Video Games: Art or to be forgotten?

Recent discussions have appeared all over the interwebz and gaming magazines concerning the immortality of certain games. Critics have claimed that games are a childish form of entertainment and will never be considered an art form.



So, my question to you, how do you stand on this issue? If you think games are art, please list three examples and explain your self. If not, please list your reasons.



Being a VG board, I know I'll get more support than rejection, but still, I wanna see Y!'s opinion.



I think video games not only can be, but in some cases ARE art already. Examples:



1. Mass Effect-The epic story of Commander Shepard and his/her crew is a weaving tale that is as deep as it is entertaining. The character development, especially in ME2, is greater than that of any movie and many books. It is a story of desperation and violent justice in search of achieving a higher goal.



2. Bioshock-The twisted denizens of the underwater Utopia of Rapture force the most difficult ethical choices on the player: Sacrifice the weak for the greater good? Am I in control, or am I a pawn? How far is TOO far? Bioshock causes emotional stress in the player greater than any movie I've watched, book I've read, or other game I've played.



3. The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion- Nothing can be said about this game that hasn't already been stated, restated, and stated again. This masterpiece of literary achievement tells an epic tale of heroism in the face of certain annihilation that cannot be matched. The sheer detail in this game causes its immortality to become immediately evident.Video Games: Art or to be forgotten?
Yes, I would say they are that, but their real potential just hasn't been brought out as far as being for mature audiences goes. The critics are adult people, who are criticizing other adult people who play video games, right? I am drawing that conclusion anyway. It really does seem like video games are stuck in some sort of "baby sitter" stage. Probably most video game sales have to do with parents buying their kids video games to keep them humored and out of their hair throughout the day (that is what I mean when I say "baby sitter" anyway). Most video games made seem to be aimed at kids or teenage boys. And games rated M for mature are just teenage boy type games with an extra dose of violence/gore, sexual content, or foul language thrown in. I don't think those things actually make a game "mature" myself. Few games made are mature in the sense of being intellectually or mentally mature, and have the kind of meaning to them that adults can appreciate and relate to. I would really like to find a game (and mature as in actually mature) with a good storyline myself, but it seems like most games made are intended for online gaming. I tend to think that you happened to bring up those particular games because they do stand out for storyline, though you may not have really been aware of it.

It is all about game-play now and online gaming. Given the price of video games it isn't hard to understand why things have taken this trend. I would like to just find a good solo game with a good storyline myself, but they hardly make games like that anymore, and even if they did, I don't want to pay $50 or $60 or more for a game that I would only play though once or twice. A solo game would be more likely to be a rental type of game. People wanting to play such a game would probably rent it rather than buy the game, and the developers of a solo game aren't going to make enough money to pay for the cost of creating it, as well as have money for further development of more games. So it is all about online gaming now. It seems as if storyline has just become some excuse to create a game in the first place, so people can go online and play with one another (the thing that really counts, or at least the game makers see it that way). The sad thing about it all is that anything is possible with virtual reality, anything!!!!!! Video gaming just hasn't come of age yet. Computer graphics are used to make the special effects in movies as most people know. ... Why? ... Because some scenes in movies could not be filmed any other way and still achieve the sense of realism they want. Anything is possible with virtual reality, and video gaming is still stuck in a baby sitter stage. It has all become a bit perplexing for me, and has had me wondering if I should just forget about gaming myself at times. I certainly haven't been quite as excited about them as I used to be.
A lot of games today can be very artistic, like Super Mario Galaxy (and it's sequel), The Conduit, Red Steel 2, the F-Zero games, and the Metroid games. Ignore Roger Ebert, he's just an unnecessarily opinionated windbag.Video Games: Art or to be forgotten?
Meh, everything has it's naysayers. Movies, at the beginning, were probably thought of as not an art form, but here we are now. Give it 20 years.
Cool Question

OK I Believe that Video Games These Days are a Very Important Art

Because Lots of people are Using Video Games to Learn and Develop Certain Skills

I for example : i learn new Words by Reading the subtitles and Keeping with the game's Storyline

And its a really cool way to waste Time!

But as an art..The people Who Create The Games Are Really Talented Designers and Gaming Professionals So They work really Hard To make A Game...Just Like making a movie

MY OPINION :DVideo Games: Art or to be forgotten?
I think whoever said video games are not art they are an idiot and obviously only think about the bad aspects of the video game. He's only thinking of the lazy people who play them and don't have a life.



Men and women work really hard and spend tons of hours on the creation of a game. They use there skills and their imagination to produce such complex story lines. Every character or villain in a game was drawn out and converted into a 3D images on a computer. I believe with the most certainty of all that it is considered art. If paintings that look like a child could have done it is considered art then childish entertainment can be considered that as well.
i think they are art. i think video games are the next evolution in art. art always tries to draw you in, a painting, music, a movie, it draws you in. but these are all passive the thing about video games now is that you can have movie quality story lines, characters, voice acting etc and it's interactive. it's more immersive than it's ever been before.

i think when the critics, being a bit elitist and probably a bit technophobic, think of games they think of sonic the hedgehog, little platformers, games that i played when i was 9. i don't think they realise how far they have come and how high the bar is set. that games these days are not only complex, they are intelligent.



3 examples well mass effect, especially mass effect 2, goes without saying. the character development is, ironically since they are aliens, so believable and emotionally involving.

red dead redemption. people would consider the good, the bad and the ugly to be art, i think that game is comparable. the story is complex, and despite being set 100 years ago you can see the subtext and the many allusions to modern political issues. and also just the beautiful scenery.

3rd example i'm going to go with Halo. especially the 3rd one or odst although i am looking forward to reach. i think something that really sets halo apart is it's music. especially the more sombre moments odst had a lot of that in a lot of ways that game reminded me of blade runner
There are two difficulties in answering this question. The first is that art is hard to define, the second that many people don't know the difference between "being art" and "having art in them".



To me art is a man-made object that has no function that can be rationally explained. The function of video games is entertainment but since that's not a necessity in someone's life I would say it fits in the definition I just gave you. However, I think a work of fiction, whether it's a movie, novel or video games, should have more than just entertainment value to be considered art.



Let's make the distinction between an art film and a purely entertaining one. I wouldn't call Die Hard art, even though I love it to death. I would call Star Wars art because it tells a universal story based on mythology and history and obviously the emotional impact on its many fans is huge.



Mass Effect tells a great story and had a strong emotional impact on me. I would definitely call that art. Bioshock is a perfect combination of music and imagery. I would also call that art. Both games are not pure art but a combination of art and entertainment. That's inevitable when it comes to video games.



The majority of video games are made purely for entertainment values. Race games, for instance.



Roger Ebert said games shouldn't be considered art because Michael Jordan doesn't call his game art. The difference is that sports aren't fiction. You'd think a film critic would know the difference between fiction and a sports game.