So what videogames do you consider to be GOOD art?

[Vault101]

Seriously compared to the rediculous crap you can find in a modern art gallery ANY game is art

 

[Spark Ignition]

Bioshock and Fallout do the "cinematic effect" thing as well, but IMO it's more advanced in HL2. HL2 emulates some pretty interesting "camerawork" through the level design by literally forcing the player to look at key scenes from certain angles (all while keeping them in control of the camera). The other two games really only seem to use the "mise-en-scene" technique of communicating story info through the environment. Don't get me wrong, it's still a powerful technique, and they definitely use it well, but I have yet to see another designer match the complexity of Valve's cinematic level design.

RE: art where every viewer has a different experience.
This interests me as well, but I think it's important that the artist still has at least some sort of authorial control. For example, a game in which you could "do anything" doesn't really interest me from an artistic standpoint because although the players might have an interesting experience from it, nothing was communicated from the artist to the player.

About the games that have no connections to any other forms of art:
Basically what I mean by this is that the message they are trying to communicate the player is being delivered primarily through mechanics rather than through some other method. For example, the game Passage (available for free at http://hcsoftware.sourceforge.net/passage/) gets its point across with almost no text and just a few key visual representations. The bulk of the information conveyed is experienced through gameplay alone.

That's fair enough, I still haven't played the half life series yet (just got started on 1 yesterday!). And yes you are rihght about the authorial control. WHat I was saying I like about Fallout 3 is the fact there are so many brilliant cinematic or narrative moments you can be witness to, but the order you see them in, sometimes the location, the circumstances etc will differ every time, making each playthrough a unique experience. I'm thinking of both scripted events like the destruction of Megaton, the launching of a nuke, Liberty Prime's appearance etc and also random events like the crashlanding UFO. In each circumstance there are visual and audio cues to make sure the player's attention is drawn to what is happening. The fact that these can differ from playthrough to playthrough only adds to the impact, as you can see something on your 4th playthrough that tyou've never seen before, making that play and that character unique to you.

Longwindedness over.

 

[Spark Ignition]

I'm just going to say the obvious ones again but I'm going to say why they're better than others as well which I haven't seen so far (I only scim-read everything, apologies if you have)

Portal
Half-life 2

I say these because - not only are they great games to begin with - but, like most other arts, they seem (to me, anyway) to be making comments on general society.

Portal:
Scientific testing*, what we don't know about it and so on.
Psychology, being secluded and becoming delusional, emotional triggers etc.
*Other games that you could include, at a stretch, are prototype and P.N.03, but I wouldn't bother.

Half-life 2:
Brutality and inequality, rebels are still strong through human will and the combine are all grey and metallic, following orders and such.
The idea of super-natural forces, the ending, the portal for Wallace Breen and G-man.
At a stretch you could include psychology (father Grigory) and protection and family (the Vances and DOG).

This is not to say that games should be making a comment all the time and I'm not saying if they don't they're bad, other forms of art can simply look or sound nice. I'm just saying that games seem to me to be better if they do make comments. Games can be enjoyed for just about everything else and that is obviously the intention of all game developers right now.

Yes, I sound like a pretentious ******, but if that means I can enjoy games more then I really don't care.
Besides, there aren't that many games I can claim to be making comments either way.

Interesting point, and I would definitely include Bioshock and it's critique of Randian philosophy and capitalism in general with that. But IMO art doesn't have to have a grand plan or statement behind it (although a lot of very good art does.). It's enough for me if it makes you think you're part of it's world.

On an unrelated note your avatar made me go play Dawn of War for the first time n ages!

 

[boholikeu]

That's fair enough, I still haven't played the half life series yet (just got started on 1 yesterday!). And yes you are rihght about the authorial control. WHat I was saying I like about Fallout 3 is the fact there are so many brilliant cinematic or narrative moments you can be witness to, but the order you see them in, sometimes the location, the circumstances etc will differ every time, making each playthrough a unique experience. I'm thinking of both scripted events like the destruction of Megaton, the launching of a nuke, Liberty Prime's appearance etc and also random events like the crashlanding UFO. In each circumstance there are visual and audio cues to make sure the player's attention is drawn to what is happening. The fact that these can differ from playthrough to playthrough only adds to the impact, as you can see something on your 4th playthrough that tyou've never seen before, making that play and that character unique to you.

Longwindedness over.

Yep, I agree. Plus no matter what your actions are in Fallout 3 you will always have a story that deals with survival and morality.

Any plans to post the paper here when you are finished with it?

 

[Spark Ignition]

That's fair enough, I still haven't played the half life series yet (just got started on 1 yesterday!). And yes you are rihght about the authorial control. WHat I was saying I like about Fallout 3 is the fact there are so many brilliant cinematic or narrative moments you can be witness to, but the order you see them in, sometimes the location, the circumstances etc will differ every time, making each playthrough a unique experience. I'm thinking of both scripted events like the destruction of Megaton, the launching of a nuke, Liberty Prime's appearance etc and also random events like the crashlanding UFO. In each circumstance there are visual and audio cues to make sure the player's attention is drawn to what is happening. The fact that these can differ from playthrough to playthrough only adds to the impact, as you can see something on your 4th playthrough that tyou've never seen before, making that play and that character unique to you.

Longwindedness over.

Yep, I agree. Plus no matter what your actions are in Fallout 3 you will always have a story that deals with survival and morality.

Any plans to post the paper here when you are finished with it?

Well I didn't but yeah sure if that's something you'd be interested in! I may put a draft up when I think I'm done and ask if anyone has any further reading/playing suggestions (obviously I don't want help writing the piece, it has to be my work after all) which could be relevant. I'll add you and let you know if I do!

 

[Taranaich]

Also, for a medium to be art not all representatives must be art. Conan isn't art, but Kurosawa is.

Why isn't Conan art?

 

[maturin]

Morrowind.

 

[tigermilk]

I would suggest GTA IV. On accassion I enjoy just driving about and absorbing the atmossphere and it envokes similar feelings of alienation within an urban setting to Hopper's city based pictures (Nighthawks being the most obvious example). There is a density to GTA IV's world is where it differs to Hopper, but on the other hand the sense of being alone while around other people in an industrial/post-industrial landscape I would argue is "art" in both cases.

 

[Cazza]

Zelda games, TF2, Portal etc.

Level design. It give the overall feel of the game therefore is along is the most important part when it comes to it.

Music & gamplay are also highly important

 

[GonzoGamer]

This always reminds me of a quote from Dexter:

[looks at a landscape painting of a cabin]
"That's not art, it's cottage porn"

Was that from the show or the books?

IMO ? All of them. If these images (created by ?art departments?) were static and printed on paper, they would be considered art. Why should there be a difference? Okay so maybe games aren?t so much art as they are virtual museums where we get to interact with different art elements like graphics, story, music, and choreography. Either way, it?s art.

But if I had to be more strict and consider games as some sort of non-artform of entertainment like porn or some sports (though even that is arguable-especially when you consider that under Ebert's definition, porn can be art) , I would say any game made by Q Games or Q Entertainment.

I don?t know if the letter Q has anything to do with it but those games are art. Play Rez and Pixel Junk Eden, then try and argue.

What we should thank Ebert for is giving us reason to consider the debate as it has made us look at our games from a different perspective and that?s always good. Without his snobbery, we may have never given it thought.

Is from series 2 (I don't like the books, too predictable and fairly badly written. Also the whole charm of the series is that Dexter is so LIKEABLE for a serial killer, which he defintely isn't in the books. I'll look into both those games, thanks!

And yes, Planescape. Fantastic game that, and with more text in it than most medium length books. Defintely makes you think about philosophy (as is the point, based as it is in a city where your philosophy defines you as a person rather than your ethics or actions). Also so, so atmospheric thanks to both the visuals and sound, and some truly amazing NPCs.

There are parts I like from the books more (like the kids are definitely more interesting and Rita's less annoying) and there are parts I like from the tv series more (everyone else is more interesting and less first person). I dig them both but I would have to say I also get a bigger kick out of the series, and now that the therapy queen is dead, I'll probably enjoy it even more; as long as this season isn't all chest beating over her death. Him breaking the news with mouse-ears was hilarious. For a second it looked like it was going to become Falling Down the tv series when he killed that guy just for being a dbag.

Back to the subject at hand. If you have to pick one, try Rez.
The guys who made that game are coming out with a new (even trippier looking) title soon: Children of Eden
Which is in no way related to the game Eden made by Q Games which is in no way related to Q Entertainment (the makers of Rez & Children of Eden). Want to be even more confused? Try those games.

 

[Diddy_Mao]

I will stand by my usual statement that the vast majority of video games come off as Porn more than art.

Once again I will clarify that statement. I use the term in it's significantly lesser used definition to mean any depiction of acts in a sensational manner so as to arouse a quick intense emotional reaction.

This includes games I really like. Street Fighter, Dawn of War, Alien vs Predator, Burnout, Super Smash Brothers...and so one and so forth.

Those are all great games but they do almost nothing to tell a story or convey a message. They're pretty to look at but there's almost no emotion to the story and no creativity in the art style. There's no motivation to play beyond the desire to win.

On the other hand, games like Mark of Kri, Okami, The first two Silent Hill Games, God of War, Jak and Daxer, Brutal Legend and Shadow of the Colossus are games I would put forth as great examples of the video game medium used to produce a work of art.
Each of those games is flawed in more ways that one but the time spent creating a compelling story, an imaginative world or a memorable cast of characters makes it more than your standard "press buttons to kill shit" type of game.

In the long run the only thing that matters in a work of art is what the creator puts into it and what the viewer gets out of it. If a video game can captivate your attention to a point where you want to experience the next chapter of he story, or see the hero through to the end of their journey not for the gamer score it provides or the bragging rites but because you are in some manner emotionally invested in seeing it through to the end...well then you have a work of art on your hands.

Of course and it's not always about character and story. sometimes it's just about smooth gameplay mixed with stunning visuals.
For the more visually minded there are games like Cloud, Flower, and Flow that have no story to tell but instead use their visuals, gameplay and score to create an interactive piece of visual artwork.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Looking at games as art, I think something we have to acknowledge as their greatest strength is the depth of immersion that's possible here. Yes, people can get really into a book, movie, or an album, but it's different with a video game. A video game can go that extra mile. You have some level of control, and so you feel some level of responsibility. You will see someone have a very visible physical reaction to something that happens in a game.

With this in mind, I think you should look at games that try to get the player immersed into their worlds. Games that try to really sink their teeth into you. Whether they succeed or fail, it doesn't entirely matter. Not all Art is perfect, you know.

Edit: I'm organizing them by length, that way you can find a way to get more bang for your buck. The ones in caps are highly, highly recommended. As in, if you're going to talk about games being art, I think you need to have experienced these games and have them in your vocabulary.

Play these games:

FLOWER

LIMBO

Portal

Zeno Clash

HEAVY RAIN

Mirror's Edge

Condemned: Criminal Origins

BIOSHOCK

Ico

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS

HALF-LIFE series (You can skip H-L 1 with a wiki page.)

Any Peter Molyneux game.

Mass Effect 1-2

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

Fallout 3

I'm sorry, did you just say

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

I'm going to have to ask you to step outside

all those other games are great examples
but

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

is not anywhere near the level of those games

I actually think GTA IV did a SUPERB job of trying to create a convincing world. The way people would react depending on how and where they were shot was great and believable. The amount of effort they put into making the city feel alive, with citizens you could follow all day and watch how they would interact with the world. You could sit in your apartment and watch television. The radio was absolutely full of interesting things to hear. The world looked really good, and until about half way through the game, there was a lot of great story telling to be had.

Was the game perfect? Absolutely not. But it did a great job of immersing the player into the game if the player was willing. I heard a lot of stories from all over the internet about how people found themselves obeying traffic laws in a GRAND THEFT AUTO game, because acting outrageous in such a realistic city felt too weird. The pangs of guilt people felt when they shot a pedestrian and watched them stumble around, screaming and begging for help. I was definitely one of those guys, and I have to pat the game on the back.

There was a lot to take away from that game. Even in the flaws. I've definitely had a lot of conversations about Niko Bellic inevitably ruining the feel of the game because he was presented as a nice guy in a bad situation, yet he could slaughter an entire sidewalk full of people and feel no different. A flaw in game design to be sure, but an interesting one that presented a lot of questions about how a sand box game should approach story, and what could be taken away about Niko Bellic himself. The way he acted in story moments, ways that might disagree with the player, reminded players that just because you control a character and make a few choices doesn't make their personality your own. Is the game broken if a character you influence does something you disagree with, or is this us having a hard time accepting that a character with an already established personality will do as he will, regardless of us? Like many other stories we are told in various mediums?

Bah, I've blabbed too much, but I hope you get my point here.

I'm not talking about the story (as sleep inducing as it was)
but the GTA world is full of blood filled windshield decorations
outside the main cast you can't interact with any of them
just a bunch of robots only programed to react if you pulled a gun on them.
(Yeah I know that's what they are)
if you compare it to Mass Effect's world or Fallout 3's world it's got nothing

the cops don't even seem to care that you just mowed down 30 people with a machine gun all they want you to do is steal a car and take 3 or 4 quick left turns.

Vice City was better.

 

[Naota_391]

Looking at games as art, I think something we have to acknowledge as their greatest strength is the depth of immersion that's possible here. Yes, people can get really into a book, movie, or an album, but it's different with a video game. A video game can go that extra mile. You have some level of control, and so you feel some level of responsibility. You will see someone have a very visible physical reaction to something that happens in a game.

With this in mind, I think you should look at games that try to get the player immersed into their worlds. Games that try to really sink their teeth into you. Whether they succeed or fail, it doesn't entirely matter. Not all Art is perfect, you know.

Edit: I'm organizing them by length, that way you can find a way to get more bang for your buck. The ones in caps are highly, highly recommended. As in, if you're going to talk about games being art, I think you need to have experienced these games and have them in your vocabulary.

Play these games:

FLOWER

LIMBO

Portal

Zeno Clash

HEAVY RAIN

Mirror's Edge

Condemned: Criminal Origins

BIOSHOCK

Ico

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS

HALF-LIFE series (You can skip H-L 1 with a wiki page.)

Any Peter Molyneux game.

Mass Effect 1-2

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

Fallout 3

I'm sorry, did you just say

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

I'm going to have to ask you to step outside

all those other games are great examples
but

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

is not anywhere near the level of those games

I actually think GTA IV did a SUPERB job of trying to create a convincing world. The way people would react depending on how and where they were shot was great and believable. The amount of effort they put into making the city feel alive, with citizens you could follow all day and watch how they would interact with the world. You could sit in your apartment and watch television. The radio was absolutely full of interesting things to hear. The world looked really good, and until about half way through the game, there was a lot of great story telling to be had.

Was the game perfect? Absolutely not. But it did a great job of immersing the player into the game if the player was willing. I heard a lot of stories from all over the internet about how people found themselves obeying traffic laws in a GRAND THEFT AUTO game, because acting outrageous in such a realistic city felt too weird. The pangs of guilt people felt when they shot a pedestrian and watched them stumble around, screaming and begging for help. I was definitely one of those guys, and I have to pat the game on the back.

There was a lot to take away from that game. Even in the flaws. I've definitely had a lot of conversations about Niko Bellic inevitably ruining the feel of the game because he was presented as a nice guy in a bad situation, yet he could slaughter an entire sidewalk full of people and feel no different. A flaw in game design to be sure, but an interesting one that presented a lot of questions about how a sand box game should approach story, and what could be taken away about Niko Bellic himself. The way he acted in story moments, ways that might disagree with the player, reminded players that just because you control a character and make a few choices doesn't make their personality your own. Is the game broken if a character you influence does something you disagree with, or is this us having a hard time accepting that a character with an already established personality will do as he will, regardless of us? Like many other stories we are told in various mediums?

Bah, I've blabbed too much, but I hope you get my point here.

I'm not talking about the story (as sleep inducing as it was)
but the GTA world is full of blood filled windshield decorations
outside the main cast you can't interact with any of them
just a bunch of robots only programed to react if you pulled a gun on them.
(Yeah I know that's what they are)
if you compare it to Mass Effect's world or Fallout 3's world it's got nothing

the cops don't even seem to care that you just mowed down 30 people with a machine gun all they want you to do is steal a car and take 3 or 4 quick left turns.

Vice City was better.

I'm not saying that the game was perfect, but I do think there is a lot of artistic value to it.

Also, I'm sorry, I have to call bullshit on that. There is NOTHING about Vice City that is in anyway better than IV. Nothing. At all. It doesn't look as good, the city is not as big, the Vice City story was COMPLETELY uninteresting, blah, blah, blah. It was a game that had no other goal in mind than, "Well, people sure do like to go nuts in these sandbox games."

At least GTA IV tried to do something new. It may not have succeeded in every area, but it did a lot more than most games do.

 

[Mikeyfell]

Looking at games as art, I think something we have to acknowledge as their greatest strength is the depth of immersion that's possible here. Yes, people can get really into a book, movie, or an album, but it's different with a video game. A video game can go that extra mile. You have some level of control, and so you feel some level of responsibility. You will see someone have a very visible physical reaction to something that happens in a game.

With this in mind, I think you should look at games that try to get the player immersed into their worlds. Games that try to really sink their teeth into you. Whether they succeed or fail, it doesn't entirely matter. Not all Art is perfect, you know.

Edit: I'm organizing them by length, that way you can find a way to get more bang for your buck. The ones in caps are highly, highly recommended. As in, if you're going to talk about games being art, I think you need to have experienced these games and have them in your vocabulary.

Play these games:

FLOWER

LIMBO

Portal

Zeno Clash

HEAVY RAIN

Mirror's Edge

Condemned: Criminal Origins

BIOSHOCK

Ico

SHADOW OF THE COLOSSUS

HALF-LIFE series (You can skip H-L 1 with a wiki page.)

Any Peter Molyneux game.

Mass Effect 1-2

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

Fallout 3

I'm sorry, did you just say

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

I'm going to have to ask you to step outside

all those other games are great examples
but

GRAND THEFT AUTO IV

is not anywhere near the level of those games

I actually think GTA IV did a SUPERB job of trying to create a convincing world. The way people would react depending on how and where they were shot was great and believable. The amount of effort they put into making the city feel alive, with citizens you could follow all day and watch how they would interact with the world. You could sit in your apartment and watch television. The radio was absolutely full of interesting things to hear. The world looked really good, and until about half way through the game, there was a lot of great story telling to be had.

Was the game perfect? Absolutely not. But it did a great job of immersing the player into the game if the player was willing. I heard a lot of stories from all over the internet about how people found themselves obeying traffic laws in a GRAND THEFT AUTO game, because acting outrageous in such a realistic city felt too weird. The pangs of guilt people felt when they shot a pedestrian and watched them stumble around, screaming and begging for help. I was definitely one of those guys, and I have to pat the game on the back.

There was a lot to take away from that game. Even in the flaws. I've definitely had a lot of conversations about Niko Bellic inevitably ruining the feel of the game because he was presented as a nice guy in a bad situation, yet he could slaughter an entire sidewalk full of people and feel no different. A flaw in game design to be sure, but an interesting one that presented a lot of questions about how a sand box game should approach story, and what could be taken away about Niko Bellic himself. The way he acted in story moments, ways that might disagree with the player, reminded players that just because you control a character and make a few choices doesn't make their personality your own. Is the game broken if a character you influence does something you disagree with, or is this us having a hard time accepting that a character with an already established personality will do as he will, regardless of us? Like many other stories we are told in various mediums?

Bah, I've blabbed too much, but I hope you get my point here.

I'm not talking about the story (as sleep inducing as it was)
but the GTA world is full of blood filled windshield decorations
outside the main cast you can't interact with any of them
just a bunch of robots only programed to react if you pulled a gun on them.
(Yeah I know that's what they are)
if you compare it to Mass Effect's world or Fallout 3's world it's got nothing

the cops don't even seem to care that you just mowed down 30 people with a machine gun all they want you to do is steal a car and take 3 or 4 quick left turns.

Vice City was better.

I'm not saying that the game was perfect, but I do think there is a lot of artistic value to it.

Also, I'm sorry, I have to call bullshit on that. There is NOTHING about Vice City that is in anyway better than IV. Nothing. At all. It doesn't look as good, the city is not as big, the Vice City story was COMPLETELY uninteresting, blah, blah, blah. It was a game that had no other goal in mind than, "Well, people sure do like to go nuts in these sandbox games."

At least GTA IV tried to do something new. It may not have succeeded in every area, but it did a lot more than most games do.

well, at least Vice City was fun
remember that word. Fun
that thing that games were supposed to be
remember in Vice City how you could take a turn with out tipping your car over?
remember how the cop chases mattered? you could drive from one end of the city to the other and not lose your wanted level.

At least GTA IV tried to do something new. It may not have succeeded in every area, but it did a lot more than most games do.

I'm really sorry.........
is there a way that I can block your comments from showing up on my monitor?
I'd love to just ignore you but the level or stupid you exhibit is like a black hole attracting my need to say how wrong you are.

 

[Naota_391]

Do you remember how Rockstar left that style of GTA IV to die this time? Do you remember how they choose something WORTH making and not something that boiled down to, "Well, I wonder how long I can run from the cops?"

This Grand Theft Auto wasn't made for you. If you want a silly sandbox game, you've got Saints Row. But don't fault the game for not being what it wasn't trying to be, and understand that just because it wasn't what YOU wanted does NOT mean that it was bad.

And before you respond again with another comment filled to the brim arrogance and ignorance, think REAL fucking hard about the things you are saying. Think really hard about what IV was, how long it took to make and all that they did accomplish. If you can't even do that, then you're an idiot even be the lowest standards.

It's fucking awful to see people like you who can't appreciate a damn thing just because it wasn't what you wanted out of a game. You can't even respect it! Grow up and pull your head out of your ass.

 

[Naota_391]

At least GTA IV tried to do something new. It may not have succeeded in every area, but it did a lot more than most games do.

I'm really sorry.........
is there a way that I can block your comments from showing up on my monitor?
I'd love to just ignore you but the level or stupid you exhibit is like a black hole attracting my need to say how wrong you are.

And how is that WRONG, you retard? Come on, TELL me what about that statement is wrong. Did Grand Theft Auto NOT try new things? Did it NOT succeed at ALL in ANY part of the game?

You're stupid. Stupid as stupid can be.

Name me ONE game with a city as big and detailed as the one in GTA IV. Just name to me ONE.

Name ONE other game where you can pick a random person on the street, follow them, and watch them actually DO things.

TELL ME the physics engine made for that game was shit. Go on.

Were the cut scenes NOT put together well? At all? How about the voice acting? Just trash?

 

[Mikeyfell]

And how is that WRONG, you retard? Come on, TELL me what about that statement is wrong. Did Grand Theft Auto NOT try new things? Did it NOT succeed at ALL in ANY part of the game?

Grand Theft Auto 4 is what I'm talking about
GTA 3 back in 2001 set a president for shitty sandbox games
now every game in existence has some type of shitty sandbox element and GTA 4 is the most generic one of them.

You're stupid. Stupid as stupid can be.

stop projecting

Name me ONE game with a city as big and detailed as the one in GTA IV. Just name to me ONE.

are you asking me to name a fucking sandbox game? Do you even know that Grand Theft Auto Clone is it's own Genre? have you never heard of Saint's Row.

Name ONE other game where you can pick a random person on the street, follow them, and watch them actually DO things.

um...Stalker much? what do you mean "actually do" they just walk around if circles all day long. How about Jak 2 you can follow around guards and listen to them talk about how comfortable their new armor is. or Fallout 3 and Oblivion. there are missions based around it.
But I'm not the best Judge I don't get off by following random strangers around all day.

TELL ME the physics engine made for that game was shit. Go on.

The physics engine made for that game was shit.
tapping X to run is stupid. so is not being able to walk through a door way on the first try.
The cars handle like shopping carts full of cement navigating a hedge maze during a rain storm.
the bikes handle like the wheels are held on by one lug
the helicopters handle like one of the propeller blades is twice as long as the others.
the seat belts don't work and the trees have anti-car force-fields around them
now try to tell me the physics engine wasn't shit.

Were the cut scenes NOT put together well? At all? How about the voice acting? Just trash?

yeah, fine the cut scenes and the acting were fine. but the actual plot had far to many sticks up it's ass for me to take it seriously.


besides I only got to the mission where I had to learn how to check my Email before I felt like slitting my wrists instead of playing anymore.
I play games to have fun, not check my fake Email, have trouble moving and take my cousin bowling
Games are for making duel-pistol-wielding witches fight angles
or making snobby Persian royalty run on walls
or assemble a team of deep and interesting characters to fight off a race of evil sentient machines.
or to bounce a limited number of balls off a set amount of red pegs with the help of power ups delivered by unabashedly cute animal mascots.


GTA 4 isn't fun. there is no way anyone could call that game fun.
unless they were some douche on the internet trying to fight a loosing battle using ignorance as their chief weapon.

and before you call Bayonetta, Prince of Persia, Mass Effect, or Peggle "not fun" at least their controls work.

 

[Flac00]

OK, anything that is not an FPS or has the word action in its genre. I am more conservative in the way that I use the word art, so I don't paint something like Borderlands as art because of its style. Go with these few:
-Portal (very good character development, and shows a clear contrast between light and dark)
-Shadow of the Colossus (beautiful, and interesting)
-Braid (really good looking. Great music. Story-line is well tailored)
-Penumbra (the equivalent of a horror/thriller book only you are in control)
-Limbo (very artistically driven and somewhat disturbing, in a good way)
There are others but these are definitely the most artistic I can think of.