Are Games Art?

**EvT1991** · 01-11-2010, 12:56 AM

hey, brick breakers art.. its comprised of a bunch of sprites (a kind of image)

heres how the game goes

game= bunch a images, animations, etc

images, animations, etc= art

but, as im NOT trying to start a huge war, ill leave it at that...

**vandy160890** · 01-11-2010, 01:00 AM

I don't know whether games can be described as a piece of art but they are passion in my life.
I love video games & cannot live without it.

**Rydia Lover** · 01-11-2010, 08:25 AM

Originally Posted by Che

the president of Rockstar claims that "There's a total lack of understanding that games are an art form"

i really dont think that killing hookers and thugs really counts as an art form

**EvT1991** · 01-11-2010, 10:16 AM

Originally Posted by Rydia Lover

i really dont think that killing hookers and thugs really counts as an art form

lol its an art form.... just really really violent

**GypsyElder** · 01-11-2010, 01:23 PM

Originally Posted by Rydia Lover

i really dont think that killing hookers and thugs really counts as an art form

lol no not really, but the characters and such can still be. As for the game overall, it's kind of hard to say.

**Rydia Lover** · 01-11-2010, 01:36 PM

Originally Posted by Gypsy Elder

lol no not really, but the characters and such can still be. As for the game overall, it's kind of hard to say.

the only rockstar game i would even consider a work of art would MAYBE, be manhunt, only because when i played it i honestly felt like i was in a horror film.

or max payne, because it was very comic book like.

**loaf** · 01-11-2010, 04:01 PM

GTAIV and the spin offs from that game are great, I've only played the biker gang one but from what I've played in that the game is really good. An art form? Meh I don't see games as art in the first place.

IF GAMES ARE ART HOW COME I COULDN'T PLAY GAMES IN ART CLASS HUH?

**EvT1991** · 01-12-2010, 01:03 AM

thats because YOUR art teacher sux! my art teacher lets us!

(only when we are done with our projects but STILL!

**Violet** · 01-12-2010, 01:16 AM

Why games are art:

People draw the character designs.

People design the backgrounds.

People 3d model.

People have to make music for it.

All the special effects..
etc.

Without these things, you wouldn't have a video game. People work their asses off to create these things so that you guys can play a game and beat it within 2 days... and for the most part, it takes them years to finish everything before they can put it together. Games are made up of art.

As for the act in playing a video game, it's an activity, not an art. You are not creating anything when you're playing a game, you're not creating anything when you're watching television.

Now that that is out of the way, yes.. there are video games that are fairly crappy and aren't exactly "master pieces", but they're still art because it was created.

Originally Posted by Loaf

IF GAMES ARE ART HOW COME I COULDN'T PLAY GAMES IN ART CLASS HUH?

Go to an Art college like the Art Institutes and major in gaming.

**GypsyElder** · 01-12-2010, 01:21 AM

Originally Posted by Loaf

GTAIV and the spin offs from that game are great, I've only played the biker gang one but from what I've played in that the game is really good. An art form? Meh I don't see games as art in the first place.

IF GAMES ARE ART HOW COME I COULDN'T PLAY GAMES IN ART CLASS HUH?

There's a difference between Fine and Media Art guys. There's more types of art than just hand drawn stuff, you'd be surprised.

**Furore** · 01-12-2010, 04:28 AM

Considering things like an upside down latrine have been considered art, I really do fail to see how games couldn't be considered art. There's also that some sculptures are fully functioning whatevers, even though they don't need to be to be aesthetically pleasing.

**Xanatos** · 01-12-2010, 08:46 AM

Games are art in my opinion, I mean why wouldn't they be, they contain other forms of art such as drawings, animation, music...and just like any other form of art they can cause emotional results within the person.

**Rydia Lover** · 01-12-2010, 08:50 AM

Originally Posted by Xanatos

Games are art in my opinion, I mean why wouldn't they be, they contain other forms of art such as drawings, animation, music...and just like any other form of art they can cause emotional results within the person.

thats what you call media art, like a movie or a music video. but this particular form is interactive.

**Chaos_Weapon** · 01-12-2010, 09:27 AM

Video games are art and the creator are artist! Period!

**Jin** · 01-12-2010, 12:37 PM

Originally Posted by Xanatos

Games are art in my opinion, I mean why wouldn't they be, they contain other forms of art such as drawings, animation, music...and just like any other form of art they can cause emotional results within the person.

Containing art does not make something art necessarily. Games contain art, but are they themselves art? That's the tricky question. No one is questioning whether the music in a game is art or whether the visuals are art. It's whether the game itself is art that is the difficult question to answer.

I want to bring up a game that, in my opinion, proves that games can be art. Has anyone played Flower for the PS3? The game is simple. You control a gust of wind with the six-axis controller (and for once it actually works well) and move from flower to flower, bringing them to life and reinvigorating an otherwise dead world. That's it. There's an end to each level, but there's nothing in your way that's stopping you from reaching it. You just blow around. Sounds boring, doesn't it? It isn't. It's actually one of the most relaxing experiences I've ever had. As each level starts, you're filled with a sense of loneliness as you navigate your gray surroundings. But then you hit a flower and cause it to bloom. And then you do it again. And every time you do it, you genuinely feel good. A surge of emotion rushes through you as you do seemingly mundane and "boring" things. This is how games can be art: the gameplay itself expresses an emotion.

However, your immediate thought, for that haven't played it, is that it would be boring; there's nothing to do. And for many that have played, they still consider it boring (or, considering this is a homophobic gamer crowd, "gay"). Some will testify that Flower is not a game. This is the problem with calling the medium art. Games can be art - Flower proves that - but until Flower becomes an equal rather than a curious pseudo-game that some enjoy, we can't consider gaming to be art. In time, I think this will change, but as it stands now, the medium (and its admirers) simply aren't there yet. We need to drop the name "games" as well.

**Violet** · 01-12-2010, 04:56 PM

Well we certainly wouldn't hang a video game up on the wall in an art museum. It's just a different type of art. So it's still art, it's just not the kind you'd put in with Van Gogh's or Monet's. It's Game Art.. as listed in the majors in the art schools.

**RyuRoots** · 01-12-2010, 10:11 PM

Video games can be...hard to classify. It's hard for me to call a game, even one I feel is exceptionally well-made, art. The word presents a certain framework in my mind, and I just can't seem to make games fit into it. Maybe too much 'inside the box' thinking on my part?

**Jin** · 01-13-2010, 09:41 PM

Coincidentally enough, there's apparently a symposium being held on this very subject in Atlanta from Feb. 4-6.

Looks like John Romero will be participating, along with some other gaming big wigs. It will be interesting to see how that plays out.

Source.

**Ryu-Kentoshii Hirokima** · 02-03-2010, 10:33 AM

I Believe That Games Are A Form Of Art, Cause You Need Animation, And Designs, Which Is All Part Of Art. If You Don't Think Its Art, Then Whatever, But Seriously, It Is A Form Of Art.

**bahamuts heir** · 02-03-2010, 11:30 AM

art is to express yourself so are video games and to play

**~FANTASY-ENDER~** · 02-07-2010, 09:50 PM

I believe video games are art, but then again some people believe it isn't. Kind of like fishing some say fishing is a sport and others say its more of a relaxed activity.

**SquallMLeonhart** · 02-22-2010, 06:52 PM

According to our current postmodern era it is Art if you say it is and having studied art in college I am one of the first to tell you that is being taken way to far. I could pee in a jar and call it art. There's needs to be some form of structure. And no, Videogames are not art. It's creative, yes, but art? No. Absolutely not.

**ekimeinna** · 02-27-2010, 05:19 PM

well... yeah i can believe that it's an art but not all videogames.... for me i can't consider the violent ones as an art, you know... that's i can feel for that... well the rst of it yeah it's an art because of the way its made

**Howling Wind** · 02-27-2010, 06:49 PM

I think games are art. You need artists for games anyway. But I always thought the idea of creating something could be art. Like writing a book or making a movie. Painting. Drawing. I don't know why games wouldn't fit in that list. Or like writing music. ^^

**Megatron0000** · 03-23-2010, 12:52 PM

Video games are not art. They are a collection of art. Writing is an art and a lot of writing goes into making a game. Graphic design is an art and you have tons of that from background scenery, character creation, and menu/HUD design. Acting is an art and games are using tons of voice actors/actresses now. Music is an art and what game doesn't have music? So the game itself isn't art but its individual pieces are and together it is a collaboration of art to create an enjoyable gaming experience,