WTF is Destructoid? Read this first!
Got news? email us
Follow
RSS
Contact
About Me
Uh, what can I say? I'm a generic 23 year old gamer in mid-sized town.
I like to read, write, and play games. I kind of dislike the surge in popularity of the word "gamer." I know its uncool and unpopular to hate on "casuals" but hear me out. If you cut down trees for a living, eventually people start calling you a lumberjack(Though I hear they prefer logger). Now, A lumberjack(or logger) might find it irritating if everyone who's ever cut down a small tree, trimmed a hedge, or mowed a lawn calling themselves a lumberjack. So why can't we do the same?
I really love fighting games but I'm not big on the tournament scene anymore. After I started running gaming events tourney players started to grate my nerves.
Currently playing:
Phantom Dust (How come nobody talks about this old game!?)
Deadly Premonition (F.K. IN. THE COFFEE.)
Magicka
Marvel vs Capcom 3
Waiting on:
Moon Diver
Dark Souls
I like to read, write, and play games. I kind of dislike the surge in popularity of the word "gamer." I know its uncool and unpopular to hate on "casuals" but hear me out. If you cut down trees for a living, eventually people start calling you a lumberjack(Though I hear they prefer logger). Now, A lumberjack(or logger) might find it irritating if everyone who's ever cut down a small tree, trimmed a hedge, or mowed a lawn calling themselves a lumberjack. So why can't we do the same?
I really love fighting games but I'm not big on the tournament scene anymore. After I started running gaming events tourney players started to grate my nerves.
Currently playing:
Phantom Dust (How come nobody talks about this old game!?)
Deadly Premonition (F.K. IN. THE COFFEE.)
Magicka
Marvel vs Capcom 3
Waiting on:
Moon Diver
Dark Souls
Gamer Profile
3DS friend code:
Steam:
Battle:
PSN:
Mii:
Gamertag:
Steam:
Battle:
PSN:
Mii:
Gamertag:
Following (5)
|
|
The title "Games are not art" may offend some of you. It has long been a held belief of fans of the games industry that games do qualify as a means of artistic expression. I'm not saying this to be inflammatory, but there are some serious things to consider before we declare games art. Art is something one observes and interprets. The most accepted forms of art are music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. Games are interactive, which defy the conventions of these other media. I personally think games are MORE than art. They often blend brilliant narratives, beautiful visuals, complex mechanics, stirring music and sometimes even philosophical questions about one's humanity into a product one experiences. There's another side of games though. A technical side. Video games feature advanced technology and complex mechanics that often incorporate technical and psychological expertise in their creation. Developers are complex groups of designers, artists, modelers, and programmers all trying to make a particular concept into reality. When you think about all that goes into a game, level design, pacing, flow, rewards, it is truly psychologically complex 
Its kind of like architecture (which is often debated as an art form). Buildings are beautiful, yes, but they often have a brilliant technical aspect to them. One that makes them more in my eyes. The conclusion is this: Games are an experience. To call games art does them little justice. Games are a brilliant combination of various arts and complex mechanics. Every art has its bad apples though. Nobody judges the whole of film by the movie "Thankskilling." Nobody judges the whole of photography by my girlfriends blurry "art foto" folder. We have to realize that games as a whole will continue to be commercial products for consumers, and that the majority will not achieve my lofty definition. But somewhere out there are true, life changing experiences only "us gamers" can properly express. All I'm saying is that we should appreciate the uniqueness of our medium, and the genuine brilliance it has provided us. I just had a thought and felt compelled to share. Feel free to leave your thoughts in the comments!
Attached photos:  
|
|
|
|
Post a comment! You can also post a photo below:
|
Comment with FacebookClick connect and comment instantly! |
Comment with Dtoid
New? SIGN UP - it takes 5 seconds |
Comments policy
Destructoid is an open discussion community. You don't need to "audition" to post a comment - just speak your mind. We respect differing opinions on the site, so have at it. Be smart, funny, insightful, clueless, or cute -- but back it up with substance. Keep your cool, keep it fun. We only ask that you act respectfully and above all: don't be a troll and ruin it for everyone else. Don't bring down gamers or we'll, you know, gently shoot you in the face and stuff you into a flaming mailbox. Each comment is your opportuntity to make this community awesomer. Is that even a word?
Avoiding the banhammer only requires common sense: spamming, trolling, racism, NSFW stuff, and other forms of sucking will not be tolerated. If anyone is griefing please report abuse. Be good. Don't suck!
All editorial content, including blogs, comments, and forums written by our community, are protected by a
Creative Commons License permitting non-commercial sharing requiring attribution.
Destructoid aka ModernMethod is an independently-run company forged by our childhood love of video games and adulthood hatred mainstream video game press.
Living the dream since March 16, 2006
Living the dream since March 16, 2006
It's funny you say this because my art professor said art is defined through the experience of its audience.
"But somewhere out there are true, life changing experiences only "us gamers" can properly express."
Sure the definition of art requires it have a certain beauty, craftsmanship or creativity to the work (something video games easily possess), but it wouldn't be art without the experiences gamers have with it. Games became art to me the first time I stopped what I was doing and panned the camera around just to soak in the beauty of the world. That's what art is about. Painting as a medium may be generally accepted as art, but not everyone is willing to accept a canvas with some squiggly lines on it as art. It lacks the feeling that makes it resonate with people. The lack of technical excellence is secondary. We as gamers have experiences with games that go beyond being entertainment. That's the point it became art. It doesn't require general acceptance because the audience defines the worth of the work.
"They often blend brilliant narratives, beautiful visuals, complex mechanics, stirring music and sometimes even philosophical questions about one's humanity into a product one experiences."
You bring up architecture and I think that's a good comparison. Buildings also act as functional pieces of art, but that doesn't detract from their beauty or the expression of its creator. I believe games are the same. Yes, they function as a product for entertainment, and yes there exists a barrier between the audience and the creator because one must play the game to gain the experience, but I feel that those who take the time have something to appreciate on an artistic level.
Even though I disagree I'm not at all offended by this. It's not my place to define anyone else's experiences. I do think it's important to recognize the skill of these teams of designers for their beautiful work. I think you did that, but you just don't believe it's art. That's fine with me. I'd write more this this is turning into a mini c-blog as is.
The truth is, all forms of art have great potential, and it's up to you to choose what you like best.
Sadly, I'm still waiting on a game I can definitively point to and say, "There. THAT is art." :/
So? It doesn't matter that they're interactive. Where were you hoping to go with this?
'Its kind of like architecture (which is often debated as an art form). Buildings are beautiful, yes, but they often have a brilliant technical aspect to them.'
Yes, many buildings have been cleverly designed by skilled architects. But that doesn't mean that they are not artistic pieces. You seem to imply that, if a piece of art has been produced by a combination of hard work and technical skill then it no longer qualifies as a piece of art and, well, that's just plain wrong.
'Art is something one observes and interprets.'
Art is subjective.
'The most accepted forms of art are music, literature, film, photography, sculpture, and paintings. Games are interactive, which defy the conventions of these other media. I personally think games are MORE than art. They often blend brilliant narratives ([i]literature), beautiful visuals (paintings, sculptures, photography), complex mechanics (technical aspects of film, photography, sculpture, music, paintings and literature), stirring music (music) and sometimes even philosophical questions about one's humanity (literature, film, painting, photography sculpture) into a product one experiences.[/i]'
In conclusion: games = art!
Too add more challenge to your premise, there is even performance art where the pleasure of experiencing the art is not given to the audience but only to the performer [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seedbed_(performance_piece)"]himself[/url]!
You did a fine job of presenting your points but we people have to understand that the very definition of art itself evolves over time (the same way we have evolved from a time when people heard Stravinsky's Rite of Spring and called it barbaric), eventually (if not yet) games will be absorbed into the broad spectrum of that crazy thing we call art.
I do have to admit, though, that your best point lies on your title. Even if someday, somebody proves completely and irrefutably that games are NOT art, we shouldn't worry about it.