The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power:
Definition From: www.oxforddictionaries.com
This question of "are games a form of art" is one that's been in debate for many years. In this project I have to develop a brief that expresses a meaning behind the aesthetics of the piece that I'm creating, so with that in mind I have decided to look into the opinions (For & against) of the this wide debated question.
The first thing that I found was a TED Talk video by Kellee Santiago who expresses here opinion on games being a recognised art form. She explains how certain other mediums such as painting, writing and film started out simple. Take cave paintings, that started out just as simple marks on walls to communicate a basic message, fast forward over a thousand years and they have evolved into intricate, highly skilled masterpieces with deep metaphoric messages behind them. It's the same with writing, writing started out as means to communicate but yet again, writing has evolved into works of art with poems and stories. You will see this pattern with films as well as she explains how fins used to aim to evoke a certain emotion but now push the boundaries in new directions. She show a few examples of some games that she considers to be art. She backs this up saying how theses games have evoked feelings of here past and how one of the game (flower) symbolises a balance in life but I believe she could have chosen a one or two better examples.
Flower
Flower is one out of three games she showed which she claimed crossed the line into artistic vision. That vision was about a balance between his move from the busy city, to the quaint country side.
Roger Ebert
http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/video-games-can-never-be-art
Roger Ebert is a well known film critic in the USA. He was urged to take a look at Kellee's talk about games being art to try and sway his earlier opinion of games being a recognised art form but as it turned out, he stands by his words saying "video games can never be art".
What annoys me the most about this is that he refuses to play the various games that have been presented to him as a form of art which seems arrogant to me. How can you disagree with someone if you haven't experienced it for your self? He then picks apart the whole Ted talk to back up his theory.
He quotes the one difference between Art and games being that you can win a game and when a game throws out these rules in favour of a narrative driven experience, it ceases to be a game and becomes a story or film.
I understand what he's saying but disagree that a game stops being a game when you take away the point, rules etc, replacing it with a narrative. The oxford dictionary defines a game as : An Activity that one engages in for amusement
Whether I play a game for points, to win or to move the story on, I'm still engaging with the game and moving the experience forward for my amusement.
He continues to argue about that art is usually a creation by one artist and things such as dance or architecture are collaboration of one persons vision through choreography or plans. It's not clear if he thinks that games don't fall into this category but surely they do?
Hideo Kojima who is considered the man behind the much loved series "Metal Gear Solid" and is a person that I would say, does fall under this category. Although it was very large team behind him, he is the man with with the artistic vision. A vision which has been once again being praised by some big names within the film industry for his latest trailer for the upcoming "Metal Gear Solid V The Phantom Pain"
Avi Arad ( X-Men & Spiderman Producer) Quotes
The trailer is full of symbolism and philosophy that we come to expect from Mr Kojima
Guillermo Del Toro (Pans Labyrinth Director)
"It's a window into the future of the medium and it's breathless narrative and artistic expansion. Amazing"
Surely this is some proof that games and their creators are being recognised as artists?
Information from www.digitalspy.co.uk
Roger ends his article saying that the three examples of games that Kellee shows are pathetic and don't deserve his attention long enough to warrant them worthy enough to play them, which I feel is disappointing because he arrived at this conclusion, without even giving them a chance.
Time for me to express my opinion of one type of game that I consider a work of art using this definition as way to back this opinion up.
Art definition:
The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power:
Shadow of Colossus by Team Ico 2005
This game goes further back that than the games that Kellee showcased within her TED talk. It's one that has been regarded by many and myself as a work of art. Created by Fumito Ueda and his team, the Shadow of Colossus is a adventure game about a young warrior seeking out a way of reviving a loved one. To do this he is tasked to defeat 16 giants that roam the lands around which seems your typical type of violent game.
Looking at the bold piece of the definition
So whats different? Well what came to mind when I played this game, is how guilty you felt killing these innocent giants who roamed the lands which was a feeling I'd never felt before in a game, it soon questioned who was the bad guy in and evoked feelings of selfishness. Another key emotion that this game evoked was a bond between your trusty steed which was the only friendly character you had in the game. The horse was a key part to the game which was essential to progress and at the very end, the developers take him away from you which evoked a sense of loss.
I'm not saying that this impacted me for days but my point being is that this was a game that managed to evoke feelings which I had never experienced from a game, which is exactly why I choose this as a link to art. People may argue, it's just a old tacky game, a child's toy and how can that be a work of art, my response is that I've seen groups of people gathered around a cycle made of rocks, painted in white in the Tate, rambling on about how there is no question, that this is truly art?????
Art definition:
The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power:
Looking at the bold piece of the definition
Whats clear is that this game is a application of creative skill by many talented artists brought together by one artistic vision. You could also say this isn't just a sculpture or a painting, but both and much more. Think about the environment which has been sculptured out in pixels, the concept art which has been painted digitally, the music to add the atmosphere and the writing which forms the basis of the narrative which have all been brought together by one artistic vision.
Images form Google Images
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| You can also see how the developers have turned to nature to inform their designs for the giants. |
So are games art? I would have to yes, they can be but, as with all areas of art there are some that don't quite fit the category. This would be a great way forward for my brief, I could produce a gaming package which acts as an expression or answer as to how I feel games are art.
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