Video Games are not art!

[comadorcrack]

Hello, now that I have your attention let me explain this.
Now before last night I was one of the biggest champions of the whole 'Games are Art' Bandwagon, but then something occurred to me... There is not one form of medium that is actually art, because that's not how it works.

Well I may be stating the obvious here, and I may get shot down, but think about it. You don't just say Books are Art, you talk about specific examples from that medium as art, Like the Canterbury Tales or Dracula.
Films are not art, The Godfather and Alien are.

It just seems so odd to me now that I think about it, why are we trying to get our medium called art, when we already have art within our medium, Like Bioshock (Which seems to be the mandatory 'this is art' example), Silent Hill 2, Red Dead Redemption, Knights of the Old Republic and even the thief series.

I feel as though I've just said something too obvious to have really gotten the point, but to be fair, people often miss the main point whilst looking to far into the big picture.

 

[seaotter]

Art is entirely opinion, so this argument is utterly pointless.

 

[rabidmidget]

The problem with these arguments is that a lot of it boils down to definitions.

 

[Frequen-Z]

The word 'art' is incredibly subjective. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and all that.

Personally? I think that because the word Art is subjective, it has no real meaning since there can never be a complete agreement on what qualifies and what doesn't, rendering all discussion on the matter nothing more than an unbeatable stalemate.

 

[Je Suis Ubermonkey]

The question isn't whether or not video games are art; it's whether or not they can be art. And since anything can be art, it's a stupid question to be asking in the first place.

 

[blankedboy]

The question isn't whether or not video games are art; it's whether or not they can be art. And since anything can be art, it's a stupid question to be asking in the first place.

Sadly, this creates that fucking annoying loophole where some douche can colour a canvas black and sell it for a couple million bucks at some cheap-ass cafe in a rural town.

 

[StarStruckStrumpets]

The word 'art' is incredibly subjective. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and all that.

Personally? I think that because the word Art is subjective, it has no real meaning since there can never be a complete agreement on what qualifies and what doesn't, rendering all discussion on the matter nothing more than an unbeatable stalemate.

By that rather truthful logic, some "art" is not art. I concur.

I'm actually getting sick of this arguement for precisely that reason, art is subjective, what person deems to be art, another may deem to be terrible.

Oh the days when people just said things were good or bad...

 

[Cherry Cola]

Yes, you do say movies are art, as in, movies are an artform, just like books, and video games. Every video game doesn't have to be art for the medium to be an artform.

 

[Mr. Grey]

I understand what you're saying, but it doesn't strengthen your cause.

I always thought this argument was about whether or not Video Games should be considered an artform, not necessarily individual games being considered art themselves. It was always about the potential of it.

But I never followed this, so I'm probably mistaken.

The word 'art' is incredibly subjective. One man's trash is another man's treasure, and all that.

Quite literally in some cases.

 

[KarumaK]

I've long since tired of this debate for any subject, as such I decided that everything is art and it doesn't matter. After all;

What point is there in being art if everything else is as well?

 

[Zetsubou-Sama]

Art translates into a skill or craft put into use with mastery to the point of invoking feelings onto another person.

Adding also one of the three definitions of culture is all intellectual propriety/cultural products which most people associate with art.

Videogames are a craft and mastery of it invokes feelings onto others so It'll be art for those who appreciate it as a medium, others won't recognize it, it's a cultural object and it's part of modern society cultural legacy, it qualifies as art in legal terms.

In my opinion the problem isn't that videogames are or not art but that it's not universally able to invoke feelings to everyone, mainly due to older generations carrying a stigma/never were there during the videogame booming.

This argument will disappear in 10-20 years, when generations renew and everyone has played a game and games reach full-fledged mainstream. To Roger Ebert it might not be art, to me or all of you it is.

Any skill can qualify as art. Whether it's literature or lego building, killing or driving, if they invoke something in you then it's safe to say: "that person actions are the work of an art"

 

[Ipsen]

Congratulations on missing the entire point of the games as art debate.

You talk as if the whole thing has been about whether or not all video games are art or if just some video games are art, when in reality it has been about whether or not some video games are art or no video games are art.

He hasnt missed the point, he just has a different perspective; and a valuable one, I vote. Frankly, I believe you ASSUME that he means 'all video games are art', rather than the point you're trying to make. So, you miss the OT's point, not the OT missing his own.

Also, yes, you do say movies are art, as in, movies are an artform, just like books, and video games. Every video game doesn't have to be art for the medium to be an artform.

You can say that, but it doesnt change anything. An artform is going to be art, and art expressed will stand out from others in the same expressed medium.

 

[Unrulyhandbag]

If random people standing on a plinth is art and pickled cows are art and strewn rubbish is art then anything can be art. The argument is completely moot, anything can stimulate emotions in people and that's all art is, games certainly qualify.

People said impressionism wasn't art when it was new, people said cubism wasn't art when it was new, and people are still saying our current contemporary art isn't art so did you honestly think games where going to get accepted any time soon.

 

[maddawg IAJI]

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and that goes when judging art. A lot of people wouldn't find a lot of things "Artistic." and have their own tastes when it comes to art. This doesn't change for video games.

For example, I like to consider Alan Wake art. With it's dark and gloomy forests, its menacing and creepy enemies and its unique form of story telling, its different from all the games. Red Dead Redemption isn't art to me, a good game sure, but I don't find it to be art.

 

[Imp Erection]

Art is entirely opinion, so this argument is utterly pointless.

Precisely. Art is without a truly recognized definition, and half of it is down to personal preference anyway. My perspective on art is that art is anything that moves me emotionally. By this definition, games are art, because games have done this to me in the past. However, the next mans definition might be totally different, and so on and so forth.

So yeah, there really is no point perpetuating this silly debate.

Agreed.

If a monkey took a dump and smeared it over a wall, there will be a person who calls it art for every person that simply views it as shit on a wall.

This debate is so old and uninteresting now.

 

[Kurokami]

Hello, now that I have your attention let me explain this.
Now before last night I was one of the biggest champions of the whole 'Games are Art' Bandwagon, but then something occurred to me... There is not one form of medium that is actually art, because that's not how it works.

Well I may be stating the obvious here, and I may get shot down, but think about it. You don't just say Books are Art, you talk about specific examples from that medium as art, Like the Canterbury Tales or Dracula.
Films are not art, The Godfather and Alien are.

It just seems so odd to me now that I think about it, why are we trying to get our medium called art, when we already have art within our medium, Like Bioshock (Which seems to be the mandatory 'this is art' example), Silent Hill 2, Red Dead Redemption, Knights of the Old Republic and even the thief series.

I feel as though I've just said something too obvious to have really gotten the point, but to be fair, people often miss the main point whilst looking to far into the big picture.

As you said, the point is obvious. However the 'Games aren't art' comment implies games cannot be art, that's what the argument is about.

 

[Sikachu]

My perspective on art is that art is anything that moves me emotionally.

Woah woah woah there Furbie, are you saying that breaking up with one's girlfriend is art? I assume not, and hope that this highlights the difficulty in trying to pin down that word. I agree about the pointlessness of this debate though, but would generally insist that any creative medium produces art. Just that a lot of it is terrible art (and of course that last sentence is entirely my opinion).

 

[Zetsubou-Sama]

If a monkey took a dump and smeared it over a wall, there will be a person who calls it art for every person that simply views it as shit on a wall.

This debate is so old and uninteresting now.

This actually happened with paint. An "art critic" called a painting done by a monkey as an amazing art piece without knowing it was done by a monkey