Why Video Games should be presented as Art.
By just_nonplussed 34 Comments
I'll begin by stating that I think the Video/Computer Game medium, as a whole, is already art and has always been art. This is obvious to me, because it's a creative medium with its own language (Especially that of interaction). So my perspective is from the medium and language (Play, Interaction, Rules etc.) itself, not necessarily what the majority of developers are doing with it, or what they call their product.
Getting to my point though, I really think Games should be presented in Art contexts such as galleries and as public art. I came to this idea because of the current stagnation in creativity in the industry. Games are thriving as an entertainment medium only. I'm sure gamers are mostly happy and content, because there is always entertainment available and they get used to it, and on one level that is fine, but I began to think that the players themselves are also affected by these experiences. Players are evolving their consciousness when they play a game, or experience any art. So with the current industry stagnation, the evolution of player consciousness is not budging beyond the barrel of a gun; beyond a 'them and us story' of fighting an enemy. Sure, this is entertainment, but is it changing you as a person?
I don't think things will change any time soon, simply because of the market and because FPSs and cinematic experiences sell. Gamers are also incredibly resistant to change and in my personal experience, kind of willfully ignorant. I don't think gamers want originality (See child of eden & shadow of the damned sales).
It's not just the market though, or the audience. It's also the developers. Too many developers rely on genre to solve their problems. The language of interaction and choice has been suspended by the conventions of genre - the shooter, the rpg, the platformer etc. How is game design meant to change, and how are gamers meant to change, if they keep experiencing the same thing all the time? The answer is simple from a design perspective: don't rely on genre anymore. Use rules, restraints, choices, and play to create new, compelling narratives. The language of interaction can stand on its own. You don't need a gun all the time.
Personally I think the only way to radically change the current situation (Or, at least 'diversify') is to:
1.) Accept games as an art form
When you play games, you're always experiencing a story and you're interpreting a work. You're feeling emotions, and you're affirming your own identity through the choices you make. That's why I believe they are art, from Pong to God of War.
2.) Change the audience
Spiritually, games are art. But culturally they are not. Art in culture is a very wide audience, and so if some designers could present small computer games then the medium would slowly become to be accepted as art and so then I believe that is where the creativity truly begins.
3.) Change the approach to design
Innovation will only come if designers are bold enough to create their own personal language using interaction, time, visuals, and sound. I think it must become personal and individual for the creativity to come. Working in large teams tends to stifile personal vision.
4.) Change the context
There could be many different contexts of course. Art contexts offer a very broad audience though, and here I think you will find more open-minded people - some of which don't play games. You would also find pretentious elitists as well, but you have those types in any industry! Even games. I think a lot of game designers are incredibily pretentious and egotistic, concerned only with status. So it's not just an Art thing.
So that's what I think needs to happen (For radical change).