Hello all. Your Friendly Neighborhood Satanist has a new assignment for his English class - a persuasive essay on how Games are Art. No due date yet, but I'd like to share a tidbit or two, and get your feedback. I'll also include a list of games I'm going to include as examples of art. This thing is going to be massive, and yes, I will post the final product in its entirety once completed.
Video Games as an Art Form
Shakespeare. Matise. Collins. Monet. Beethoven. Spielberg. O' Keefe. Bluth. These are some of the most widely acknowledged and critically acclaimed artists in the history of the concept of "Art". However, ask some other people of a different cloth, and they'll give you a much more, interesting, list. Miyamoto, Notch, Schaefer, Levine, Howard, and Molyneaux. This collection of people have spear-headed development of some of the most widely acknowledged and critically acclaimed video games, a medium that now more than ever, has proven itself to be an art form. With revolutionary games like Mass Effect, Shadow of the Colossus, Bastion, Bioshock, Minecraft, The Legend of Zelda, The Elder Scrolls, and Braid, Video Games have already taken the first tentative steps on the long, hard, journey towards being recognized as art alongside Music, Cinema, "Traditional Art" (as will be the term to acknowledge paintings and such), and Text.
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So how does one even begin to classify art? A peek into the dictionary gives us the definition, âthe quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significanceâ. Art is something crafted by man that tingles a certain part of the brain, that sets off a feeling other than acknowledgement. The human thinks âThe color palette utilized in this piece changes dramatically in this particular personâs color scheme due to the characterâs individuality in a dystopian society otherwise vastly populated by sheepleâ rather than âThere is a painting on that wallâ. Art is set by standards of artwork, a human canât really determine if a piece is worth the title of âArtâ unless it is compared next to its kin. Enter works like MacBeth, Moby ****, Ode to Joy, Can You Feel the Love Tonight, Gone with the Wind, and The Dark Knight that set the bar pretty high for new pieces entering the ether of Artistic Criticism.
These âGreat Worksâ are also used as focal points, they utilize various elements and mechanics to get a point across, present a story in a newer and better fashion, or entertain with the highest quality in mind, of which are used as base examples for what works within a new piece paying respect to the constraints of its medium. If there was one video game that could represent the entire industry and its potential to become a valid art-form, it would be Team Icoâs 2005 epic, Shadow of the Colossus.
Thereâs a degree of scale that, quite coincidentally, comes with explaining how many times Shadow of the Colossus appears at the top of various members of the communityâs lists of examples of Video Games that show prime examples of being art. To put it simply, every single one. Shadow of the Colossus was a game released as a PlayStation 2 exclusive in 2005, the penultimate year for the powerhouse consoleâs life.
The premise is simple; Wander the hero wants to resurrect his lover, so he makes a deal with The Big Something that if he goes about the world and kills 16 ancient colossi, his lover will be revived. Itâs a game about love and the limits a lover is willing to go beyond to ensure the safety and continued well-being of his partner. These colossi that Wander is tasked with killing, however, are the last of their kind. The titular character has to commit total genocide on an entire race of beings before his love can return to him. These are massive beasts, their name isnât simple artsy-fartsy-hogwash, it truly is a feat of skill to calculate the correct maneuver that will expose the weakness of a colossus total victory against beasts that literally tower over the player. Itâs an emotional journey with one of the most bittersweet endings of any piece from any medium of entertainment
Games I Will Discuss In the Essay
-Shadow of the Colossus -Mass Effect and sequels -Minecraft -Bastion -Halo and sequels -LIMBO -The Elder Scrolls (mostly Skyrim) -Red Dead Redemption -Battlefield 3 (in terms of the impact when related to other art forms) -Heavy Rain -Bioshock -Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (See above w/BF3) -Homefront (what NOT to do)
I've never heard anything impressive about it's art style. It had impressive map design, but I wouldn't call that art, more so just good for gameplay.
Also, since a lot of these don't have great graphics, just great art styles (such as minecraft, bioshock, ect), you should put in TF2, considering how many art awards it has won.
im sorry i couldnt read everything but i have a suggestion (unless you already have it there). usually when talking about art people talk about pictures, music or books. you can add the fact that each of those can be found in many video games and then give some examples for eachother.
for example: super mario galaxys music is entirely made out of orchestras and some of the final fantasy games (espacially 6, 7 and 10) have story lines that most people would be surprised to find in a video game. id also include okami for its amazing special graphic and just how much it resembles ancient japanese/chinese (idk which) paintings. you might even want to show some picutes of video games and maybe even use some music as backround if you have to talk about this and not just hand a written report.
i think you should talk alot about yourself and experiences you had with some video games and maybe give a short summary of a video game with a good story. honestly, i think this is an awsome subject for a school work and might open some close minded people to a new world because many people dont even know what video games are really about.
i remember that when i played a song from a video game on the piano and a teacher asked me where this is from she was shocked when i told her its from a video game.
I think that you mix "Art" and "Good looking stuff". Art must awake something in human soul, make him better, affect selfdevelopment, shock, impress... For example, from your list...
-Mass Effect and sequels
I barely remember anything but fact that main boss in ME2 copy from Morrowind. Even by origin - material taken from human bodies. Akulakhan Reaper
-Minecraft
By itself just very unimpressive thing. But CAN be used for creating geek-art. As any sandbox game. Heck, Sand Castles have actual competitions..
-Halo and sequels
I remember only blue pew-pew. And grenades. See ME.
BF, COD, MoH...
Yet another shooter about <insert>.
I think that these games could be called an Art: First Second They are lie in the field of art. You can read interview with creator here, it is about gaming industry and art. Use google translator, if you need it.
I really think you should add Assassins Creed series. Not for it's gameplay or improvements but it's story and historical stuff.
And if u do The Elder Scrolls you should do it about the universe. So the games, the books and the lore because it is a huge lore with a whole timeline who is only readable and with events that don't occur in games.
I feel that one thing you missed was the music, which in games is often overlooked when playing a game. Don't include so many FPS games, they really take away from the art perspective because all of them are just rip-offs of the last one.
I really think you should add Assassins Creed series. Not for it's gameplay or improvements but it's story and historical stuff.
I agree, don't focus on the stupid things like graphics or updates, focus more on the storyline if you truly want to open cynical minds.
Good topic, and I feel good that of all people, you are the one to represent it. Good luck!
Why? Much of the latest graphics, especially cut scenes, are dazzling, and well, they appeal to our emotions, which art at its basest, does.
Graphics are simply glitter on a project. Sure it makes Crysis look nice an all, but if the game didn't have its awesome gameplay elements to back it up, it would fall into obscurity. It's substance, not skin, that makes a game Art.
I would tend to disagree with that. In our modern society, what constitutes art is more likely the taste of the majority, than the critical reviews of more high-minded elitist doyens.
In our modern society, what constitutes art is more likely the taste of the majority, than the critical reviews of more high-minded elitist doyens.
It's all about quality, never just how the game looks. Sure, graphics may be able to immerse one better into an experience, but one can also be immersed into a pool of rusty nails, no? It's all about the content, the "Meat and Potatoes" of a game. A game is art if its own "Meat and Potatoes" are able to emotionally affect the players and make them feel sympathy for the characters they've been interacting with for the past 10-odd hours.
Also, since a lot of these don't have great graphics, just great art styles (such as minecraft, bioshock
I disagree about bioshock having bad graphics, I have never seen water or fire look that good since playing that game, the bodies of the enimies look weird because they are the bodies of people who were abusing adam and adam changes the skin to a clay-like substance. Also the map looked that way to portray how it is all underwater and how it is almost a giant submarine.
It's all about quality, never just how the game looks. Sure, graphics may be able to immerse one better into an experience, but one can also be immersed into a pool of rusty nails, no? It's all about the content, the "Meat and Potatoes" of a game. A game is art if its own "Meat and Potatoes" are able to emotionally affect the players and make them feel sympathy for the characters they've been interacting with for the past 10-odd hours.
I agree with you, but I also agree with nichodemus in that almost everyone I know who plays games look for the graphics in a game, but then what always disgusted me is once they find it they just go "oh, that's nice" and don't really apreciate the time and effort that was put into making the game look that way. I admit that I used to be that way also until I started trying to make my own games and that's when I started to look at games as an art and not just a game, you could see how each peice was put there for a reason and how it changes the feel of the game.
It's all about quality, never just how the game looks. Sure, graphics may be able to immerse one better into an experience, but one can also be immersed into a pool of rusty nails, no? It's all about the content, the "Meat and Potatoes" of a game. A game is art if its own "Meat and Potatoes" are able to emotionally affect the players and make them feel sympathy for the characters they've been interacting with for the past 10-odd hours.
Of course one doesn't just look at any old graphics and call it art. As I mentioned earlier, cutscenes in particular have intrinsic value since they appeal to our senses, such as scenery etc etc.
