Video Games are a Form of Art.

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chewii101

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Edited By chewii101

I think this argument has been around for decades, maybe even during the 8-bit era. Now, I've heard arguments for both sides and have made up my own opinion, as seen by the title of this blog post. Jack Kroll of Newsweek wrote in 2000 that "games can be fun and rewarding in many ways, but they can't transmit the emotional complexity that is the root of art." I'm not flaming at the dude's thoughts but I disagree. Art is an expression in its simplist form, a expression, thought, idea that is in the physical from a subjective view. There is beautiful art, and ugly art to some. I think the gaming industry has produced some remarkable pieces of art. I believe that the gaming industry has three forms of art: graphic/stylings, story, music. 
 
The graphic/styling of the game would be the obvious form of art, actually viewable by the person. Some games have astounding graphics like Crysis, bluring the boundaries between virtual and real life. Games like Okami, while not running on powerful cards like the before mentioned Crysis, are as equally appealing to the eye.  
 
Story plays a huge part in a game (I think) and should be considered an art form. The Metal Gear series has always been pushing the boundaries of video game story telling, with Hideo Kojima telling his crazy tale of Snake. Are books not considered an art form?  
 
Music. The final piece of gaming art. Every game has a soundtrack, each composed to support and enhance the gaming experience. How many times have you wanted to find the soundtrack because it was mind blowing? For me, the Martin O'Donnell experience in the Halo franchise drove me to actually get the soundtrack. I'm sure the majority of people will tell you that indeed music is a form of art. 
 
Maybe individually these three art forms might not satifiy the critics of the gaming as an art form discussion, but together, they truly are an art form.  
 
And yeah...I'm kinda tired of this conversation too. But....whatevs.

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chewii101

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#1  Edited By chewii101

I think this argument has been around for decades, maybe even during the 8-bit era. Now, I've heard arguments for both sides and have made up my own opinion, as seen by the title of this blog post. Jack Kroll of Newsweek wrote in 2000 that "games can be fun and rewarding in many ways, but they can't transmit the emotional complexity that is the root of art." I'm not flaming at the dude's thoughts but I disagree. Art is an expression in its simplist form, a expression, thought, idea that is in the physical from a subjective view. There is beautiful art, and ugly art to some. I think the gaming industry has produced some remarkable pieces of art. I believe that the gaming industry has three forms of art: graphic/stylings, story, music. 
 
The graphic/styling of the game would be the obvious form of art, actually viewable by the person. Some games have astounding graphics like Crysis, bluring the boundaries between virtual and real life. Games like Okami, while not running on powerful cards like the before mentioned Crysis, are as equally appealing to the eye.  
 
Story plays a huge part in a game (I think) and should be considered an art form. The Metal Gear series has always been pushing the boundaries of video game story telling, with Hideo Kojima telling his crazy tale of Snake. Are books not considered an art form?  
 
Music. The final piece of gaming art. Every game has a soundtrack, each composed to support and enhance the gaming experience. How many times have you wanted to find the soundtrack because it was mind blowing? For me, the Martin O'Donnell experience in the Halo franchise drove me to actually get the soundtrack. I'm sure the majority of people will tell you that indeed music is a form of art. 
 
Maybe individually these three art forms might not satifiy the critics of the gaming as an art form discussion, but together, they truly are an art form.  
 
And yeah...I'm kinda tired of this conversation too. But....whatevs.

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Al3xand3r

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#2  Edited By Al3xand3r

Some games may be, but it's probably none of the games people actually enjoy playing. More like games like The Path or something.
 
Factory style labor workers that do the dirty work of creating all the settings and models and textures, passing them to different staff for every different step until the process is complete, aren't constantly going all "I'm so artsy" especially when it comes to Western games with insane staff numbers and most likely not a single decent art director involved. Perhaps in Japan the visuals are closer to being art in certain companies that put actually talented people in charge of that side of development, or similarly for certain indie games created out of the artists' inspiration and love than the desire to meet public demand and grab the market, but other than that, yeah, games are as far from art as anything can be. Most are made for mass consumption and acceptance, and something created with that particular goal in mind isn't really art, IMO.

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Deathdealer108

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#3  Edited By Deathdealer108

I think the definition of art has been blown out of propotion to what it is meant to discribe in modern society. Art in my view is an object that has only one copy and does not have any motion involved. When media passes that line of motion it turns into entertainment. There is no doubt Video Games can be beautiful and emotionally stirring but it takes time to enjoy such things. True Art (Statues, Paintings) only takes a second to apreciate its true value as video games take hours to comprehend fully.    
 
The bottom line is can you honestly imagine in 100 years a museum exhibit that contains video games where people have to sit down and play awhile to see the "art" in these items? I can't. There is a big difference in something being beautiful or amazing and something being a true artform. I see a beautiful woman walking down the street should she be considered art?   

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#4  Edited By pause422

Just end this honestly. It will never be settled, just back and fourth forever with no one with any real point. Saying they are not art by any means necassary or relation to the word entirely, is of course wrong, saying they definitely are is wrong. Over.

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deactivated-135098

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Your argument is flawed in that you claim "music is art, stories are art, so that means games are art." This is just faulty reasoning. When you isolate some of the elements of a game -- the game's soundtrack and the script (and, to a lesser extent, graphics) -- you can judge them as art. But those aspects, as important as they are, are created with the intention of complimenting the gameplay and making the game more engaging. As a whole, I don't think gaming is art. It's a form of entertainment, and just because it can reach a realm of emotional complexity does not automatically make it art.  
 
Would you consider chess to be art? Maybe the pieces might have been artistically designed, but chess is a game. And just because Metal Gear Solid has a moving story and captivating soundtrack does not make the game a form of art. MGS is, ultimately, a game. MGS4, for instance, garnered such high acclaim because it blended story, visuals/audio, and gameplay together perfectly.
 
Attributing the label of 'art' to games seems to be a reaction to the public's generally negative perceptions about video games, and nothing more. If I want art, I'll read a book or listen to music or go see a play.
 
Though I do agree with the above poster, it's a pretty boring discussion. What with "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" and such.

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#6  Edited By Chuggsy

I don't understand the argument really. To me, videogames are art, there's no doubt about it. Designers work on them for years, assets are developed, characters designed, levels sculpted. I don't get how that's NOT art. 
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#7  Edited By Ricerx

I know i will be called out for what I am about to say so I will let it be known that Final Fantasy 6 is actually my favorite in the series and the final fantasy series is far from my favorite RPGs. I have seen advent children once and thought it was pretty bad even for fan fair.
 
Final Fantasy 7 came into my life  when I was entering the 6th grade I was a fan of video games up to this point in my life but only because they had always been in my life since I was much younger. Yet I had yet to think of them as anything else then something to kill some time between when robot tech and dragon ball z ended and when who's line is it anyway would come on latter that night (sometimes sneaking down to watch late night with conan o'brian).  One day a couple of guys on my travel soccer team lwere talking about this video game they really liked I asked them what it was and the next day one of them gave me a copy of final fantasy 7 to play. The moment I sat on the cold concret floor of my basement I was drawn in every moment felt like it went on forever and that I was really a part of it. Even coming to the end of disc one brought me to tears and a couple other people I know who have maned up to admit it. There are smells and soinds and feeling that bring me back to the thought of all that time in my basement and isn't that what art is about the idea that it can evoke strong emotion from and then bring you back to that moment.
 
The thing that makes no sense about this argument is that anything is art chess playing can be an art sports can be art it all has to do with the individual and his or her response. I don't think a lot of game developers go out of their was or even attempt to make art but every now and then someone can make great peices of art by accedent just ask Henry Darger.

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ArbitraryWater

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#8  Edited By ArbitraryWater

I really don't care anymore. The definition of "art" is such a vague and subjective term that It hardly matters if video games are art or not because nobody can agree what art actually means. That's why you have crap like the exchange between Roger Ebert and Clive Barker, where their definitions of art were completely different. 

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#9  Edited By Bigandtasty
@ArbitraryWater said:
" I really don't care anymore."
Yep. No one will agree so I'd prefer everyone just let it go.