(7/30/08) Do you consider video games an art form?

[A Plywood Cow]

For as long as I can remember, there has always been a debate about video games being art. People argue, quarrel, and yell at each other about this issue.

So what do you think? Do you consider them as an art form?

In my opinion, video games are an art form, by definition, as it is a way game developers can create and imagine an idea, and put it into an interactive piece of media. Okami, for example, for its awesome artistic graphics, and the art element that goes into the gameplay. Not only that, but the fact that its story is presented like a fairy tale, which only adds into the game.

Speaking of stories, any game that can really tell a good story, can be considered also as art, again, in my opinion. Some game stories can make you laugh, some can make you cry, and some can make you think of serious issues and themes in society. Whatever it can be about, it is literature, words are words, put them on paper together, and you can have a story.

[Larsa]

It really depends, if you were to give me ten different games that I'd played I'd have a different answer for each. For instance, if you asked me about the Ico series I'd say "Art," but if you gave me Warhawk I'd say "For the money." But in a general sense I'd say in-between.
And just for an add-on, I believe it was Quake or one of the original first-person shooters was made by I believe a bunch of high-school-college kids just for the art and fun.

[Tom]

It all depends. Like Larsa said, you could have ten different games and each one could be considered different. Games like Metal Gear Solid, Shadow of the Colossus, Heavenly Sword, Final Fantasy, these are all games that could be considered art. There are games that ride that boarder as well; Halo, Assassin's Creed, Oblivion, Devil May Cry, to some they'd be art and to some they'd just be a really great game.

All games in a sense are art, it takes a lot of artistic talent to put a game together and make it look right, but depending on who you talk to they are one or the other. Hideo Kojima, a game creating god to some, doesn't really see game making as an art form, though his games are regarded as gameplay and storyline gold.

Personally, I'm divided. There are quite a few games out there that are quite artistic, and there are quite a few out there just for the gameplay experience.

[DivDee]

I stand by my rule that if it has any other function other than looking good then it's not art.
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[Tommy]

Art is pretty gay, man.

[Ashley]

Well considering games are developed by different teams of artists(being writers and visual artists) I'd say yes. Art is whatever the artist intends it to be. So if the devloper intends a game to be a certain way it would indeed be art. Its the same as the shitty commercial art with the paint splotches. People argue over it being art. Unfortunately it was the artists intention so it is considered art. I personally hate commercial art if you cannot tell. :P

[Mortim]

Please, you can slap a bit of clay on a spinning table, mold it with your face and then sell it as art.

Take a look at some of the more 'modern' creations that supposedly express all manner of emotions and intrigue despite the fact the name plaque clearly shows it's upside down. If projects with all the manners of a book, film, and original artistic creations can't be considered Art I'm not sure what can...

A bigger challenge for the industry, is making games the rule. Films are a common place item in the household now, and the cinema isn't the elitist place of priviledge that the theatre once was.

When games transcend the obscurity of being just a hobby, or when they shirk off that children quality to be accepted globally by all ages, that'll be something.

Saying that though, there are some consequences should games go that route. Just look at the Wii, it's done a fantastic job of widening the market and acting as a stepping stone for new audiences, but at the cost of it's more "hardcore" games.

Food for thought.

Mort

[Vinosec]

yes, of course