Education Questionnaire: Your opinion on computer games as an art form

Hello,

My girlfriend is in the process of writing her dissertation focused on if computer gaming can be seen as a art. As a forum of hardware and gaming enthusiasts your opinion and thoughts on the matter is essential. So, if you have some spare time and would like to contribute to this topic (or PM me) and share your thoughts and opinions.

***Note you do not have to talk about gaming directly, feel free to link gaming to communities, the computer hardware and software behind it, inspirations from gaming i.e. case modding.

The form below can be used as a guideline:

____________________________________________________________________

Name:
If you do not wish to use your full name feel free to use your ID name.

Age:
Feel free to use a age range instead if you do not wish to use your exact age) i.e. 16-21, 22-29, 30-39, 40-49 etc.

Gender:

Occupation:

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):



Do you consider computer games to be art?:

Please explain why:

Any detailed examples of why you see gaming as art or why not will be very useful. Also, if you have opinions on art which is not gaming you would like to use as a comparison i.e. modern/conceptual art - where there are urinals in some gallery's as a art piece and if you think they are considered art or not will be great!



Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:

____________________________________________________________________

All thoughtful submissions will be greatly appreciated and + rep'd of course.

Thank you

- Tom.

 

Name:
Mr. Diode

Age:
18-21

Gender:
Male

Occupation:
Student (Electronic and Computer Engineering)

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
Sometimes 0, sometimes 20+ (I guess). It depends on what game I have at that point in time and how much spare time I've got.

Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Absolutely. Of course not every game is an art, and it depends how you define art, but there are definately games that I would describe as art.

Please explain why:
A few years ago, before college, I was in an English class. The teacher was reading an article about computer games contributing to violence in youngsters. The teacher was from a different generation, and didn't see any good side to computer games. I thought at the time, what hypocrisy. There he is, praising characters such as King Lear, praising the ability of W.B. Yeats to paint a picture with his poetry, praising the clever plot of some novel. Sure, he's right. All of the above are creations of clever talented minds.

But take a good game, it's a collaboration of many great talented minds. Games like the Metal Gear series, I mean the plot, the characters, they were just phenominal.

And remember your first venture into Aperture laboratories? I kept thinking, what genius mind thought this up? The emotions as you are forced to incinerate your companion cube The lonely wail of a turret saying "I don't hate you" as it plummets into a ravine below. To some people it doesn't make sense, but to others it is sheer brilliance. How often do you see Gordon Freeman mentioned on the internet? A lot. Why? He left an impression. Games are like movies, or books, or even paintings perhaps. They have characters and plots and scenes. Some games show you things which are impossible in real life. The concept of the Portal gun is a good example. The many futuristic worlds and cities of the Mass Effect series is another example. Those things were born from somebodies imagination, and brought to life through great skill.

I read about an old guy who used to be a pilot. He was no longer able to fly because he was too old, but he ran a flight sim on his computer. He said it brought him such joy. It may not be the real thing, but the guys who make the flight sims are so good at capturing the essence of the real thing that it gives your imagination the fuel it needs to evoke that sense of nostalgia or wonder.

Mirrors Edge is another beautiful game. The use of colors and architecture were beautiful. Every small detail, like the public service announcements in the elevators which add to the dystopian atmosphere of the game are cleverly thought out.

Theres so much to say (and I'm fighting against a gummed up keyboard in my Uni ), so I might not be coming across very well. The bottom line is, a book creates a world of characters and places, it tells you a story. So does a movie. A painting or a photograph makes you ponder about something or perhaps it portrays an emotion. Music makes you happy or sad or peaceful or energetic. Games can do all of these things too, they make anything possible. Games allow their creators to re-imagine the world as they see fit. Agh, it's complicated but they're good dammit

 

Name:
<<

Age:
27

Gender:
Male

Occupation:
Operations Manager (Utility Arborists)

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
Probably about 10 (I might get an hour or so a night)

Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Yes (sort of)

Please explain why:
Whilst i think games could be classed as an art form, i wouldnt consider them as art in the typical sense. Elements of games could easily be considered as art though, for instance some of the screenshots Here are awesome.
Im also a massive fan of game concept art just have a look at some of craig mullins work to see more conventional 'art' from early game development stages.


Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
Okami, Flow, Flower etc.. (These are the games contain elements that i would class as art.)

 

Name:
Porkins' Wingman. I'm not Porkins - I'm his Wingman. That's all I'm allowed to tell you.

Age:
30-39

Gender:
Male

Occupation:
Stuff

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
Generally 0-10.


Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Not usually, no.

Please explain why:
There's too much collaboration. I'm not saying that all collaboration's can't be art, but generally I don't see them as art. To me 'Art' is about a personal expression of feelings through media. Computer games aren't personal. They bring together different arts - i.e. music, illustration, writing etc. but what they make when combined is not art.

Computer games are generally published for the main purpose of generating income. For me a true artist does not have money as their primary motivator. An artist creates something because they have feelings to express, not because they want money.

Same goes for films and anything else which is produced by committee.

 

Name:
As Written on the left.

Age:
29

Gender:

Occupation:
Hm Forces Aircraft Engineer.

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):

About 10ish maybe.



Do you consider computer games to be art?:

No.

Please explain why:

Computer games are a science, a technology, a measure of our ability to create something as realistic as possible using just machines and voltages. They are also damn good fun and allow us to pretend we're doing something that we wouldn't be able to do in real life (fly a plane, fight a war as a special ops bod, jump through portals etc...)

Art is just pointless. Take Da Vinci and Tracey Emin. Apparently, both artists. One does an incredibly good drawing of a woman, and the other takes a crap on a bed and puts it on display (not entirely accurate but might as well have been...). What has either contributed to the advancement of the human race? In terms of their 'art', diddly squat. Da Vinci's flying machine drawings are of course another matter entirely, but for people to become famous just for being able to draw? It boggles my mind.

Modern art is just the pinicle of the absurdity. It just sits there, doesn't do anything, and isn't really that impressive. The Tate modern, for example - recently had an entire plane basically chromed and put on display. This was apparently art.

If you want to build things, feel free. If you want to paint and draw, then go ahead. Sometimes you'll come up with something amazing.

Just don't try and pretend it's an actual job.

Computer games Cheesecake - 'artists', get a life.

Rant over.

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:

See previous rant.

 

Thank you all for the input! +rep'd.

May delicious cheese cake find it's way into home this evening.

 

Name:
Kov

Age:
50-59

Gender:
Male
Occupation:
Retail
Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):

Between 30 to 50

Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Yes
Please explain why:

You may ask why, well many would almost say the graphics of the game but the art form i see is the style of play. It's like that that with any form of say sport or of something being competitive. I have been playing league and Co-op now for about almost ten years and have seen all sorts of players. Example there are two games that I am playing now which are Joint Operations and COD4 and there could be someone that plays on the servers that I play on and they could have changed there name, but because of the way or style they play i will almost know exactly who they are. i have caught people out a few times with this as well



Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
It could be any PC or console game.

 

Name: Teelzebub


Age: 50-59


Gender: Male

Occupation: Trader in antiques, gold, And Glass Artist, Maker of bespoke glass jewelry bowls etc


Hours spent gaming per week (approximately): 10


Do you consider computer games to be art?: No

As stated above artwork involved but a collaboration of many skills

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?: N/A

Kov, I thought you were married or is that why you are still married?

 

Name: Mr Xu

Age: 24 - 27

Gender: M

Occupation: Firmware Engineer

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately): ~ 20 hours, depends on other activities in my life

Do you consider computer games to be art?: Yes, but not in conventional sense. (same as modern art does not count as art in conventional sense)


Please explain why:

Games get reviewed and criticised as well as get praised. If films are considered as art, then gaming will definitely be considered as art. Consider a film as a whole, it is a new art form that captures director's vision and displays actors' skills. A game is exactly the same, attention to detail, gameplay ideas, feel of the environment.

No, game isn't art in its conventional sense, but neither are urinals. If people are putting together an exhibition about recycled cogs that sort of looks like a face, or a messy coffee table; then gaming should be considered as art.

Music, Films, Photography. all considered a form of art. Gaming is also a form of art, interactive art that combines skills from every discipline. a more advanced art form.

(my view is that the 3 mentioned previous paragraph also counts as art, as well as those stupid modern arts (i won't pay to see them though). if you don't think those 3 count as art, then i can see why you also wouldn't consider gaming to be a form of art)


Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
-Batman Arkham Asylum/City (mainly the attention to detail, if Batman films count as Art, this game is more attention to detail than those films)
-Assassin's Creed series (the feel of city, i've been to Florence and the game captured it perfectly)
-Half Life series (feels like a conventional gaming piece, featuring classic gameplay mechanics and conventional level design approaches)
-Mirror's Edge (feels like a conceptual art compared to other games that are conventional, taking a different level design and visuals)
-World in Conflict (another conceptual different game, to classic RTS genre)
-even Angry Birds (a display of touch gameplay and brilliant use of artwork to tell a story)

 

Eurogamers take on this question.

 

Name: Andy.

Age: 25.

Gender: Male.

Occupation: Admin/It Support.

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately): I'd guess somewhere around 17-20 hours.

Do you consider computer games to be art?: Yes, mostly.

Please explain why:

Art to me is anything that elicits an emotional response or gets me thinking about what was behind it's creation. So naturally games are something that are always put into that category for myself, I'd even even further and say for me games are becoming more detailed art than the static images and objects you get in galleries.
When I look at an old painting in a gallery I get a snippet of a story, a brief burst of emotion and think what could have inspired that specific image to be drawn up. However in a video game, I can experience a whole range of emotions while being guided through a whole story which many points where I wonder what made the creator choose those specific aspects.

Some may argue that the number of people involved take away from games being a form of art, but really the game started out as a single person's creative idea. That one person is just using what tools (people) they have available to produce their art to the best standard.

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?: Really any game with a solid storyline, it doesn't need to have particularly good graphics though it can sometimes help in drawing an emotion when you can physically see particular scenes.
I wouldn't say sports games or racing games generally fit into the art category for me but almost anything else in some sort of way can be placed as art with me.

 

Sorry if it's a bit short, if you ask me to expand, I will be more than happy to oblige. And what do I do If I wish to edit my submission?

Name:
612

Age:
Mid 20s

Gender:
M

Occupation:
Perpetual Student

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
Fluctuates hugely, an estimate of the mean is 12hrs

Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Like motion pictures, books and music, I consider there to be two types of products, the commercial based, and the art/inspiration based. So yes, with the provision that not all games were created equally.

Please explain why:
I consider art to be solely to incite emotions, and the "the only function of art is itself" thing. Video games fit in with both of these, and there are about the visceral senses from the experience. An explorable canvas, an adjustable photo, "an interactive film".

GTA3 contains parody's of various works of art, it artistry of it's own is the parody of extreme types of public behavior. The chat radio station hosted by Lazlow, is endlessly humorous. This piece of work I consider to be of comedy.

Ico, is a painting. It's beautiful, endearing and challenges, and yields a warm depth engagement. When I look at some paintings, I see ideas and emotions, Ico is exactly the same.

MGS was when I played way back when I was a little boy, is tense and a narrative based endeavor, it frustrated (Psycho Mantis), elated (success) and upset (torture/Meryl).

A urinal as an exhibit in an art gallery is just asking to be used.

I'm passionate about motorsport and understand that it doesn't make for good art readily. In the action of playing a motorsport game, there lies when challenged emotional tension like in any close fought action game.

Graphics and sound quality has little to do with the artistic merit of a game, it is the general dynamics or a single overarching concept that can make a game art. In Halo: Reach the art concept is an unavoidable destination, one that despite the best endeavors of characters will always happen, it is not possible to win the story - try as you might.

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
Ico, Metal Gear Solid, Okami, Katamari, Halo: Reach.

 

Name:
RedFlames

Age:
somewhere between birth and death

Gender:
XY

Occupation:
[Currently] Unemployed - Games Design Graduate

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
Too many

Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Yes.

Please explain why:
IMO there is more artistic merit in the visuals and/or plot of some [not all] video games than say this. Ultimately most stuff is only considered 'art' because enough people say it is so video games are art because I say they are.

Plus the Smithsonian seems to think they're art or at the very least worthy of exhibiting.

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
*shrug*

 

Name:
Lcdguy

Age:
29-30

Gender:
Male

Occupation:
IT Specialist

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
10+


Do you consider computer games to be art?: Yes and No.

Please explain why:

Calling a game art is a fairly wide statement as some games may have components that may be considered art while it also has others that may not. It all depends on what you consider art as it can be a very subjective subject. "ie: what is considered art to one person may not be considered art to another" to this end there are certainly some games out there that have some beautiful scenery while other posses incredible music, voice acting or sound effects.

On the music front i think this becoming more and more accepted as an artform since the opening theme to civ 4 recently won a grammy.

It also should be said that story telling in some games have also been presented in an artform style (max Payne's graphic novel) or that the story presented is also art.

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:

These games fit their own art stlyes

Civilization 4 - music
Total Annihilation - music
Max Payne - story telling graphic novel
Dragon Age (the first one) - story telling rpg
Mass Effect Series - story telling rpg, music
Crysis Series - graphics

 

Planescape Torment, discuss......

 

Name: Sloth

Age:
20

Gender: Male

Occupation:
Planning technician

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
40

Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Yes

Please explain why:
My opinion of video games as an art is based around the game as an experience. Many people will argue that games are an art because of their soundtracks or their graphics, I disagree with this. Soundtracks prove that music is an art, graphics prove that film and photography are arts. Games as I see them are a separate genre more akin to the dramatic arts with some aspects of film due to the technical aspects of their presentation. They're an interactive presentation of events performed by a virtual cast impacted by the actions of the player. Major qualities of games which make them artistic include the characters, story, and of course the presentation of the story, the gameplay itself. It's the gameplay aspect which makes games a unique artform. The manner in which the player interacts with the characters and progesses through the story, possibly impacting its route, is extremely important. A good game from an artistic standpoint should have gameplay which strengthens the players involvement in the game, games are unique in their ability to allow people to personally involve themselves in a story so this aspect should be taken advantage of when possible. For example, the struggle of a difficult boss fight against the sinister antagonist can create stronger feelings in the player than simply reading or hearing about how sinister he/she is. No other artform can involve its audience in such a fashion and is major selling point for video games.

In my opinion, not all games are art or at least struggle to be called art, just as not videos are films worthy of being called art. They may be fun and memorable games, just not art. Many online multiplayer games are this way. Team Fortress 2 is a widely popular game, but its gameplay has a meager story at best and a set of incredibly static characters. Still an amazing game, just not with an artistic focus.

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
Any game where the player assumes (or creates) a role(s) within a story and progresses through said story. This is quite broad, and that's intentional. It might not be good, but it'll still be art, that's the key. And any two people might not agree on whether the same game meets the definition.

Going back to Team Fortress 2, lets consider if it meets that criteria. It has characters, unique ones but with little detail and no development. It has a slight story, RED versus BLU in the battle over control points. And the story is told through the assumed role of one of the various characters in an instanced manner each round, does RED beat BLU in the battle over Badwater Basin? It technically meets the requirements, but I don't consider it art. It has a weak story and most importantly the gameplay, while fun, does little to attach the player to the cast and their struggles since there is no permanance to players' actions past each round.

So what games would I call art? At the risk of being cliche I'm going to say the Metal Gear Solid series is the perfect example. They have a deep and rich story filled with dynamic characters who continue to develop as the player progresses through the series, so those boxes are checked. Most importantly, its gameplay involves the character in this story and routinely interacts with the characters. Personally playing through the actions of each protagonist creates a deep bond with the protagonist as his plights are personally experienced by the player. Each defeat, each triumph, all of the memories of past events combine to add a depth which other artforms struggle to achieve. The player is the protagonist, all characters be they allies or enemies are real people with plans and desires and all events involving them evoke real reactions, quite literally as the player literally controls the protagonist through them.

 

Name:
Mr. Waters

Age:20-26

Gender:
Male

Occupation:
Professional Student

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
20-30



Do you consider computer games to be art?:

Yes

Please explain why:

Most games are designed to tell as story. They do this through not only the game play that the user goes through but also through the aesthetics of the game. For example, most war games are gritty with high amounts of particles whether they be from dust or from an explosion; on the contrary, a game like Limbo provides its game play in only shades of black and white which fits with the melancholy theme of the game. The choosing of how one associates the game with the stylizing of the environment is how I consider games to be art.

One could even further the definition of art to include the audio and interactions the player experience throughout the game. For example, you wouldn't want to hear a slow waltz in the middle of Grand theft auto would you? Many times the soundtrack is used to pull the player into the mood of the game which is something that the visuals cannot always do. With regards to interactions, many games feature areas with either amusing or game altering interactions that the player can induce. These might not be integral to the game play but is just another example of how the game creator can insert a bit of his/her own humor or wittiness into a game.


Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
The Void, Limbo, Half Life series, and others

 

Wow, great feedback everyone. Really appreciate it and of course I have added rep to everyone

 

Decided to add my 2cents, but I haven't read any of the posts, so apologies if cover whats already covered

Name: Andrew

Age: 28

Gender: Male

Occupation: Programmer

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately): 50+ (All Genres except sports)


Do you consider computer games to be art?: Absolutely

Please explain why:

There is no way you can not consider computer games as art. Think of a novel: It set the backdrop for the plot, tells the story, introduces characters, develops, ends. This is exactly how you describe a game. Now think of a piece of art. the picture also tells a story (in its own way) it shows emotion. Again this can be seen is computer games: as the player, you become attached to the characters that you meet and interact with. I mean who didn't feel the emotion as you watch Etzio's father and brother die in Assassin's Creed 2, or felt the intensity of the battle or felt actually involved in the combat in any of the Call of Duty or Battlefield games.

In many ways, you can view computer games as simply being interactive movies. They make you laugh, cry, angry - but you decide what to do next, what weapon to use, how to approach a certain obstacle. When you reach the end of the level/dungeon/quest the game rewards you for completion - in a sense the "happy ending" as it were.

True, many games out there are created for the sake of being crude or brutal, but this can also be said for any of the other forms of art. All of us have seen the photo's of wars, famine and disease. Heralded as so called "art", but all they really do is bring out a rare emotional sting of what life actually is: cruel and brutal. Then there are the games that have just gone too far, completely failing at being anything but grotesque and sick. Manhunt and the postal series are good examples to that (personally option here, not flaming).

To end: to view computer games as not being art is simply short-sighted and naive. Games are no less art than a movie, a poem, a novel, or a painting.


Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:
Any game that gives a living, breathing world in which to do as you choose, pitching moral and ethical issues to the player to work through, eg: The Elder scolls series, fallout series, S.T.A.L.K.E.R series, Dragon Age, etc.

/2cents

 

Name:
Casey C.

Age:
18-25

Gender:
Male

Occupation:
College Student/Part time IT work

Hours spent gaming per week (approximately):
18-36 (really depends on homework xD)



Do you consider computer games to be art?:
Yes

Please explain why:

Art to me is a medium through which artists can communicate specific emotions. For excellent pieces of art a range of deep emotions (love, sadness, longing, desperation, fear, etc.) can be communicated in a single piece. Well crafted art is not only successful at evoking an emotional response in a majority of the audience, but also must be aesthetically pleasing in some way/shape/form. To clarify that last point, take the words in a book: while a page with a bunch of words on it can look just like any other, the flow and rhythm of the words in a well crafted novel has a certain draw to it that other things (like this forum post) do not have. Because video games are able to communicate a large spectrum of emotion from the developers to the audience, I believe that video games should qualify as art just as much as film may qualify as art.

What's interesting about video games as art compared to film, painting, sculpting, or other traditional forms of art is that video games are interactive. This opens an entirely new dimension to art, one where the audience plays a part in how well the piece is received. Some video games can even become vehicles for the audience to participate in art production (Minecraft is a good example). This means video games are somewhat hard to judge on traditional standards .

Which games, if any, do you consider to be art?:


All of them, just like other forms of art some products are less effective than others, but they all convey something .
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