Poll: Games - Art or not?

[Kahunaburger]

All creative works are art, but not all art is good.

Now, see, this is part of the problem I had with this poll. I know a lot of people consider any form of expression to be 'art', but I think art has to move the human soul.

[trollin']Animals, robots, aliens, and non-corporeal entities? Their souls can suck it. OH WAIT THEY DON'T HAVE SOULS![/trollin']

That's pretty much the standard definition of art. It doesn't have to be good or moving.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

So, what is a game to you? Is it a finely crafted piece of work that deserves recognition either in mainstream media or acknowledged by critics as a piece of art that stands up there with the other forms? Or is it a bit of entertainment, a tool perhaps, nothing more than a quick fix for boredom? Or maybe you see a game as a technological achievement?

Well... Some games can be art...

This is a hard one for me to explain, but it's my opinion that some games, ones that are lovingly crafted, having unique features, whether they be graphical or narrative based or gameplay based, these could be considered art.

Some, some just aren't... it's not as simple as saying cash grab games aren't art, as cash grab films are still considered part of the artform. But some games you just play for entertainment, games that may be fun to play but offer nothing special to the genre and are, ultimately nothing new.

So what I would argue is that yes games can be a legitimate form of art, but not all games are. I hope from my post you can see I don't mean that in a snobbish way.

Perfectly understandable, and no I don't see it as snobbish, but well thought out and fairly spoken.

 

[Chris646]

Personally, I think that there are games that are art, but not all of them are. This is not a binary 'are games art, 1 or 0?' because there is not a binary answer. Some are, most aren't.

 

[roostuf]

i like many others think that games have the potential to become a artistic medium. but sadly for me i have had a lack of experience with the "artistic" in games, besides SOTC, Amnesia the Dark Desent and LoK i haven't seen much games that qualify as art.

Standard-forgettable-games>games that qualify as art

 

[El_Chubba_Chubba]

...if you want it to be.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

...if you want it to be.

Any thoughts?

 

[Grell Sutcliff]

I believe games are both art and a technological achievement think about it makeing images is what art is and in games you make a humongus image witch is very detailed both upclose and far away, games create the illusion of life, and games can be explored so really games deserve to be in museums way more than the mona lisa even the crappy games

 

[joshthor]

in my opinion the question of whether video games are art or not is not a yes or no answer. it really depends on the game.

braid: art

call of duty: not art. thats not a bash on call of duty, i find the games ridiculously entertaining, i just dont consider them art.

 

[garjian]

some yes, most no.
im sure thats been said by now :>

more stuff: okami looked amazing... and im sure someone would like to call that Child of Eden thing art... but no... Call of Duty and the 15,000 copies of it are not art. ^^

even more stuff: not that all art needs to be visual or... errr... auidial? (heh...) ummm... but, im dead inside, so no games ever moved me emotionally... but thats something they have the power to do im sure.

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

Some games are the equivalent of a mysterious piece of beautiful art that really make you think deep.

Other games are the equivalent of a drawing by a child.

And some games are the equivalent of a humorous comic book drawing.

While other games are the equivalent of an immature drawing of a penis.

The point is, it's all still artistic expression, some are good and some are bad, some are deep and some are shallow.

But in all honesty, who cares as to whether or not games are art anyway? And why does it matter, so long as we still get to play them we shouldn't complain.

 

[Snotnarok]

Okay, answer me this. How does drawing, writing, sculpting, painting, voice acting, composing/playing music, acting, directing scenes all artforms on their own combine into a video game and make ...not art.

If those things are art, video games are art. You can't argue it because at any stage there's a lot of art going into these games. Video Games ARE ART because there's art at about every stage of making said any given game.

 

[loc978]

...

art/ärt/Noun
1. 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.
2. Works produced by such skill and imagination.

So yeah. Even ET for the Atari 2600 is art. So is a pile of sticks that a kid with OCD arranged just so. This bickering over a simple, cut-and-dried definition that has already been set forth by every authority on the English language is completely unreasonable.

 

[Dark Harbinger]

...

art/ärt/Noun
1. 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.
2. Works produced by such skill and imagination.

So yeah. Even ET for the Atari 2600 is art. So is a pile of sticks that a kid with OCD arranged just so. This bickering over a simple, cut-and-dried definition that has already been set forth by every authority on the English language is completely unreasonable.

Errr...ET might be stretching it a bit. XD

 

[Jegsimmons]

all games are art, but it really depends on ones personal opinion whether to accept it as such.

 

[blankedboy]

Very very very few games can be considered art.

Only in comparison to the rest. There's a fair few artsy games out there and they're not all that hard to find.

 

[Mouse One]

Well, strictly speaking, yes all videogames are art. But few are made with an "artistic aesthetic", that is to say that engaging one's intellect and emotions is waaaaay down the to-do list for most dev teams. Great art moves us, makes us question our deeply held thoughts and beliefs, and is the sort of thing you keep mulling over even after the experience is over. Have there been games that do that? Sure.

I'll toss out the idea that the word "videogame" is inherently self-limiting. Not that there's anything wrong with games, but that they aren't the only form (or even the best) for artistic expression. Unfortunately "Interactive art created using videogame technology" is something of a clunky term. A number of indie companies have created just that, from free webtoys like "Feed the Head" to more immersive 3D experiences like "The Path". But they often meet with indifferent success, I suspect mostly because they're sold as what they aren't, i.e. games

 

[Condor219]

Depends. If it focuses on cinematics, aethetics and storytelling, it's absolutely art. If it's focused on getting a high score/KDR, then it's not (though some high score games are exceptions).

 

[Yopaz]

Art is boring, games are not. Any book or movie considered art is boring. The good books and movies (such as The Wheel of Time series and Fightclub) are not considered art as far as I know, but The Wheel of Time is a great epic story of the modern time. I would say that it's in same league as Tolkien. Fightclub is a well crafted movie that I think everyone should watch. Still this isn't art.
Don't get me wrong when I say that video games in a whole is not art. It's not because I hate video game or consider it a dull, bland or generic experience. It's because I consider art a bland and boring experience. Spending two hours in an art museum wont give you the same satisfaction as half an hour with a good game. Games are entertainment, and may they never become art.

 

[zerobudgetgamer]

Amidst the choices given, I had to put "A technological achievement" as it's only in the past decade or so, when gaming has reached a level of graphical prowess to truly pass off claiming to be "realistic," that the topic of "Are games art" came about.

Now, I'm not saying that games like the original Final Fantasies, Donkey Kongs, Sonics, or Marios couldn't be considered "art" by some. However, at that time, these games were only conceived to be fun and entertaining, not to tell some grand story or tug at our heart strings. Nowadays, now that graphics and, to a certain extent, disc space no longer limit what can be created or what stories can be told, we can finally start trying to create games that are not only fun and entertaining, but thought-provoking and deep as well.

Of course, just like every other media, this does not mean that ALL games should be art, nor does it mean that every company that creates games is going to suddenly bend over backwards to make sure games have some unnecessarily contrived plot. What it means is we have the opportunity to create art, an opportunity that we are very likely squandering at present, but an opportunity that we may find can be used to much greater effect than any medium preceding it.