Video Games as Art
Video Games as Art
Dylan Armitage
December 10th, 2012
100883983
Video Games Are Art
Are video games art? Up until the early 21st century, the dominant ideology surrounding this topic is resounding “No”. Art critics, such as Roger Ebert that state “video games cannot be art.” (Roger Ebert's Journal), and philosophers continually dismiss the idea. This ideology is no longer an accepted truth. I will argue that video games are a form of art. Video Games have gone from simple games and concepts such as Pong (1975) to modern day, epic titles like Uncharted 3 (2011), and with that they have evolved from simple forms of entertainment to as sophisticated a form of art as any. Video games evoke great emotion from the players, much like the audience of any other form of art. Video games also should be considered a form of art because of the vast amount of tools and media that are combined to create the games that we play today. The list of games that can be considered art increases each year and it spans over many generations, consoles, and genres.
Art is defined as “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination,”. According to this definition, if things such as paintings, film and music are considered to be art, then video games clearly fall into the category as well. Video games today are as creative as anything. Video games allow for so much creative freedom to create any setting, any character and have the ability to interact with all of those and create a new world. Games take creativity and allow you to immerse yourself within it. In games like the series of Mass Effect (2007-2012), you are able to put a certain amount of creative input into the game yourself. You dictate many facets of the game. You can customize your character, whether it be gender, race or just the general way your character looks. Secondly, your decisions affect the world of the game. You can dictate what your character says and through that change the course of
Dylan Armitage
December 10th, 2012
100883983
Video Games Are Art
Are video games art? Up until the early 21st century, the dominant ideology surrounding this topic is resounding “No”. Art critics, such as Roger Ebert that state “video games cannot be art.” (Roger Ebert's Journal), and philosophers continually dismiss the idea. This ideology is no longer an accepted truth. I will argue that video games are a form of art. Video Games have gone from simple games and concepts such as Pong (1975) to modern day, epic titles like Uncharted 3 (2011), and with that they have evolved from simple forms of entertainment to as sophisticated a form of art as any. Video games evoke great emotion from the players, much like the audience of any other form of art. Video games also should be considered a form of art because of the vast amount of tools and media that are combined to create the games that we play today. The list of games that can be considered art increases each year and it spans over many generations, consoles, and genres.
Art is defined as “The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination,”. According to this definition, if things such as paintings, film and music are considered to be art, then video games clearly fall into the category as well. Video games today are as creative as anything. Video games allow for so much creative freedom to create any setting, any character and have the ability to interact with all of those and create a new world. Games take creativity and allow you to immerse yourself within it. In games like the series of Mass Effect (2007-2012), you are able to put a certain amount of creative input into the game yourself. You dictate many facets of the game. You can customize your character, whether it be gender, race or just the general way your character looks. Secondly, your decisions affect the world of the game. You can dictate what your character says and through that change the course of