Are Videogames Art?

[jwicklun]

There was a lot of controversy to Roger Ebert's statement that video games "can never be art." What's your position? Do you agree or disagree?

[bridgeofeldin]

Video games require designers, writers, and artists just like cartoons so why wouldn't it be art? But this can raise a whole different debate about what art is in the first place

[xapplexpiex]

Art is subjective and all about perspective. I think they are art. Just play the game Okami. To me, that is a beautiful game and is full of artistic value. But there is no exact answer. Some people go in art galleries and point to certain pieces saying, "that is not art. that is trash." It's all about perspective. Or it's just that Ebert is a really, really old man.

[AussieBoy]

not yet

[Salamandrax]

final fantasy.

[Sean Rizzo]

final fantasy.
This, but I picked "don't know" because it really depends on the video game. You should include an option for that.

Also, Tales is great. :wave:

[kdefrisc]

I wouldn't go so far as to say that videogames can never be art, but I also would not call videogames an "artform" just by their nature, same with boardgames, cartoons, and other forms of media. There are certainly some videogames/cartoons/etc that I would consider a work of art, some amount of art goes into many videogames, etc. but they are not all art.

But then again, the perception of art is very subjective, and my opinion means very little on the subject lol

[Salamandrax]

There are certainly some videogames/cartoons/etc that I would consider a work of art, some amount of art goes into many videogames, etc. but they are not all art.

but then again, there are some works of modern art that people are hesitant to consider 'real' art.
honestly, i think that you can justify anything as 'art' as long as you have enough of an imagination to work with.

btw why exactly did ebert say that videogames can't be art?

[jwicklun]

but then again, there are some works of modern art that people are hesitant to consider 'real' art.
honestly, i think that you can justify anything as 'art' as long as you have enough of an imagination to work with.

btw why exactly did ebert say that videogames can't be art?

http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/04/video_games_can_never_be_art.html

[MoChroi]

art can be anything. anyways its called game design. any form of design is art. the way you interact with something is art. the characters are art. commentary about the world around us can be art. basically art is the communication of the world and rationality that is inside oneself and the way that we react to the world around us.

[SuNDaYSTaR]

basically art is the communication of the world and rationality that is inside oneself and the way that we react to the world around us.Amen.

[Deadbolt23]

That article is a really interesting read.

[cityscapes101]

This is such a coincidence I just read this article in GameInformer. Well, that's probably where you got it from.
Anyway, games are definitely art. They include 3 main types of art: visual art, music, and writing the script. There are people to do all of those things. Games are practically made by artists. So, yeah, games are definitely art.

[CoheedForever]

final fantasy.
exactly!

[SunnyInPhilly]

Just finished playing Alan Wake a few weeks ago and it was practically an interactive movie. If movies can be art, so can video games.

[zachff]

Ahh, long response got deleted.

Short version no, not yet

[Tristan Needler]

Some can be, some are not.

I feel like for a while games were moving closer to being a legitimate art form and now they're moving back away from it.

[BornUnderPunches]

they're more entertainment than "art". Like I consider many pop singers to be "entertainment" but I don't consider them to be true art at all

[jwicklun]

they're more entertainment than "art". Like I consider many pop singers to be "entertainment" but I don't consider them to be true art at all

film can be considered entertainment, does that make it not art? Look at games like Katamari Damacy, Super Mario Galaxy, Flower, and Okami. There is a huge amount of creativity and artwork put into those games, just as the same for movies. Hell other games follow a narrative just like movies, but that does not make it art?

[BornUnderPunches]

film can be considered entertainment, does that make it not art? Look at games like Katamari Damacy, Super Mario Galaxy, Flower, and Okami. There is a huge amount of creativity and artwork put into those games, just as the same for movies. Hell other games follow a narrative just like movies, but that does not make it art?
it can be entertaining AND art.

[ScarletGrove]

I am a Video Game Design Artist and people who think that video games are not art is kind of insulting.. but everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

I believe video games are most definitely art.

[Say Nothing]

Absolutely! More so as the time progresses I feel like.

[Yellowcard2006]

ya

[ctmk]

Bioshock, Red Dead Redemption, Halo, etc.
the question is; how are these NOT art?

[ctmk]

Some can be, some are not.

I feel like for a while games were moving closer to being a legitimate art form and now they're moving back away from it.

explain how they are regressing

[Lemmi!]

kind of. the gta's and (most of) the shooters aren't though

[gahhh123]

It depends on the individual person. I think it's not yet an art, but it's getting there. People used to think movies weren't art either, but over time, movies with artistic values came into play. People like Roger Ebert started calling movies art, and as a result, starts to categorize what's art and what's not art. Funny how it goes back to a new form of entertainment.

[re7ard1337]

Yes or no is much too general. Brokencyde and Mozart both created music, but we all know which is art, and which is not.

[Elscorcho2008]

Yes or no is much too general. Brokencyde and Mozart both created music, but we all know which is art, and which is not.


Yeah. Brokencyde are musical geniuses. Mozarts one old fart.

[Echo Park]

There was a lot of controversy to Roger Ebert's statement that video games "can never be art." What's your position? Do you agree or disagree?
it's art as much as movies are

[Echo Park]

you can vomit on a canvas and call it art.

[jwicklun]

kind of. the gta's and (most of) the shooters aren't though

I wouldn't say that. Games like Metroid Prime and Portal show a lot of creative gameplay mechanics, despite being shooters. As violent as GTA is, there is a lot put into the epic scale of the city as well as the dialogue and the characters. But thats just me.

[spansen]

i voted no. they're games.. do you consider freeze tag an art?

of course, in some sense, they are.. because they're created by graphic designers.. but, they're not meant to be appreciated in the same category as the term "art" is generally associated with.

but. no.

[HometownHero]

I don't play video games but they are obviously art and voting no is wrong.

[Zippedychick]

I don't really know. I love to play them and some of them are just amazing to look at and play but I've actually never thought of them as art.

[anzyz]

The stories of the two Bioshock games are deeper than 99% of whatever Hollywood pumps out. Not to mention those games look absolutely stunning

[snowboarderkid]

Of course they are

[Star Slight]

Videogames are art.
Brokencyde is art.
Gummo is art.

Art =/= good or even intelligent at times.

[Sean Rizzo]

The stories of the two Bioshock games are deeper than 99% of whatever Hollywood pumps out. Not to mention those games look absolutely stunning
qft!

[xcloud66x]

as much as I hate to say this, 'anything is art if you name it so'

[Alex DiVincenzo]

I think whether you admit that the final product is art or not s a moot point, but there is undeniably art that goes into them.

[SunnyInPhilly]

Ebert wrote an 1800-word pseudo-apology in the Sun Times. Basically said he still thinks they're not art, but he shouldn't have said so.

http://gizmodo.com/5577176/ebert-i-was-a-fool-to-disrespect-video-games-on-the-internet

[zachff]

Ebert wrote an 1800-word pseudo-apology in the Sun Times. Basically said he still thinks they're not art, but he shouldn't have said so.

http://gizmodo.com/5577176/ebert-i-was-a-fool-to-disrespect-video-games-on-the-internet
Was just about to come in and post this. Here's a link to his actual article and not Giz:
http://blogs.suntimes.com/ebert/2010/07/okay_kids_play_on_my_lawn.html

[knowthisx]

Movie critic should limit his opinion to movies.

[yetconfused]

definitely art.

[carnotaurhunter]

YES! Has that chinless motherfucker ever heard of Portal?!

[tonighttonight0]

No.

[Nick Hull]

final fantasy.
beat me to it.

[Asthenia-182]

BioShock is art...