Topic: Do you consider videogames as a form of art?

Inherently, no (though I wrote an essay arguing the video games are art by definition, haha). I believe they have the potential to transcend entertainment and become works of art, yes. They don't have to; to me entertainment isn't necessarily better or worse than art, they just serve different purposes, one provides fun and escapism, and the other provides emotion and profundity (I know those are basic definitions that don't really scratch the surface of either thing). Guess it depends on my mood.

Here's the This I Believe essay I turned in for English last month if anyone is interested, though again I would like to point out that since writing it my opinion has changed. Also, have fun guessing the game references, though they'll probably be easy for anyone who knows me (a bit of trivia is that I wrote a short Cave Story paragraph that wasn't very good, so I cut it to stay under the word count limit):

By Definition, Video Games are Art

I don't know when I first realized that I believe video games are art. Maybe it was when a red gnome jumped out from behind a snowmobile and, in scaring me half to death, opened up a startlingly believable world of "Hidden People" and their cult-like worshippers in Scoggins, Minnesota. What had started out as investigating an incident at an eraser factory had suddenly become an enthralling supernatural mystery that I was determined to solve.

Maybe it was when a passive-aggressive, murderous AI that kind-of-sort-of-maybe cared about me attempted to condemn me to a fiery pit after promising me a party with cake for being a faithful lab rat. At that moment I took fate into my own hands and plunged behind the curtain, with her desperate pleas for me to return to the “party” and her continued insults and lies mattering not as I journeyed through the abandoned laboratory to destroy her.

Maybe it was when, after experiencing the life and death of a man through 8-bit minimalism, I followed him into the Ether, intent on seeing him through to the end of his story. When the moment finally came, however, I didn't want to say goodbye. When I finally forced myself to set down the controller, he seemingly transcended the game to appear in my basement, feeling as real as anything.

Art is defined as a collection of elements arranged in a way to stimulate one or more of the five senses, and that's what all of the moments I just described to you exemplify. So that would make them artful, right? Roger Ebert and other critics of the arts would disagree for one simple reason. The above experiences come from video games.

The bottom line is, in our culture, not many people think of video games as art. They see the explosive, violent face of the relatively young medium and immediately write it off as child's play. It's a scapegoat for youth violence and what comes to mind when people think of losers who never do anything with their lives, but I'm not here to debate any of that. What I am here to debate is just because the public image of something isn't good and all of its potential hasn't been realized yet doesn't mean that it is not inherently art as all films and all literature are inherently art.

There are games, too, with narratives and characters that rival those of great movies, though they aren't the ones you'll see in the news or hear Mr. Ebert talk about. That's OK though, because as someone who actually plays video games I'm more qualified than the overwhelming majority of critics to discuss them and compare them to other art forms. There are real plots and real personalities here. There are video games that have souls. And, as painfully obvious as that it is to me, apparently it isn't to the rest of the world. Video games are art. This I believe.

What you look, at, listen to or read is the medium through which art can be expressed. If the medium itself doesn't touch the soul (you / your imagination), then it shouldn't be considered art.

As for GTA, GTA games are satirical videogames, something which most players do not even see or understand. They're quite good games in that respect.

Thanks for this. I almost forgot how much I love Scott Pilgrim.

I believe that all games are art, even those that you may not call art. What exactly is art? Something anyone can create and anyone can appreciate beyond what physically makes it up? If that's true, all games are art. After all, can't all art be "destroyed" by things like low ambition, adaptation for mass consumption, and lack of appreciation on the viewer's behalf? Don't those aforementioned things destroy video games all the time? Can they also afflict other forms of traditionally accepted art, like music and movies? If so, then video games truly are art, whether "art critics" care or not.

Absolutely. Whenever I need to express myself, I go create another Call of Duty. Thanks for all your support.

Why is it that every discussion on this forum that relates to video games in general always turn to CoD bashing at least one time?

Of course.

When playing games I don't really think of them as a form of art, rather just a form of entertainment.
But yeah, when it comes down to it of course you could consider a video game a work of art.
It consists of a lot of drawings and music, which are both forms of art, so yeah.
Any video game ever creative could be considered a work of art.

Um, isn't most art considered a form of entertainment? I don't really see a difference between the two

Yes, the same way books and movies are art.

The advantage video games has over other forms is the ability for the player to actively interact with them. Other than that, there really isn't much difference between video games and other forms of art

This was the point I made in my essay. I would agree with this still if I thought all books and movies were art, but I don't consider rushed vampire novels and mindless action movies to be art, nor do I consider really entertaining books and movies that don't resonate on a deeper-than-enjoyment level to be art. It all depends on your definition, of course.

@LZ Player interaction is often a hindrance to cinema-like games, imo, but when done well in the likes of Uncharted and MGS4 it can provide a much more immersive (why does Google Chrome think that's not a word?) experience than film.

True art (which draws on the reservoir of the right brain) always enriches, inspires and expands the psyche. I wouldn't consider a painting by Van Gogh as entertainment. Nor do I consider the heavy metal I listen to as entertainment.

Like myself and other people here stated; it seems to depend on the game. Other examples of games which I consider as art : Ico, Rez, Rayman, The Shadow Of Colossus, Chrono Trigger, Half-Life 2, Mirror's Edge, Broken Sword 1 & 2, Beneath A Steel Sky, Dark Seed, Xenoblade Chronicles, Zelda's Windwaker, Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword, Braid, Another World, ...

There is no such thing as art.

Yes. yes it is. /thread

THIS. If something can stir me emotionally, then I say it's art. So many games I could list that have effected my emotions, or just made me think, or stopped a minute in awe.

Also why the hate for COD? I don't like the series because it's not my thing. But it's art in the same way movies like Expendables or Rocky are. They're more mindless but they aren't bad things. And you can't put all shooting games in one clump, just like you can't put all summer movies in one clump. We can often get fun things like Inception, or Half Life.

Then again, we can't really compare videogames to other forms of art, because videogames can do things that other art forms can't, and vice versa. Videogames have the ability to connect the player much more closely to the characters, and affect feelings through gameplay (ex. Mother 3 final battle).

What art is, is different for all of us. Who decides what is and is not art? If the creator(s) consider it art themselves, their works are art. It's not up to the player—the consumer—but, rather, the creator. Now, what we can do is personally judge it. Does it successfully express what the creator intended? Basically, games can be art. If that's what their creators intent.

in terms of creative expression there can certainly be a lot said for original IPs and stellar one-shots, but there's enough pulp gaming out there to choke the masses it's aimed at, lol. i think what I'm trying to say is that video games can be art, but that doesn't mean all video games are art IMO. depends on the game, i suppose :3

I enjoy them, and that's really all that matters.

No, it's not. Haven't you sat through an "art film" before? They're boring as Hell. As for books, Mark Twain called "the classics" things no one wanted to read. I suppose it's possible that seemingly bad and boring video games could be considered art. Therefor, I name Sony best artist of the past decade.

I told myself I wasn't going to list games I think are art, but now I'm giving myself permission to. Here goes:

• The Zelda series (Ocarina's time shift mechanic is perfectly poetic, Skyward Sword's universe/characterization is incredibly detailed and thus realistic, and the series boasts some of the most evocative music I've ever heard)
• Gravitation and to a lesser extent Passage (Jason Rohrer, weird as he may be, is a true visionary and extremely capable of creating artgames that make the player feel one specific emotion)
• Puzzle Agent 1 and to a much lesser extent Puzzle Agent 2 (the most apprehensive yet engaging atmosphere I've ever experienced in any art form)
• Cave Story (though I must say it works brilliantly as an action game as well)
• Don't Look Back (just thinking about this haunting, memorable work elicits melancholy sentiment from me)
• Portal 1 and to a slightly lesser extent Portal 2 (GLaDOS is an amazing achievement for so many reasons, and the minimalist storytelling works brilliantly in 2, but is absolutely immaculate in 1)
• The BIT.TRIP series (some of the most fun games ever if that's all you want, but one of the most moving sagas of fiction ever if you dig into it, primarily because of the sense of realism it achieves at its mind-blowing conclusion)

That's it, I think.
_{edited to remove pointless comment and change "portal 2" reference to "puzzle agent 2", but nothing else i swear}