Are video games an art form??

[EpsilonX]

I wouldn't call Call of Duty art or anything, unless you consider milking a franchise to death to be art, but games like Shadow of the Colossus is like interactive art.

[Jayhmmz]

I wouldn't call Call of Duty art or anything, unless you consider milking a franchise to death to be art, but games like Shadow of the Colossus is like interactive art.

This.

Developers who churn out games do not produce art.

[DirtyDMan]

Yes I think video games are art.

[LemonRising]

I still consider any game art. It might not be 'groundbreaking' art or anything, but it doesn't mean that people weren't drawing and programming and creating. Even a crappy story is still a story.

[Akatosh]

Definition of art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power.


I don't know about you guys but I don't think most video games are beautiful(unless your talking graphics wise) or emotionally provocative. Only very rarely will a developer create a character or story that has emotional power. So I don't think every video game is art, I feel only truly great games with great design and story can be defined as "artful." However every video game is a work of imagination and some creative skill, so I guess that its hard to define what games are and aren't works of art.

[Muffincat]

That also makes it tricky because different things cause different emotions in different people... I've definitely cried in video games before, or felt happy, or inspired, etc.

And they can definitely be beautiful.

But art is difficult to define... is a terrible painting still art? or a bad novel? an awful song? Someone's going to probably like it, and I suppose it would be art to them.

In any case, I don't think a lot of video games are fit to be called art, just like a lot of other things aren't. There's definitely a lot of hard work and creativity (sometimes), and definitely skill... but that doesn't necessarily add up to make something artistic.

I think, as a whole, video games often short themselves of what they could be, and reinforce the idea that they aren't "art." There is so much more that they could do, if they were aiming for that... but they usually aren't. They're aiming for sales. And specifically doing something for the sake of money... well, that's not true art

[paecmaker]

They say movies are art but, movies can still suck with bad acting and a sucking story.

Why shouldnt this accord to games to? For every good game there 10 bad games but shouldnt the good game be called art?

[Saph]

All movies are art, but some suck

All paintings are art, but some suck

All music is art, but some suck

All buildings are art, but some suck

All games are art, but some suck


End of story.

[paecmaker]

All movies are art, but some suck

All paintings are art, but some suck

All music is art, but some suck

All buildings are art, but some suck

All games are art, but some suck


End of story.

Couldnt say it better myself.

[Saph]

It was the best and shortest way to say what I think everyone meant