Videogames as Art

[theComposer]

Grumble grumble, Roger Ebert is still right, rant about distinction between art and gameplay, call for simpler games, praise for games I like, lather, rinse, yada yada yada, 10 people disagreeing with me, 10 more thinking I'm the biggest asshole this forum's ever seen, 2 people defending me, a big pile of "quoted" PMs from the system, here we go again.

OK, that should condense things a bit.

Can I apply to be one of the people who disagree with you?

OT: Videogames are just as much art as movies, music, and fictional literature. All can be used to entertain and evoke emotion. All four have truly beautiful works and others that degrade the medium. Videogames are a new medium, so they have more of the latter because developers are still learning how to use the medium, but it is still an art form.

 

[Chewster]

Grumble grumble, Roger Ebert is still right, rant about distinction between art and gameplay, call for simpler games, praise for games I like, lather, rinse, yada yada yada, 10 people disagreeing with me, 10 more thinking I'm the biggest asshole this forum's ever seen, 2 people defending me, a big pile of "quoted" PMs from the system, here we go again.

OK, that should condense things a bit.

Can I apply to be one of the people who disagree with you?

OT: Videogames are just as much art as movies, music, and fictional literature. All can be used to entertain and evoke emotion. All four have truly beautiful works and others that degrade the medium. Videogames are a new medium, so they have more of the latter because developers are still learning how to use the medium, but it is still an art form.

This. Consider where cinema was a mere thirty or so years after it was invented, and imagine the changes we will see in our lifetimes. Sure games today look amazing, but it may take another several decades for the medium to really come into its own. Big picture: we have a ways to go. Hell, game studies has only just established itself as a legitimate sub-discipline of communications, so we have a bit of a trek.

Ergo, modern day games are art, though they are primitive works compared to what we shall be seeing in the coming decades. Should be groovy.

 

[Nieroshai]

Games are supposed to be fun, not art.

Can art not be fun? Does not the artistry of the game make it fun? Artistic scenery, artfully done characters, artfully done dialog, artful gameplay? If you enjoy video games, you can't escape the fact that the game would be boring and two-dimensional if it was not an artist's work. And not all art is good art, if you decide to mention that bad games aren't art.

 

[SimuLord]

Grumble grumble, Roger Ebert is still right, rant about distinction between art and gameplay, call for simpler games, praise for games I like, lather, rinse, yada yada yada, 10 people disagreeing with me, 10 more thinking I'm the biggest asshole this forum's ever seen, 2 people defending me, a big pile of "quoted" PMs from the system, here we go again.

OK, that should condense things a bit.

Can I apply to be one of the people who disagree with you?

Sure. Take a number. This debate's gone on so many times I'm just tossing a bunch of boilerplate out there so I only have to make two posts instead of fifty.

 

[JPH330]

Video games are not art.

They are a child's play thing.

I gotta say, it's a bit disappointing to see such a lazy attempt at trolling.

 

[Lazarus Long]

If a hipster smearing expired Spaghetti-o's on her shirt and in her lady bits is considered art by absolutely anyone, I'm not sure I want my hobby classified as art.

Spoiler: Somewhat less NSFW than the naked weirdness above, but I wouldn't want anyone to walk in on me watching it, if you take my meaning.

I will, however, accept "protected speech."

 

[Tanis]

Video games are not art.
They are a child's play thing.

I gotta say, it's a bit disappointing to see such a lazy attempt at trolling.

I know, but I figured someone had to try...

 

[Bon_Clay]

Love Roger Ebert's movie review, basically the only movie reviewer I go to individually, rest is average scores and other people's opinion who I know. Don't really care that he thinks video games can't be art.

IMO they can be if they aren't just cookie cutter bullshit, but don't really care what they are considered. I'll play the ones I like and enjoy them just the same.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

The problem with a blanket statement like "Are Videogames Art" is that it casts too wide of a net.

To me there has to be a tangible sense of creative effort put into the product before I would consider it a piece of artwork. It needs to communicate some form of message or emotion to the viewer through the experience.

Or to give the Webster's Dictionary definition.
"The conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects"

To that end if you asked me to consider DoA: Extreme Beach Volleyball or Burnout 3 as works of art I would tell you no. There is no creative effort in either product. Certainly some amount of creativity had to go into the graphic design of the product, but the same could be said for a stop sign or a bag of Cheetos. Those types of games, if completely pressed I would have to classify as Pornography. Not in the strictest "sex on film" definition but by the generic definition as a "Depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction."

But there are Video games out there that do try, with varying degrees of success, expand beyond that quick thrill and leave a lasting impression.

Games like Brutal Legend, Silent Hill or Metal Gear Solid, you might not care for them, you may even hate them, but the effort that the creators of those games put into their final product is obvious. The people working on those games had a story they wanted to tell and an artistic style that was important to the finished piece.

So "Are video games art?"
No. No more than movies, books music or television.

Can video games be the medium through which art is produced?
Yes, Much in the same way that certain movies, books, music and television can.

 

[Burningsok]

If a hipster smearing expired Spaghetti-o's on her shirt and in her lady bits is considered art by absolutely anyone, I'm not sure I want my hobby classified as art.

Spoiler: Somewhat less NSFW than the naked weirdness above, but I wouldn't want anyone to walk in on me watching it, if you take my meaning.

I will, however, accept "protected speech."

everything is art really, But WE can judge what we think is good art and what is terrible art.

 

[Triscut900]

my bro dalimey100
did a big essay on this

 

[Ninonybox_v1legacy]

Well, in this case:

They most definetly are art. At least in my definition. Otherwise, they're just fun to play and, well, games. Not art, I'd say.

oh my derp...its 3-D WORLD RUNNER

 

[zfactor]

It depends on the game, some are definatly art (Bioshock, Mass Effect) because people spent time crafting an awesome world and story. Others are just entertainment, just like some movies (mostly TV shows) are. However, all games should get 1st ammendmnet protection, but that is an arguement for another thread...

 

[CheckD3]

It is art no matter what bullshit people try to spout. While I'm not a fan, can we not call Bioshock a statement on goverment and power and control? What about the lawlessness of the Fallout world and the anarchy that is caused by it. And even saving the pricess could be argued to the point that Mario is a flawed character, doomed to repeat his mistakes instead of moving on, but always having to face his demons in the form of Bowser

Anything video game wise can be replaced with any other medium. Television characters, books, paintings, all of that. If you have to ask, it is art

 

[Twad]

i think its penny arcade that said it, but i like it: how can a game created by artists not be art?

Seriously, there are 2d artist, 3d artist, art directors, programmers (ect) they usually do a lot of research both in technique and style to deliver the game.

 

[Verlander]

I'm a masochist, who always clicks on the "videogames are art" links. Maybe I should seek help, or get into BDSM

This topic always really makes my head hurt. I think if anything, the amount of topics on this subject, and the diversity of the answers prove only one thing: the topic is of no value whatsoever. No conclusions get drawn, no converts are made. Do I think they're art? What difference does it make. Even if a painting is art, it's still a painting. Even if a videogame is art, it is still a videogame. Even if a dog turd is art, you still get it on your shoe

 

[FURY_007]

Exactly, at the end of it all, its up to the individual to decide of its art or not, but as someone said earlier, videogames are art as much as anything else is, they have the same qualities

 

[Snake Plissken]

If Jackson Pollock splattering paint randomly onto a canvas in different ways is art then so is spending years creating vivid worlds and characters

As much as I dislike the "art" of Jackson Pollock, Andy Warhol is miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles and miles worse.

"Look at me! I know how to screenprint!"

Way to go, Mr. Warhol. You are what it took for the artistic community to lower their standards.

 

[ArchAngelKira]

Video games are art only if its from japan

 

[II2]

This "debate" is the same on every tedious goddamn lap.

Yes the are.