Video Games As Art?

[Connors]

I always thought this was an interesting question: Can video games be considered art?

What do you all think?

[Gan]

Haha, anything can be considered art now-a-days!

In fact, if pizza can be considered a vegetable, what can't be considered art?

[EqwanoX]

absolutly, i dont reallly play games anymore but being interested in game design, i try to stay in touch with whats popular through youtube, iether reviews or a few parts of a playthrough. have you seen that new rayman game? i like to just look at how abstract the art is in that game, esspecially when i put so much effort into makeing my graphics look "right". although, i would not consider simulation games to be art(war sims like call of duty), because they're not creative, they just follow the template of reality. to be art i think a game has to provide a unique experience.

[Circuit]

It depends on your definition of the word.  Some say that video games aren't art because art is a creative expression, and expression is non-interactive.  Others say that video games are art because they communicate ideas.  For me it basically boils down to the intentions of the people who developed a given game.  Like Eq said, if a game is supposed to simulate reality, I don't consider that art.  But if a game immerses you in a different reality, then that's artistic, if not exactly art.  A graphical style, a meaningful storyline with interesting characters, a soundtrack, a gameplay mechanic... most of these things are considered art forms, and when put together, they can create a very immersive experience.  It's potentially much more powerful than a book, movie, painting, or anything else, because it can make you feel like you're directly involved.  It's not strictly expression, but it can be a very effective way to communicate a set of ideas, which is the purpose of expression.

[Connors]

I liked the idea of art being something that has some level of quality. The way we design games here with just a few people it takes skill and time. The coding itself could be considered art, with the motions of characters fine tuned to feel fun. I see how you could say some games aren't art... Call of Duty has art IN it but as a whole it seems different. And it takes a whole army of people to make games like that. But it's odd to leave out some games. It's like saying movies are considered art nowadays but not action movies, not horror movies, they're just obnoxious or tasteless. Or if you don't like horror movies, are they excluded or just not as good?

Of course it depends on your definition of art but that's called semantics. It's arguing about the meaning of a word which I think is ridiculous sometimes.

Oh and I like the idea of games being a form of expression. On a side note I wonder if there have been games made just to protest something? It would be yet another way to say something about your government.

[GMG Kurt]

Perhaps simulator games are like the modern art of video games (u no the stick and a tire shit) just because it's bad, tasteless or boaring doesn't exclude it from being art. RPGs could be considered a type of simulator games. Especially D&D (not really a video game, but is a game). They're very much considered art or should be because of the storie they tell, and of course the graphics.
All code is art too, a form of expression. Everyones thechnique is different and whether it's nicely formatted, and according to convention, or a cocofany  of garbled junk. It's still code and therefore art.

Sorry for any slides of grammar I'm on an iPod it's not an idiosyncrasy of mine to enshew commas. 

[Connors]

it's not an idiosyncrasy of mine to enshew commas.

Nice wording though.

(u no the stick and a tire shit)

What?

[GMG Kurt]

it's not an idiosyncrasy of mine to enshew commas.

Nice wording though.

(u no the stick and a tire shit)

What?

People who take garbage and call it art, then get paid 6 digits for it. Theres also a famous one of a tire propped up by a stick. It's not modern art I botched the terms, I can't remember the real name.

[Zoo]

I think it's rather stupid to think that video games can't be art. I've always thought of video games as the Super-Media, they have the graphics (like painting, sculpture, drawing...) the music (like, well, music), the story (like a book, play or movie), And interactivity. You really don't get that last one with any other sort of media though. But my point is, if a book can be considered art, why can't a video game story line be considered art?  If a sculpture can be considered art, why can't a 3D model in a video game be art? People stereotype video games as people on couches killing each other over the internet, but they can be more than that. A good video game should be considered art  even more than any other form, because it is the joining of several different types of art.