If you were to ask anyone if a drawing, music, or a story is art, most people would say yes. Many video games incorporate all of these features into an experience that you can play through. However, this is a very controversial question, possibly since video games are relatively new compared to other art forms, like music, or drawing. Video games are becoming more and more visually stunning every year, and we've gone from 2d games like pong to almost life-like video games like Microsoft Flight Simulator, Red Dead Redemption 2, and Cyberpunk 2077. people might not think that pong is art, because of how simple it is, but proving that a video game is art gets more complicated in more modern games, that have vivid imagery, amazing music, and detailed and compelling storylines.
(Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020)
As technology and things like graphics cards, processors, and other technological components progress, the amount of detail and realism that can be rendered will keep going up. I think that it is very possible that at some point, our technology could be so advanced, that it would be hard to tell the difference from real life to a video game. This leads to the question of where to draw the line between art and not art.
My definition of art would be something that captures creativity and can be expressed to others and interpreted by others. According to Merriam Webster, art is "the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects", which in my opinion, fits video games, as video games are created with skill and creative imagination. If you check more definitions online, you will see that video games match most pretty well. Video games incorporate different types of art, so why shouldn't it count as art? Why is the statement that video games can be a work of art such a disputed statement?
Jonathan Jones on The Guardian says: "A work of art is one person's reaction to life", and that "it has to be an act of personal imagination", and half I agree with this, because I don't think that it necessarily has to be a single person like he is implying, because what if multiple people work on a painting, or a drawing. Additionally, I feel like he is giving it that definition to use it against the statement that video games are art. Jonathan Jones later goes on to say that "No one 'owns' the game, so there is no artist, and therefore no work of art", but I disagree since there is usually always an individual or company that behind a video game.
Another article from The Guardian responds to the article by Jonathan Jones. In that article, Keith Stuart says: "What is art? What isn't? It is a fool's errand, really, and when applied to video games, there can only be one true and valid response: does it really matter?", and Dan Pinchbeck, a lecturer in computer games and creative technologies, says: "I don't think its actually a very interesting question. I don't think games need to aspire to being art, like art is an inherently more worthwhile form of cultural expression". What Dan Pinchbeck says really resonates with me, since art comes in all forms, and it occurred to me that the video game industry has become so large, that video games may as well be classified as a separate section of art, among paintings and music.
So, what is the answer to the question of if video games are art? In my opinion, many video games can be classified as art, because they fit my definition of art: something that captures creativity and can be expressed to others and interpreted by others. However, everyone has a different definition of words based on their own knowledge and experiences, and art is one of those words that will have very different definitions for everybody. In addition, the world is constantly changing, and definitions will be too. So, what do you think? Are video games a form of art or not?
Sources:
Merriam-Webster. “Art Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/art.
D'Anastasio, Cecilia. Airplane Flying above a City. WIRED, 21 Aug. 2020, www.wired.com/story/flight-simulator-2020-uncanny-escapism/. Accessed 22 Oct. 2022.
Jones, Jonathan. "Sorry MoMA, video games are not art." The Guardian, 30 Nov. 2012. The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2012/nov/30/moma-video-games-art. Accessed 24 Oct. 2022.
Stuart, Keith. "Are video games art: the debate that shouldn't be." The Guardian, 6 Dec. 2012. The Guardian, www.theguardian.com/technology/gamesblog/2012/dec/06/video-games-as-art. Accessed 24 Oct. 2022.
I agree that developing video games is definitely a form of art. I like you argument that video games are basically drawing, music and a story which are already considered art. I believe anything that takes patience and has emotion could be considered art. You bring up some great points on how art doesn't just have to be one person's creation. Many people can make an art piece together. All and all, this is a great argument.
ReplyDeleteI like the concept of a video game being a work of art because art is truly subjective. I think that a video game can be art but can also specifically and intentionally incorporate works of art. Anything that is created is art, the table before me is and the books are as well. Great argument of art.
ReplyDeleteDefining something as "art" is definitely not clear, but I think your description of art being "something that captures creativity and can be expressed to others and interpreted by others" is an excellent definition. In my opinion, I consider games to be a combination of arts, where graphics, gameplay, and music have to work together. Would you consider combinations as art, or would you consider video games to be in a new sort of category?
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