Poll: Gaming: Art form or Entertainment?

[Xaryn Mar]

I would say that gaming is entertainment but games themselves can be (and often are) art.

 

[The Wooster]

Who says the two are mutually exclusive?

 

[SplicedUp068]

gaming has to be a combination or just entertainment because without that it isn't a game, its a movie with graphics instead of actors

 

[NiceGurl_14]

It's both, a good example is Okami, by far one of the most beautiful games that I've seen and one of my favorite games that I've played.

 

[ranger19]

Some games are churned out solely to make money, so they can hardly be considered as art.

Why not? Purely artistic intention is rare in any artist. Expression is nice, but food on the table takes priority.

I don't consider Capitalism or profiteering an art form, or think EA are artists.

But as they say, art is entirely subjective.

Van Gogh painted so he could keep bread on the table. So by your logic, his work - since it was capitalism and profiteering - is not art. The guy you quoted said it best - purely artistic intention really is rare in an artist.

EDIT: I realized I hadn't answered. Of course I picked both.

 

[The_Deleted]

The more games come into their own the more they become like beautiful paintings. Drake's Fortune and Fallouts designes are stunning. People say games cannot be art for any number of reasons, but art is subjective and I'd sooner see the effort a programmer has gone through to render his work than some piece of crap that gets put up for the Turner Prize.

 

[geldonyetich]

Easiest poll ever: both.

Really, I'd say that gaming is supposed to be an art, but like an art, a lust for mass producing it for cash will always diminish its value.

 

[Ancientgamer]

I'd like to point out that art in itself is a form of entertainment. I think the question should be:

"Are games high art, or low art?"

In which case the answer would still be both, you can't generalize a whole medium like that.

 

[ThePlasmatizer]

Everything can be art what we need to ascertain is whether games are good art or not, and if considering games in general I would say they are not.

If we are discussing aesthetics then yes a game can be good art as some games every moment could be screen captured and it would be a beautiful moment to behold, but if we are looking at the game as a whole as an art form such as it's design, well written storyline and innovation I would say most definitely not.

When the entire direction of a game is to be artistic in it's delivery then we have problems as the developer becomes misguided and it's not fulfilling it's main purpose of a game which is to entertain. The games we play now are just too raw and crude to be called good art imho.

 

[Jamash]

Some games are churned out solely to make money, so they can hardly be considered as art.

Why not? Purely artistic intention is rare in any artist. Expression is nice, but food on the table takes priority.

I don't consider Capitalism or profiteering an art form, or think EA are artists.

But as they say, art is entirely subjective.

Van Gogh painted so he could keep bread on the table. So by your logic, his work - since it was capitalism and profiteering - is not art. The guy you quoted said it best - purely artistic intention really is rare in an artist.

EDIT: I realized I hadn't answered. Of course I picked both.

But were not talking about art in general, were talking about games.

In the context of games, I don't believe that obvious cash cows, like EA's annual Madden re-releases or crappy side scrolling platform games on mobile phones, based on whichever film is popular and made to create more revenue from a big box office smash, are artistic.

If you think XXX 2: The Next Level is a work of art, fine, you're entitled to your opinion and free to download it to your mobile phone and hang it on your wall, but I'm going to reserve my 'games are art' tag for more deserving titles.

 

[Teh_Doomage]

I voted both. Some games are just works of art in terms of writing and art direction (Bioshock) and others are just pure mindless fun(Saints Row 2).

 

[Reaperman Wompa]

It can be mostly both, though it is more a form of entertainment than an art form. There is the artistic detail in each game, but games deviate from what is a more basic concept of art too much to be singularly classified as such, compared to the entertainment value inherent in almost all games (I'm looking at you sonic unleashed) which is rather larger and more obvious.

 

[SomeBritishDude]

Both. They deserve the same rep as movies.

I get quiet irraited when people say "Well, it depends on the game". If you believe gaming is an art form, then it all must be art, no matter how you feel about a game. If Shadow of Collosus or Braid is a work of art then so is Cooking Muma. Its just not a good one.

 

[axia777]

Not this again. I am sure if you used the search button you would have found a few old threads on this same subject.

 

[pigeon_of_doom]

I don't think its possible for some games to be art and some not to be. Art is allowed to be bad isn't it? Those critics need something to look down their noses at. Why does the game have to tackle some lofty theme over its duration or be beautiful? Not all works of art are aesthetically pleasing, or have an insightful perspective on a topic. Even if its shovelware, a team of people with technical proficiency have worked to create it, same as whatever critical darling Team ICO conjure up next. Although perhaps it is the difference between having Michelangelo or some guy out of the phonebook paint your ceiling.

I have no clear stance on the "games are art" argument. But if it is to be claimed as art, then the value of the craftmanship of the game should not be underestimated.

 

[ranger19]

Some games are churned out solely to make money, so they can hardly be considered as art.

Why not? Purely artistic intention is rare in any artist. Expression is nice, but food on the table takes priority.

I don't consider Capitalism or profiteering an art form, or think EA are artists.

But as they say, art is entirely subjective.

Van Gogh painted so he could keep bread on the table. So by your logic, his work - since it was capitalism and profiteering - is not art. The guy you quoted said it best - purely artistic intention really is rare in an artist.

EDIT: I realized I hadn't answered. Of course I picked both.

But were not talking about art in general, were talking about games.

In the context of games, I don't believe that obvious cash cows, like EA's annual Madden re-releases or crappy side scrolling platform games on mobile phones, based on whichever film is popular and made to create more revenue from a big box office smash, are artistic.

If you think XXX 2: The Next Level is a work of art, fine, you're entitled to your opinion and free to download it to your mobile phone and hang it on your wall, but I'm going to reserve my 'games are art' tag for more deserving titles.

I see what you're getting at, but think of it this way: when Team ICO made Shadow of the Colossus, if they were doing it to make art they were also doing it to make money. It's because of capitalism and the fact that they would make a living off of it that they made it. Sure, I would also be very slow to call Madden art, but the point I'm trying to make is that the game maker/developer/artist's motivations for making his work should not dictate whether we call something art or not.

 

[Random Argument Man]

Let's see

Art: The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form.

Game: A form of play or sports.

Entertainement: The action of providing or being provided with amusement or enjoyment.

Well, it fits all the criterias. The answer is both.

 

[Arcticflame]

It depends on the game. Some games, they just aren't art. From a bullshit whacko post-modern perspective maybe. (you know, dog turds are art, my toenail is art, dada stuff). But there is no way you can call E.T. The game Art.

However games like team-fortress 2, or braid, the art style is not only visually amazing, but has great depth. They are most certainly art.