Are video games an art form??

[Akatosh]

Are they? A lot of people have given good arguments over the years as to why video games are or aren't art.

I feel that the industry still has to grow and develop for people to truly consider video games art.


Go ahead and discuss your thoughts and opinions here.

[Saph]

Yes video games are in every aspect of the word, an art!

There goes a huge amount of people to build a unique building in a large city, and its considered artistic. A painting is a huge undertaking of 1 man, and a novel is 1 mans ability to formulate themselves.

Video games is the signature of a game dev! Each game dev has their own feel, their own creations, their own contradictions and exceptions and unique games which all stand out in their own way. No 2 paintings are the same, neither are 2 games!

You could even say that Video Games are a mix between building an artistic architectually challeging building, painting a picture, music/acting, AND writing a novel

For example:

It all starts with the idea! Aka the novel! Building the storyline, writing the plot, developing the characters, their feelings, their hopes, their fears, and how the game continues until the breathtaking end! It is in essense, writing a novel!

Then comes the illustrations! Aka painting! Professional artists draw, paint, or digitally mold 3 dimensional images of the characters from various direction, and also create the world itself! If it takes place in a castle according to the storyline? They draw the castle, its interior, its secret pathways, the dungeon, the ENTIRE layout of the whole world is DRAWN or PAINTED on paper by people, and the executive producer then decides which he likes the best! It is in essense, painting!

Then comes the Music/acting! Having verbal artists make voice to the mute characters! Reading out the plot lines meant to be said by his character, and making it sound believable! And music, composers, singers, various musicians creating beautiful works of artistic audio to give an atmosphere to the game!

Then comes the task of putting it all together according to the blueprints! Aka building an artistic architecturally challenging building! A massive group of professionals well versed in code, scripts etc. works like a single massive being to pick up all of the scattered pieces and places them in the right way according to the blue prints! With the executive producer overseeing everything from the ground, all of the actors, illustrators, digital professionals, scripters, coders etc. are crawling all over this massive thing, tweaking the graphics here, fixing a bug there, making this HUGE effort fit together with one another to create a single, masterful piece of digital art!

A VIDEO GAME!

Yes, video games are by ALL means deffinately its own personal perception of visual and interactive art! Like a painting with a moving screen with audio with it!

[Exentenzed]

Completely agree with Saph on this one.

[paecmaker]

Yup, video games are totally art.

If movies count as art then video games must also be art.

[Jayhmmz]

+1 on everything said.

Two games, right off the top of my head, set the reason in concrete as to why video games are an art form; Mirror's Edge and Prince of Persia 2008.

[Saph]

Dont forget Silent Hill!

[paecmaker]

Dont forget Silent Hill!

or braid, or escape from the monkey island serie, or any other awsome game that can be called art.

[LemonRising]

Yes yes! Of course they are ( :

Theres so much creativity and skill needed to make one, so of course! O:

[Akatosh]

Yes yes! Of course they are ( :

Theres so much creativity and skill needed to make one, so of course! O:

A good one anyway.

[Muffincat]

or braid, or escape from the monkey island serie, or any other awsome game that can be called art.

Braid was brilliant o.o

And yeah -- I wouldn't say all of them are art... but a good one, certainly :P I wouldn't call like "Wild Busty Babes Huntin' Deer Shootface Hunter III" a work of art, but...