Are video games art?

Legally speaking, pornography is art, that's why it's not subject to obscenity laws. So probably safe to say video games are art too, otherwise they'd of been subject to censorship long ago. But yes, they are art from any loose or rigid definition of the word.

Video games are classified as art and protected under the first amendment of the United States constitution, there's your answer.

Weird, i never considered them as an art as I don't consider Hollywood blockbusters art. For me, it's just entertainment. Art for me must carry a deeper meaning than videogames do.

Yes.

I feel its one of the best arts.

No. Don't believe the hipsters

Does drawing a dot in the middle of a blank piece of paper is considered art?

Do you play/play with art? No. So no.

To me personally, no. I believe games contain art, but are not art themselves. I don't see video games as art anymore than I see Chess as art. You could have the most amazing looking Chess set on the planet, but at the end of the day the game is nothing more than a set of rules that serve to stimulate and entertain. Same goes for video gaming. You can have these brilliant graphics and music that are absolutely works of art, but the actual game is still a set of rules.

I know many of you will vehemently disagree and that's cool. The whole "what is art" question is an endless rabbit hole of debate and it usually lands in one of two extremes. On one end you have to concede that basically anything can be art and on the other side you get the snobby narrow perspective answers. Like what I said above in regards to rule sets that "stimulate and entertain", someone will come along and say "well doesn't art do that?". There's always a way to twist this debate around.

So yeah, just being clear that this is my perspective on the subject, no need to engage me in some heated debate.

The argument that I do stand against though: Only some games are art. Nonsense. You can't just name drop something like Shadow of the Colossus as being a work of art, but then say other games aren't. When people start pulling that shit out, I find that they never have a good argument to back it up. If your stance is that a video game can be art then it's all or nothing. You could argue that they're varying degrees of quality, but you can't have your "Windwaker is art and Pong is not" speak.

Yes

Not sure about games, but TC's threads are definitely art.

yes they are, anyone who says otherwise is dumb and stuck in the 90's

@PsychoLemons: yes, people will call it abstract art. But making a video game requires much more skill, time and effort.

Depends on your definition of the word "art", using broad terms is not gonna get anyone anywhere.

Yes

Hell yeah bitches

Nope.

@Kruiz_Bathory: There's that but sometimes I questioned the definition of art, especially nowadays. I mean, my brother did that dot piece in art class and got into some trouble from it.

They're too shitty to be considered art.

The games themselves? I dunno. But, deriving art from them? Maybe. FSX, for example.

yes.

Interactive art is a thing. You'll see a ton at tech related art shows.

And heck, you have to "play" and instrument to make music. Music is considered an art form.

Like playing the guitar, or participating in a play where you play a role?

Yes. The fact that some games stink doesn't mean anything to the issue in my eyes. There's crappy art in every medium, stemming from lack of talent, laziness, or both. I'll admit it's a looser definition of the term, but I'll go with yes.

No.

Yes.

Only when they are not trying hard to be art, and are actually well crafted and fun to play/experience.

They are offically not art. At least here. Otherwise swastikas wouldn't have to be censored in it, unlike in movies which are considered art.

Anything physical that is protected under free speech laws is considered "art." It can be the most offensive or the most unoriginal, but it is still considered art. So video games, even if it considered interactive, is considered art.

Play To The Moon and try not to cry.

Yes

If Jackson Pollack can throw paint onto a canvas like a monkey with it's feces, anything can be considered art. So, yes.

In a different way, yes. If the game is excels in design, and excels in mechanics whether that's uniqueness or just basic fun.

Games aren't just to look at like a painting just like there's more to a movie than getting 100 philosophies out of a black and white picture of a park bench.

art

playnoun \ˈärt\

Simple Definition of art

• : something that is created with imagination and skilland that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings

• : works created by artists : paintings, sculptures, etc., that are created to be beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings

• : the methods and skills used for painting, sculpting, drawing, etc.

If you break it down into its individual components:

• At their core, the gameplay and interactivity make video games more like sports rather than art.
• But the graphics, music and storytelling add elements of art to video gaming.

In other words, video games are like a mixture of sports and art.

I think they are. I read this short book on the topic recently and it made some great arguments.

@ConanTheStoner: But you're then saying that a game is a sum less than its parts. This is a strange idea. Imagine if a film could not be considered artistic until you heard the score on its own, or unless you only saw stills of the film. It's a strange reductionist attitude that creates a false divide.

Nintendo and Sega games are. The rest? Nah.

The word art itself is such a vague and broad term, the answer is usually yes. To me games are entertainment, nothing more nothing less.

Did and went through it just fine without crying. For starters it's way too much of a my first short story in the writing department, and the plot requires some major leaps in logic for homegirls plan to actually work. That and it's more manipulative than actually earning it's more endearing qualities. That Dragon, Cancer and Papa & Yo may be more sloppy (especially Papa & Yo), but they are all around more genuine at what they try to convey.

I don't believe the answer is as cut and dry as the options in your poll. Like film and literature, games can be artful. But in no way shape or form are Fast n Furious movies or COD games art. The vast majority in both mediums do not reach that level I'd say.

Great post dude. Really enjoyed your response. The chess example is great.

I don't fully agree or disagree with you. I don't think because games are interactive that disqualifies them as art. But as I have already said like film they can be art at times but rarely do they reach that level. Films having a longer history have more instances to point to but the vast majority of both are merely entertainment. I say the same about music. Most Pop music isn't art imo.

Destroying people in Mario Kart 8 is also a work of art. I do it with style.

I 100% believe they are art! Are you kidding me it takes tens sometimes a team of like 200 artist to make a single game the difference between video game art and something like a painting is we are able to enter what the Creator (artist) created, we take part in the art, it's the same way why movies are art it's a form of artistic entertainment the director has a vision and presents it in a viewing experience, or how musicians present in a listening experience. This is just a interactive experience

Yes, video games are art.

Cultural items is more correct as only few manage to rise to the level of art mastery.

How come no one ever asks if Sports are an art? Is Basketball art?

Considering the amount of artists that devs hire to design and make their games, yes, games are art.