really brilliant and unique out on the market, something that focuses on artistic aethetics (like flower), or truly interactive storytelling, in which I firmly believe has the most potential to create a great story, since no other medium can let the audience interact with the story.
It's an attempt to tell a deep emotional story there's another game I think is art but instead of posting it I'll just say what happens. Your a black figure there's a riot going on full of white figures you play a mini game to convince rioters to join your side and stop rioting. After the entire crowd is white they just riot the other way, so you change sides and convince them to join your side. This happens back and forth until you turn gray but then no one will listen to you, they just continue to riot. The game ends.Uncompetative said:
Is there any particular reason why you have cited The Path four times, or is your argument so weak on quality that you need an excess of quantity. None of these count.Xanadu84 said:
