Should Gaming Be an Art Form?

The Mona Lisa, Beethoven, Casablanca - All things some say are forms of 'true' art, but what is todays true modern art?

In this day in age, where silicon and electricity run the world, where digital storage and processing power - almost worth their weight in gold, shouldn't it be some sort of interactive moving picture that defines todays art? A game, lets say Metal Gear Solid Series, known for its beautifully done gameplay, complex controls and addictive and enduring storyline, and now, defined by the current generation of gaming consoles, graphics, almost realistic, where 10 years ago could never have even been thought of being rendered in realtime. Even though this game is not yet released, it has the hype and almost same feel as a new orchestrated musical or a unveiled painting that striked the hearts and minds of many.

To me personally, a videogame is an art, it is an expression of ones self, in Metal Gears case, Hideo Kojima, whos brilliant mind has given us such an in-depth feeling, to almost sharing what snake feels,, what he sees, and almost a glimpse into the future of warfare. Yet arent those so called feelings part of art? an expression of feeling through media? through pictures and sounds?

Even though I believe games should be considerd an art, we have those who believe videogames are nothing more than a nuisance, murder simulators and antisocial machines. But as in the words of Master Miyamoto "Video games are bad? Thats what they said about rock and roll"

In my years of experiencing video games, I have noticed that games that were developed by people who truely loved and cared for the game, nurtured it as a child of their own, are the ones that make it big, that become the AAA games, just as those works of art, that were cared for became infamous masterpieces

We as a community of modern day artists and art admirers should show the nonbelievers that games arent bad, but an expression of ourselves, a new age art, an art we can touch, feel, see, hear, communicate and interact with. But a bigger question that must be asked - Am I alone? Am I the only one who believes that videogames are an art, or truely mislead?

[LastDance]

I myself believe that some games can be considered art......
however alot of games are made simply to appeal to the "mindless masses" so to speak... manufactured to make the most money possible.
Im mainly talking about first person shooters.

I find that now-days that Free-roaming games(which i find have weaker storylines then linear stories) are becoming more and more popular aswell as online play. which do little to encourage the notion that gaming is a form of art.

Shadow of the colossus and metal gear solid are two completely different games - both I consider a form of art.

If you oil painted a scene from SOTC it would be a fine piece. The music in that game is phenomenal. the art direction is inspired and the storyline is heart breaking - true art.

But i would compare MGS to something like Star Wars; In the sense that both build an entire universe over a long course of time - growing up WITH characters and stories is something else. A completely different type of art compared to SOTC but still art.

[FredFredrickson]

Comic books are made to appeal to the "mindless masses." And I would not hesitate to consider them art. The same goes for games.

[LastDance]

how are comics made to appeal to the mindless masses?....

Im talking about games that are built for the sole purpose of making a sh!t load of cash and nothing else.....

[FredFredrickson]

What does making a ton of cash have anything to do with it? That doesn't necessarily make it any less of an art form.

There are plenty of professional artists who make very good money selling drawings and paintings - and even if their income tops over a million dollars a year, that doesn't make their art any less artful.

I'm not fond of Thomas Kinkade, but even the stuff he does is art, in some sense. It doesn't matter that it's mass produced, or that it's only point of existence is to sell.

I think my opinion is valid on this point - I'm a professional artist myself (with degree), after all.

[LastDance]

nah your misunderstanding what im trying to get at..nevermind.

[tariqs2]

Gapics are art games are made from art

[jadenkorri]

its takes an artist to create the graphics for the game, whether its 2d or 3d, it is still art, an artist is someone expressing their ideas visually, in which 2d/3d art is a type of art..thou it is not respected as much as a painter, or other type, it is still an art form, just electronically..

[LJWooly]

Games themselves are an art, but, there are very few developers nowadays who could be considered "artists".

[Truplaya]

some games should be considered art but it should never retract from the gameplay, ie. extra long cut scenes. Gameplay > graphics

A game like BioShock is a perfect example. GOTY for good reason. Amazing graphical style and a really good story, and no cut scenes, they were all built into the gameplay.

[FredFredrickson]

Games are already legally considered art, and protected as such under the US constitution's first amendment - free speech.

[LJWooly]

I don't think he's talking about rules and regulations. art is completely subjective, you know, and can't be collectively defined on a piece of paper.

[AuToFiRE]

true art doesnt have rules or regulation, gaming has regulations such as the ESRB which wont allow nudity for instance, which can be viewed in movies and photos found in schools

[FredFredrickson]

Look back at the renaissance and tell me that the paintings and sculptures we still cherish from that time are not art - you'd better believe there were restrictions on art at that time (imposed by the church, in this case).

Just because the ESRB limits what can be published in some sense doesn't make games any less of an art form.

The MPAA does the same thing for movies, and you would consider those art, right?

Independents are free to make and publish whatever they want, regardless of the MPAA, RIAA, or ESRB anyway... so trying to prove that games are not art merely because they mostly exist inside the limitations of the ESRB is silly.

[AuToFiRE]

the church? well if you look in the bible, page 1, breasts appear on eve, in movies pg13 breasts can be shown, photography books, full frontal nudity and no complaints, paintings of nudity are always shown aswell, yet with games, as soon as breasts are shown, it instantly gets an M rating if not Ao

[FredFredrickson]

Look, I'm not making this up - the church had direct control over what was acceptable for artists to produce back during that time, and yet some of our greatest works of art have come from that time.

Arguing that art can not exist when there are rules in place is foolhardy. And like I said, independent game designers can still release / publish whatever they want, just like I can paint or draw and sell whatever I want. That's art.

[Gun_Senshi]

Like Okami is an art.

[LastDance]

that game is bursting at the seams with its art form...I really wanna give it a go one day

[Alexander Roy]

Whoever played Metal Gear Solid, ShenMue and several other games and says that games can not be art, is either biased as all hell, so prejudiced against gaming it sticks out of his ass or simply stupid.

[Chubear]

It already is. Weather some individuals choose to see it at that is really irrelevant. A car doesn't cease to be a car cause some people don't want to call it a car.

There are some individuals in our world that love to feel they're in some way more highy cultured and civilized than others - in leaps and bounds - and love to try to prove it all the time. Most of these people who jump at the chance to discredit anything as Art usually aren't really aware of the concept of what Art really is. To me, they are fools to be ignored but I dont mind pointing out their ignorance when in the appropriate forum to do so.

I enjoyed your blog.