I’m an hour into replaying Uncharted: The Lost Legacy, a game that captivated me in 2017. I meander through the streets, enthralled by its ridiculous attention to detail and bask in its marvellous colours. I put my controller down for a minute, and I’m suddenly struck by the realisation that all of what I was playing was a creation, spearheaded by a few talented individuals – down to each and every pixel.
I could praise Naughty Dog to the high heavens, but big-time developers such as Naughty Dog are not the only developers to deserve such recognition for their artistry. I want to focus on the idea of games serving as something other than an interactive experience, and shine a light on the medium as being more widely accepted as an art form. Making games is no doubt hard work, and I think it's an art that needs more recognition from industries new and old.
Suffice to say we may all play games for different reasons. Maybe it’s the pleasure of playing a competitive MMO with your friends after work or sinking your teeth into a single player campaign you’ve been wanting to play for a few weeks (I’m admittedly a sucker for this one). All of these interests are equally important. In essence, this is the heart of why developers do what they do – money and PR shenanigans aside.
With each driving force in mind, we all have something in common as gamers, otherwise we wouldn’t play them. My own driving force is personally spurred by my desire to discover new worlds and new environments, to soak up their choice of style, and to play games the way the developers intended. Granted, this doesn’t always work out, but the appreciation for the art style remains paramount throughout. All of these games began their vision from what started as a black screen. Like an artist to a white canvas, it is then built from the ground up. It’s something that rarely crosses my mind when I’m playing a game, but floors me when the realisation hits.
The video game industry has become much better at recognising this type of talent thanks to newly established ceremonies such as The Game Awards, and others of its ilk. Where it falls short is being recognised by other prominent big-time industries, and I think it's something that should be and needs to be addressed universally.
Horizon: Zero Dawn, Guerrilla's massively successful open-world RPG that received widespread critical acclaim back last year, was adored by most who played it. I personally poured hundreds of hours into this game, and my yearning to return to it wasn’t necessarily in part because of its story, but the desire to uncover new parts of its world and bask in its visual spectacle. Rarely do I feel the same way with any other medium. With each new game I explore, I find myself rooting for developers across the world to experience the gratitude that Guerrilla has received, so that then new developers, and artists, have the confidence to come forward with new ideas.
No doubt it is an intimidating and competitive industry. The debate that video games aren’t seen as an art form seems like an archaic mentality of our modern age, and I’ve lost count how many times I’ve squabbled with family and friends defending video games as such a valid form of art, just like movies and paintings. Fortunately, games are becoming more intelligent and ambitious with each passing year, and older generations are experiencing these games first hand, realising what massive potential they have to serve as a piece of interactive art. But it’s slow progress.
With all of this said, my penultimate question to you is: what game do you admire the most, and do you think games serve as a form of art? Moreover, do you think they have to?
I’ll still be here, championing video games’ honour for decades to come. Just like all artists, they deserve the same recognition and respect by all industries, not just gaming. It’s a tough and competitive business, and I think video game developers deserve their chance to seek more recognition for their work. I’d love to know your thoughts.
Do you agree with Gabriella that games should be considered an art form? What games stick out to you as the best examples? Paint us a picture in the comments below.
Comments 28
They have artistic elements within them but I wouild never class them as art.
"It's just too hard to consider games as whole works of art for their core element is gameplay" i don't tho. personally i would say they are... how could you deny all of that hard work that goes into making these aesthetically great works??? How??
The real problem is that this matter is just to subjective.
Like books and movies, games are art. I know games will be better than movie the first time I play metal gear solid 1 on ps1
People were denying at first that movies are art. Same now with videogames. Art can't be strictly defined but it is a way of expression. Video games clearly fall in that category Word up Gabriella
Nier Automata is the closest game to it
@JoeBlogs "I don't think gaming has had its Citizen Kane moment yet"
Knack would like a word
@YeYa hahaha.definitely games is a art.sly cooper.ratchet and clank.shadow of the collossus.ni no kuni.etc.word up son
Games are art, hands down. Even by strict definition of Art: "The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power."
Great read, thanks. They are art but I would agree they have not properly had a crossover moment yet in terms of perception. That is changing though and I think this nostalgia craze is the start of it.
The interactive nature of gaming, as well as its roots as a strictly entertainment industry, do make it difficult to call video games art to those who are not enthusiasts. However, I agree with the article that video games are every bit an art form as those other media mentioned. One could argue that the creativity required to produce the emotion and deliver the intended message is even more intricate than a film or a painting, mainly because of that interactive component. A video game can trigger different feelings and motivate in ways no less than a well crafted sculpture. But in the same way that a small child’s drawing might be art, yet not motivate or inspire like the Sistine chapel, each game has a component of art, albeit some are more obvious than others.
Oft cited examples are Shadow of the Colossus , Journey, Abzu, Flower, The Unfinished Swan, Proteus, Tearaway... many come to mind.
But even FIFA and COD could be art. Some form of human expression and experience goes into each game.
But just like I personally don’t have to like or enjoy each artists work (many books and films are completely worthless), a certain video game may seem trite and meaningless to me, but it is still art.
I was thinking this recently whilst replaying The Witcher 3. Just the little details like the architecture of the buildings in Novigrad and the exquisite sloping vineyards in Toussaint. It's not just graphics either, I definitely see art in all different types of games. What Remains Of Edith Finch was a mighty artistic game, I thought.
Music, cinema, drawing, modeling...those are all art forms, and games have all of those elements! Games can draw out emotion, inspiration, and self-reflection.
Of course, like the other aforementioned mediums, there's lot of trash thrown in there, but as a whole, I think video games are such an incredible culmination of imagination and user immersion that they often exceed the possibilities of traditional art.
They're absolutely art. Weaving together a world that feels alive with compelling characters, story, gameplay, lore, visuals etc etc is 100% an art form.
Fantastic article; this is why I love Push Square.
Games are an art form like no other. They can do everything a film or television show can do, things we already consider art, but then they take it a step further by giving the audience unprecedented interactivity. The set design, character performances and narrative paths can go far beyond traditional forms of entertainment because of the artistic freedom afforded by technology, and the people who craft games do so with specialist skill, talent and knowledge much more complex than most painters or photographers.
They're basically "Art Plus" and the sooner they're recognised as such by wider society, the better.
It's great to read articles like this, because it's really normal now entitled gamers attacking developers on social media, entitled youtubers complaining about silly things, port begging and it goes on. That's really pathetic and sad.
I also think that game is definitely art, my favorite games still are the single-player experiences with a great narrative. There are many examples of special games that are unique experiences: The Last Guardian, Shadow of the Colossus, ICO, Journey, The Unfinished Swan are some great examples.
For sure.
Personally, art direction is more important for me than graphics or frame rate.
some of ya'll haven't played metal gear solid 4 lol
@gabriellapetty As always great great read!
This is a well written piece and is a reason why I stuck around this website for nearly 5 years. Because it does articles that invite good discussion.
As for games as art I agree wholeheartedly that it is but people pick the usual games as examples. For me I would put forward Resogun as an example. It's story is a single sentence that ends up leaving tons of room for interpretation. It's action feels beautifully choreographed to the point where your brain just moves into your thumbs and the music anchors it all.
I've always had lots of respect for developers cos without them there isn't an industry. Sadly even among core gamers, not many either know or want to know about the actual developers who make the games we love. They will quickly attack them on social media when they've done something wrong though. Why shouldn't the likes of Neil Druckmann, Nate Fox, Cory Barlog and Alex Evans become names in the same way a film directors name carries a lot of weight to a movie?
just finished Shadow of the colossus and now 8 hours into Ni No Kuni 2, for me Games are definitely art, No question.
"My own driving force is personally spurred by my desire to discover new worlds and new environments, to soak up their choice of style, and to play games the way the developers intended. Granted, this doesn’t always work out, but the appreciation for the art style remains paramount throughout"
Agreed. I always stop at certain points in GTA V just to soak up the gorgeous world, appreciate the art and take screenshots. The Dishonored series feels like playing a painting and Dishonored 2 & DotO take it on a whole 'nother level, you know - Crack in the Slab and Clockwork Mansion - damn. Due to advanced tech available to devs nowadays, we're definitely heading to the point where no game can look ugly no matter what, be it cartoony or cel-shaded like Zelda Botw, Fortnite, Persona 5, they all are beautiful. I think devs should put a pause now on graphics and focus on more animations like pockets opening and items slipping into them, characters taking off or wearing apparel.
I've never understood this argument against video games as an art. A good painting is an art, a good song is an art, a good movie is an art, a good book is an art but for some reason something that can can have all these things plus something more is not art. That's like saying playing piano is music, playing guitar is music, playing drums is music but playing all these together in a systematic way as an orchestra is not music.
@Bingoboyop good point ^-^ word up.
Assassin's Creed Origins was one of the few games, where I often stopped just to take a look around and see the game world living its own life. Sometimes I wondered if life in ancient Egypt maybe really was like it looks in AC:O. The game looks so beautiful, that I was literally convinced, that life back then could've been like this.
Horizon: Zero Dawn has some very nice looking canvas. The art of HZ:D really made me sink into the game and not only see how the world may look after mankind's extinction, but also made feel as it this could be the way the world may look in a far distant future.
Games are not art
"the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power."
Gaming is more than Art. You can keep your Mona Lisa, sunflowers and the last supper.
Weve got Cities, Worlds and Galaxies to explore.
Games are not art - we are the artists.
Games are art, it's just taking the general public a while to realise it.
Games are obviously art. The old guard were just hesitant to call it such because they didn't understand the medium. As they die out, they'll be replaced by people that do. And the argument, well, it won't even be an argument any more.
I thought this discussion was over, and I thought games were recognized as art earlier in the decade. Guess it's a slow process.
Because I'm a terrible person, I do think gameplay is king when I play something. But I'm certainly not above recognizing games that try to defy the norm, even if it didn't fully click with me like it did with others. The Last of Us was one example- I didn't enjoy "playing" it, but everything else outside of gameplay I thought was done was well, and I appreciate Naughty Dog for doing something like it.
As for a game I did enjoy, I point to Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty as the game that made me believe that games could be much more than what public perception made them out as. It was one of those games that did a postmodern deconstruction of games themselves (among other things) before it was really acceptable to do something like it. It may have taken some time to fully understand it, but I generally thought all of the 4th wall breaking and design was brilliant. It made me think, and it did it's job well.
Hideo Kojima in general, while I don't fanboy over him, is someone I genuinely respect for doing whatever he can to bring the artistic qualities of film over to video games, and I think gaming is better because of it.
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