Are video games art?

[MadCake]

Without a doubt, video games are art. I cannot understand how people say that music, paintings, and movies are all art, yet video games are not. Look at games such as Mirror's Edge, Skyrim, Bioshock, The Last of Us, Alice Returns, and Fallout 3, to name a few. I do not understand how people cannot look at those and call them art.

Literature is also considered an art. Great immersive worlds all in the pages of a book that drag you in and make you want to learn about the world you're reading about. People say that about books, yet claim video games aren't art. As if. Look at Skyrim. There are books about the economy of the game world. There are books about the history of the game world and a bunch more most players don't even read. I don't see how they can claim that the immersion found from reading a novel and the immersion from a video game is different.

Also, Limbo, Binding of Isaac, The Path, and Slender.
You might not have heard of the Path or Binding of Isaac.. But I agree.
Video games are art.

 

[MojoRisin]

"Noun

The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture,...: "the art of the Renaissance"
Works produced by such skill and imagination."

To me, art is more about emotions. If it made you feel something, then it's art.

I guess I'll go for both answers, yes and no. Mostly yes. I guess the 'no' goes for certain gaming companies. It makes me feel very sad and disappointed to see such shallowness and greed in certain companies, all they want is having games that look as realistic as can be and sell them. I'm mostly referring to first person shooters here. I've played them myself, and they're quite entertaining to play with friends. But you can quickly see how there is no meaning in the game, no lessons to learn (at least in most of them). I can't stand seeing something that is, in my opinion, so shallow.

And then there's games like Majora's Mask. You learn so much from them, it has a very rich and substantial story, there is meaning in EVERYTHING (I'm a sucker for things that are so open to analysis), it's a very touching (and creepy) game.

So I guess it depends on which game, but that's just my opinion.

 

[Tao]

If trash like '50 shades of grey', Justin Beiber's music, latest Michael Bay borefest or a painting of soup cans are considered 'art', then video games in general far surpass that.

 

[Astro Cake]

Video games are art, it's just that not all art is good.

 

[Cynth1a]

I personally believe it is art. Video games a can be a medium for things like story telling, and if you think about some of the plots in games it definitely takes time to come up with. Although, games like gta don't have much to it you can't deny the graphics...

 

[Coach]

Yes, Pokemon Art Academy.

 

[LunaMoon Crossing]

music is art. video games have music.
design is art. video games have design.
video games are creative. art is creative.

...OF COURSE ITS ART! How could it not?

 

[chuchoo]

Everything can be an art in a sense. Not all video games are art but video games can be art.

 

[Jarrad]

I take back what I said earlier
Some games can be classed as "art", whilst many others cannot. Here's an example:
Art: The last of us
Not art: Tetris

Art: Pokemon Omega Ruby
Not art: Flappy birds

Art: Assassins creed
Not art: Pokemon pinball

 

[Cynth1a]

Yes, Pokemon Art Academy.

This is literally the only justification we need. :')

 

[Alyssa]

I think so.

 

[Rasha]

of course

 

[n64king]

Omg that Jambette shrine...

 

[diogocrossing]

Saying that something isn't or is an art form will always lead to a lot of discussion. In theory, games can AND should be art. They should be considered as art as cinema and television is, since not only cinema and television are forms of media (like videogames) but they can give a aesthetic perception just as a painting, a building, a theater show.

But we have to distinguish what is art and what is entertainment in media-driven art forms. Of course, if we consider a game like Child of Light, one can easily say that it is a work of art. But if we pick a game like Call of Duty, people will take a few steps back and call it "entertainment". This works for cinema and television as well. We can't put Ingmar Bergman's Persona and Mean Girls in the same sack and call both of them "art".

This will always come from what you perceive as art, what you learn, what you experience, what will mess with you inside. I don't consider Animal Crossing art, but if you bring me a game like Dear Esther, or even one of my favourites, Bioshock, I'll sing you the praises and force you to listen to how fantastic those works are.

I'd talk a lot more about it but in the first page there was an user who said pretty much everything.

 

[lazuli]

video games are a great medium to be explored bc it combines style, music, setting, composition, writing, character development n stuff in a way that includes the player in the story.
at least, good video games do that.

 

[Dustmop]

I don't know why anyone would say no.

Especially considering you need an art degree to make a game

Well, **** indie games then, they're not art.

 

[tobi!]

Well, **** indie games then, they're not art. View attachment 79928

^^

But yeah, I'd call them art. But then again, anything is called art. Taking selfies is art. Filming yourself playing video games is art.

"subjects of study primarily concerned with the processes and products of human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects)."

 

[diogocrossing]

^^

But yeah, I'd call them art. But then again, anything is called art. Taking selfies is art. Filming yourself playing video games is art.

"subjects of study primarily concerned with the processes and products of human creativity and social life, such as languages, literature, and history (as contrasted with scientific or technical subjects)."

^ errrrr that is questionable though. you can't really compare the work of your typical selfie taker and a photographer who made his/hers portfolio around taking portraits of people...

 

[lazuli]

I don't know why anyone would say no.

Especially considering you need an art degree to make a game

oh how i laugh so very much
you can NOT have an art degree of some sort and make a great text adventure without any images at all

 

[Dustmop]

oh how i laugh so very much
you can NOT have an art degree of some sort and make a great text adventure without any images at all

You could not have an art degree and still be capable of learning how to use programs like Photoshop and Maya?? :v

Ain't rocket science.