It is obvious that video games as a medium have existed for several decades, having gone through several transformations since the days of the first arcades.   Only recently, however, has an ongoing debate come to the forefront of the industry as to whether video games have evolved to the status of becoming art.   While there are certainly arguments both for and against classifying video games as works of art, the topic will likely remain in contention for quite some time, as it becomes difficult to provide an objective definition of what defines “art.”   Even today, with older and more evolved mediums like film and literature, there are still debates as to which movies and books can be considered art, and which are simply “entertainment.”

Instead, to at least understand how video games can be viewed as art, it may be more useful to compare their concepts and usefulness to another artistic medium in order to show a correlation between the two.   After all, to those unfamiliar with video games, the idea of classifying them as art may sound somewhat absurd or far-fetched.   However, when examining some of the more dynamic and adult-themed games currently in circulation, a number of strong similarities can be seen with one of the oldest and most developed forms of art: literature.   From their use of varying perspectives and literary devices to their mature narratives and themes, video games and literature have more in common than may meet the casual eye, opening the possibility that video games might actually be a form of interactive art, offering as valuable of insight into the complexities of the human condition as well-developed literature.  

Without a doubt, there are obvious and distinguishing differences between video games and literature as mediums of storytelling.   While novels rely only on written words and language to convey everything from plot and character development to imagery and themes, video games rely on many different tools, both visual and auditory, to convey their stories.   With novels, the reader must use only their imagination and literacy skills to interpret and understand the concrete story being presented, and grasping onto deeper or complex meanings within a novel is dependent on a reader’s ability to understand the literary structures and diction applied by the author.   With video games, however, the “reader” becomes the “player,” and as a result rely on a person’s ability to functionally interact and engage with the world and story depicted by the game developer directly, giving the player manipulative control on the environment, the protagonist, and in some cases even the overall outcome of the plot.   In the case of video games, interpretation of meaning becomes more complex, as the protagonist’s experience with the story within the game world also becomes the player’s experience, allowing the player to partake in a more intimate and personal experience with the events of the story.  

Add on other obvious aesthetic and functional differences to that list, and it becomes obvious that literature and video games are very different mediums; however, the similarities between the mediums, while far less obvious, are plentiful and varying, and offer meaningful insight into the usefulness that video games have as a medium to enhance our understanding of the human experience, as well as the potential that the medium may still have yet to fully realize.  

The first and probably most interesting similarity between video games and literature is their similar use of perspectives, or point-of-view.   In literature, the three most common perspectives that are utilized are first person, third person limited, and third person omniscient.   First person perspective is fairly self explanatory, where the author utilizes “I” as the perspective from which the story is being told, either through themselves or a character in the story.   The third person limited perspective is when the author utilizes indirect pronouns such as “he,” “she,” or “them,” and the author’s narrator (ie the person telling the story to the reader) never references himself or herself, but only the characters in the story.   Also, this type of perspective means that the narrator has only limited knowledge of the characters, and is unable to read into the minds of the characters, nor does he or she always know what characters are doing at every part in the plot.   Finally, the third person omniscient perspective is similar to third person limited, with the exception that the narrator has a “god-like” quality in that they are “all-knowing” about the thoughts and actions of every character at any given time.

It is interesting to note that these three perspectives also happen to me the most commonly used in video games as well, and in many cases are utilized for much the same purpose.   Just like in literature, the first person perspective brings the individual directly inside the character of video games, allowing the player to see the game world and story literally through the protagonist’s eyes, and creates a more personal relationship between the player and the protagonist, as well as the game world.   The third person limited viewpoint is also used in video games, and typically describes a fixed-camera position behind the protagonist, allowing you to see the world from behind the protagonist while still allowing the player to view the protagonist as a separate entity.   Even the third-person omniscient point-of-view is utilized frequently in video games, usually in the “strategy” genre, where the player is given an overhead, bird’s eye view of the game world, and allows them to manipulate many characters simultaneously, as well as constantly monitor multiple characters at the same time in different areas.

Another significant similarity between literature and video games is both mediums’ uses of literary devices to enhance reader and player understanding of the plot.   In literature, a wide array of literary devices have been used over the centuries to both convey and magnify literary meanings, as well as to provide layers of meaning that go beneath the surface of the plot itself.   One major device utilized are “allusions,” where an author will explicitly or subversively make reference to a major, recognizable work of art, literature, or historic event outside their own work, usually to relate the events currently unfolding in their own plot to an outside source.  

Many video games in the contemporary era have also made use of literary devices to enhance meaning, especially allusions.   For example, the video game Bioshock relies heavily on the use of allusions, so much so that the entire game is a direct reference to, and in many ways a strong critique of, Ayn Rand’s popular novel Atlas Shrugged, a novel that strongly supports the idea of unregulated capitalism and scientific advancement unimpeded by morality.   To make reference to this novel, the entire game is set in a fictional city that attempts to recreate the utopia that Rand creates in her novel, with the exception that the game makes the city a dystopia of lawlessness and anarchy.   The names of the characters in the game also allude to the novel, with characters like Atlas (to reference the title) and Andrew Ryan (a reworking of the author’s name “Ayn Rand”).   Allusions can also be found in games like Metal Gear Solid, which makes reference to T.S. Elliot’s poem “The Hollow Men” by allowing the main villain of the game to borrow two lines from his poem, which read “and this is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper.”

A final similarity between literature and video games that is worth noting is that both have shown their abilities to connect with deeper and more complex aspects of the human condition through a wide array of mature, sensitive topics and themes.   In literature, some of the most revered works that have been produced throughout the centuries have been those that examine sociological, political, ethical, and existential topics significant to the human experience.   However, much like literature, which has evolved greatly since the early days of fairy tales of dragons and princesses, the video games industry has come a long way since the days of storylines revolving around an Italian plumber rescuing a princess in Super Mario Bros.   In recent years, video games have wrestled with topics as complex and intricate as economic theory (Bioshock), the meaning of war in a postmodern era of private military companies (Metal Gear Solid), the conflict between selfish and selfless love (Shadow of the Colossus), the process of coping with personal demons in the search for redemption (Silent Hill), and even the moral complexities and intricacies inherent to playing God (Black and White).

There is no doubt that video games as a whole are still a relatively immature medium, having only existed in mainstream culture for just over three decades, while film has matured for over a century, and literature for several centuries.   However, the potential that video games have already displayed to become a new, mainstream form of art is evident in the stark similarities they already display to literature, one of the most established forms of art.   In fact, because video games are the first artistic medium to offer the concept of direct, real interactivity with a creative world, it might be realistic to assume that, in time, video games could become the superior of all art forms.   After all, no experience is more real or significant than those experienced firsthand.  

And no, I don't mean without pesticides...

Games as a whole have not become an art form... yet.  And no, to get there does not mean that every game has to be filled with stories of deliberate ambiguity, or messages hidden within excessive layers of over-interpretation.

However, I would like to make a blanket statement. Video games as a medium will have the potential to elevate themselves into the category of "art," along with films and novels, the day that they finally realize that all the aspects of a game (graphics, sound, gameplay, story, etc) have to feel organic. What this means is that all of those aspects have to exist seamlessly with the other elements of the game in service to a unified purpose.

A great example of this NOT happening would be in games like Grand Theft Auto IV and Metal Gear Solid 4. In GTA4, unlike it's past iterations, we were meant to understand that Niko Bellic was a sympathetic anti-hero who had a moral dilemma when committing murder, even if he had to do it to survive. That might sound like an interesting premise for a story, but it ran head-on into a paradoxical gameplay mechanic where after every cutscene, should your heart desire as the gamer, you could make Niko essentially commit mass genocide on a city street by blowing up, shooting, and beating to death, hundreds of civilians. Sure, we've all had our fun moments doing this in a GTA, but it doesn't fit with the character design Dan Houser and his team were going for in Niko.

I want gaming to elevate to that level of art, and there have certainly been many games in the past that have done this to incredible levels.  Shadow of the Colossus and Ico are two great examples. Games like Bioshock and the original Deus Ex have also done this extremely well, just to name a few, in which the gameplay and first person perspective lend themselves to the overall meaning and point the game itself.



One of the finest examples of gaming elevating itself to an art form.

In Bioshock, you had singular objectives that you completed because, well, the game required you to. Atlas said "would you kindly save my family," and "would you kindly kill Andrew Ryan," and, as the player, you followed orders because, just like the protagonist, that's what you were programmed to do. Bioshock made the player very self-aware of a linear video game, because after all, when you play a linear game, are you ever NOT going to do what the game tells you?

Deus Ex used the first person perspective in the opposite way of Bioshock, in that it was all about perception and choice. Every newspaper article you "decided" to read, every email account you hacked that revealed what was being said behind your back, all served to allow the player the feeling that which side you ultimately took in the grand conspiracy of the story depended on your own initiative in seeking out knowledge. If you never took the time to learn the history of the world in Deus Ex, then your character simply followed orders as he was intended. But if you found yourself suspicious, and confirmed those suspicions for yourself by taking a few minutes to read the notes on your boss' desk, you suddenly realized you were a pawn being guided to selfish ends.

Shadow of the Colossus proved that you could invert the very expectations of the game, where the protagonist would interact with a very believable, beautiful landscape, with creatures you would have to destroy in order to suceed in something you perceived to be righteous, only to find yourself progressively questioning your actions as the game went on.  Ultimately, you realized that the actions you were taking to save the girl you loved were of a selfish nature, destroying your own soul in the process, making the antagonist and protagonist the very same character.  Simply put, the cost to save one life that was already lost was to sacrifice many others, including your own.


An example of a game's story masquerading as art, but without the gameplay to back it up.

There's other games that provide examples of elevation to art, I'm just not going to name them all. My point is that it's been done well in the past. The technology keeps improving, so there's no reason why the core of gaming has to remain stagnant, or even rescind backwards.

Here's to hoping the golden era of gaming is right around the corner... in the meantime, Fallout 3, GTA4, and MGS4 aren't how we're going to get there.

What are some other games you feel fall into the category of "art?"  Please post your choices.

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I challenge you to find a more believable game world than this.