The Art Form of Video Games

One definition of the word "art," according to dictionary.com, states that art is, "the quality, production, expression, or realm, according to aesthetic principles, of what is beautiful, appealing, or of more than ordinary significance." I, by any means, do not claim to be an expert of art. There are few professionals who can claim their name to that distinction. Collectively, however, most people understand what art is in all of its forms. One form that has only been around for mere decades still seems to garner the mask as being a fad, even being pinned as frivolous entertainment. To dispel the continuing rumors, let it be known that modern video games are a recognizable form of art.

Many of you have undoubtedly rolled your eyes. How can video games be considered an art form? Well, how is anything judged to be art? By the value of the emotions and expressions the form itself expels. Games did get their start as blocky, simple machines that only took a quarter to play. The heyday of the arcade is gone, but it laid the path for the art to develop. Most games today take years to produce with painters, modelers, and writers running rampant in the industry. Bold ideas for stories and entire sagas have unfolded in recent decades, as have musical scores that both put movie scores to shame and top the sales charts. Many people who still think of games as "frivolous entertainment" do not realize the dedication and original content that propagates into most every title that is released today. If they understood the talent that went into making a single modern gaming gem, most would have to eat their biased words.

Perhaps video games have not been seen as a form of art because they have become too mainstream. Even films and novels can loose their respectability as art from over-hype and counting the sales while ignoring the content. As well, many games do release to a more commercial and casual mass of people simply to make a quick buck. While this remains a lukewarm truth, every year since the industry's inception, games release that deserve to be taken as true works of art.

It is also difficult for critics to see art in video games because it is a very different form of art. Games are meant to be experienced via control, and have become the most poignant and involving forms of art today. The player, or players, experience the sights and sounds and emotions of the story at different paces and, in many cases, a player's game experience is unique and can not be replicated. It is a form of art that incorporates the best of traditional arts - painting, drawings, writing, music - and is demonstrated and enjoyed in both private and community-style environments. Much as the same way viewing a priceless paining in a gallery evokes emotion, or a classic book or song makes you feel something, modern video games offer players distinctive chances for such judgments in the most tactile, hands-on ways possible.

Art is an expression, and very subjective in its nature. People who demean what video games are today by calling them anything less than art need to experience them for themselves. Do the research; if your child plays games, watch and play with them. If you already agree with the claims then spread the word and continue to enjoy. Video games have solidified themselves as an ever-evolving art in all aspects of story telling, orchestral music, and design involving painting, sculpting, and connectivity. Conclusively, games have become a bona fide art form, and will remain art, as long as the industry thrives.