Can games be considered art?

Or, for that matter, will they ever?

This has been a gigantic issue for years on both sides, whether games like Shadow of the Colossus or Flow can be considered forms of art, or if they’d be let into the medium. I tend to explain things from my perspective. So sit back, relax, grab a coffee. We’re gonna be here a while.

Let’s start off simple. What is art? “Art is….” Exactly. Art is whatever you want it to be. BUT! The general collective opinion on what is and is not considered to be ‘Art’ for thousands upon thousands of years has led us to a few distinct examples of what art is.

Art is a painting on a wall, a sculpture in a room, an orchestral piece of music, or a visual expression. Basically, a painting, music, and film. That’s art. If it touches your soul and was made by another person(or people), that’s art.

So why aren’t games considered art? By this logic o’ mine, they’re made by large groups of people, include motion, visuals, and music, and on occasion, evoke emotions.

Point #1: Games are not art because of their interactivity. Read that over a few times and the rest of this will make sense.

Games are not Art because of their interactivity. Along with it, Art can not be considered a Game because of the lack thereof. Let’s say you go see, for example, Avatar in theaters. Is it interactive in any way, shape or form? Of course not. It carries on whether you watch it or not. The movie will still carry on it’s set path for eternity because you can’t affect it. This movie is a form of art because of it. “Alright,” you say, “if that’s the only difference, then why not lessen the interactivity of games? Then they’d be considered art.” Good point. Which leads me to…

Point #2: Interactivity is what makes a game a game.

If a game did not have interactivity at all, it would simply be a movie. Pick your RPG of choice. Final Fantasy. Zelda. Hell, even WoW. Would this game you chose be as exciting and worth playing if you just sat there and watched the events unfold on-screen? Who in their right mind would watch a 40-hour movie without being able to do anything in it? Would that truly be an entertaining game?

Point #3: Not every game deserves this art argument.

Not even close. There’s a lot, and I’m talking 85% of games out there that do not apply. There are maybe one or two games per year that inspire this argument. Every so often, a game that has too much creativity for its own good comes along and the issue comes in like a tide. Carnival Games? Hell no. Halo series? Now you’re catching on! “You just brought up Halo as an artistic game? Are you mad?” Let me explain. There is one defining factor in what a game must do to even come close to being considered for this continuous argument. Tell a great story. Now you understand that 85% I brought up. Not every game tells a great story. Good, sure, Decent, yes, but very few actually tell a great/creative/compelling/interesting/artistic story.

But I digress. Something has come to mind that is wonderfully on topic!

“What of video game movies, and games based off of movies?” And the meteor hits! Usually, games based off movies and movies based off games, well, fail horribly. The only reasons either one see ANY dollar signs are because they play off of interest. You can’t do that. You can’t borrow success from one medium and honestly think you’ll gain the same rewards in another. Remember how I mentioned Avatar earlier? That movie made over $1 Billion in the box office. The game based off of it? Quite less. Super Mario Bros. 3 was the largest-selling non-bundled NES game. Did the Super Mario Bros. movie do similarly well, selling out screen after screen? Of course not.

Point #4: Games are not art.

It pains me to admit it, but yes. Games are NOT a form of art. They are artistic, that’s for sure….but they’re not art. No game has or ever will see the success a movie does, or be in a museum on display. Never. Why?

Point #5: Games and art are parallels of one another. Games borrow from movies, movies borrow from games.

But after all of this, remember…. Games are not art. They should be, and we as gamers will argue until the end of time until they are, but it won’t happen.

Games can be incredibly emotional. They can make you laugh like a crazy, or cry like you just lost your family dog. They can cause fear, they can evoke bravery. They can do everything a movie can do, they can try to mimic every element of every great movie in the past 100 years, but it will still be true…

Games are not art, because we decide what happens in them. Games are not art, because the rely on us to move the story along. Games are not art, because we interact.

What we play is a reflection of who we are.
The stories we choose to take part in show what we have interest in.

Games are a way of life. So much better than any form of art if you ask me…