G4TV - The Feed: Games As Art: The Debate Continues

I ran across a very interesting post from the G4TV blog. It's about the ongoing debate between those who see video games as art and those who don't.

If you're ready for some deep thinking this Wednesday morning, head over to Gamasutra and check out Scott Foe's opinion piece on whether games are Art, with a capital "A".

The creator of Reset Generation,has some answers for Roger Ebert and other cultural critics who feel games can't be Art. As you've probably guessed, Foe says, "Yes. Games are Art." Here's the money quote:

"Saying, 'Games aren't art,' is like saying, 'Girls don't fart.' It's pointless to argue with that sentiment. Both movies and games are the product of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses and emotions. In a movie, anything can happen; in a game, everything can happen.

Good point... although my illusions about girls are forever ruined. I seriously doubt most gamers care whether games are "Art" or not, but it's important. Many gamers don't think past their initial reaction to a title: If it's fun, it's a good game and thus, aAt. But it's how you make the fun in a video game that creates the Art. A game being Art and a game being good are the same thing. The reason you like Grand Theft Auto IV more than you like 50 Cent: Bulletproof is because GTA is just better Art.

As Foe points out, a great game combines visual artistry, audio artistry, narrative artistry, thespianism, and design and technological ingenuity. There's no separating the parts from the whole. If every piece fits together perfectly, you get a great game, and great art. Like a bad actor ruining an otherwise good film, if one part of the puzzle is missing or off, you usually end up with a half-assed or sucky game/piece of art.

What do yo think? Do you even care whether some cultural critics consider games and Art mutually exclusive?

Source

Of course video games are a form of art. Historically, it took a while for snooty snobs to stop looking down their noses at movies and television and accept those as art. I assume that the theater had the same hurdle to jump. In the middle ages actors were looked down on not worshipped. I wonder how the first writers, painters, and musicians were received by their peers? Somehow, I don't think they were embraced or appreciated as treasured artists at first, no matter how talented they were.

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