Are Videos Games an Art Form?

I think Robert Ebert has not played enough video games.

Games which truly are artworks are very few and far between, but that does not mean that they don't exist. Most games, let's be honest, are cheap entertainment done for entertainment value only, akin to pulp crime novels (are they art?).

For true art in video games, see (or rather, experience) Ico, Rez, Shadow of the Colossus and Okami. That's about it in terms of true art in videogames.

Then by that same argument, if a person can envision a grocery list of all that is needed in his or her cupboards (the ideal condition being that the cupboards are well stocked), and go obtain those items, then that person has created art.

I'm not arguing that video games are not art. I'm pointing out that this argument is flawed.

This seems an odd thing for anyone to oppose: video games as art. As an artist, I would assume that video games are art ... huge collaborative art projects created by a large number of people. Even if you don't consider the giant games created by the larger game corporations, it would be hard to avoid some of the beautiful independent games that are out there now which provide surreal and almost spiritual experiences via their games (games such as Eufloria and World of Goo). Visually, these games are works of art, and it would (and should) be difficult to argue that by anyone who plays them.

Obviously Mr. Ebert has not played many video games, which is sad, because I've always been rather fond of him.

@dd actually I think robert ebert said he's never played a video game so he's an even worse judge than you thought.

It is silly for him to say what he said because of the huge amount of hours that go specifically into the aesthetic part of every game. If you want you can even think of them as a gigantic landscape painting that the player can interact with on an unprecedented scale.

I can't imagine how insulting this must be for someone who does art and graphics design for video games.

I can't believe he wouldn't consider "Flower" to be art. Does he have an HDTV? Because I turn out the lights, jack up the sound and can play Flower for hours. Love that game.

it depends on how you define what is art. i bet that guy was talking about fine art( meaning that a great deal of personal feeling or opinion is being expressed with the art form) modern art, especially, is a vehicle for social and political point of view.

Unreal: i see where you are coming from and game arts in those games are really quite thought-out and delicate. but they belongs to commercial art, like illustration or graphic design. it is very possible that they are lacking of what i mentioned above since the purpose of them being made is for making money.

having said that, to say that video game can not be fine art is totally ridiculous. i do believe that if rich "fine" artists like jeff koon or hirst hired a bunch of people to make a game they will immediately go into museum. and that will dig up another very important argument about the definition of 'artist', given the fact that these guys are not even making the art physically, but create the idea and invest them money to their own art factories to produce the so called 'art'

I don't play many video games, but Samorost is art.

http://www.amanita-design.net/samorost-1/

I'm not a gamer, and I do tend to trivialize or make fun of die hard gamers, (or fanboys of any stripe) but I would definitly consider video games to be an artform. A book that is poorly written or just lowbrow fun is still art, so even games that are not complicated or visually elaborate still have to be concieved, perfected, and executed properly. Not just any shmo can create a game, even a cheap one.

of course they are, roger ebert is officially too old to matter

all of the games that suda51 makes are works of art

killer7 especially, it's the scariest thing i've ever seen and simultaneously so beautiful

can books be art? can pictures be art? or movies? or music?

I hate how new media is never taken seriously, at least not before its 100 years old.

Of course, not a doubt in my mind.
You should set up a completely biased self selecting poll on you site to measure how many of internet users think that games can be art.

I've never understood how anyone can say "this is not art" or "this cannot be art." You can get away with "I do not consider this art" but art is always subjective. It is always the view of the beholder. Discussing what art is or is not has no place in this discussion. If it's art to me, it's art. If it's art to you, it's art.

Another point of view, though: Can something which is a combination of smaller art pieces NOT be art? If I take a painting and place it in a gallery where music is playing, can the combination of painting and scoring make the gallery experience NOT be art? If not then how can a video game, which combines other art forms, not be art?

If you insist on playing with definitions, I've always considered art to be anything which evokes an emotional response in the experiencer. I've been moved by games, so those games are art. To reference an earlier comment, most people are not moved by grocery shopping; but if someone was then YES, grocery shopping is art to them. And I can see a bit of potential in the joy of a good shopping experience, or a perfectly stocked and/or arranged pantry.

Let's see, the definition of art from the free dictionary online:

1. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms)
a. the creation of works of beauty or other special significance
b. (as modifier) an art movement
2. the exercise of human skill (as distinguished from nature)
3. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) imaginative skill as applied to representations of the natural world or figments of the imagination
4. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms)
a. the products of man's creative activities; works of art collectively, esp of the visual arts, sometimes also music, drama, dance, and literature
b. (as modifier) an art gallery See also arts, fine art
5. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) excellence or aesthetic merit of conception or execution as exemplified by such works
6. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) any branch of the visual arts, esp painting
7. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms) (modifier) intended to be artistic or decorative art needlework
8. (Fine Arts & Visual Arts / Art Terms)
a. any field using the techniques of art to display artistic qualities advertising art
b. (as modifier) an art film

No matter how you spin it, video games are technically an art form. I mean, when weirdos out there mutilate and degrade themselves publicly and consider it "art," how in the heck could video games NOT be considered art?

Anyone who's played Final Fantasy 7, Legend of Zelda, or more recent games like Heavy Rain, know that video games are as much an art form as any motion picture.

Really, I love Roger, but it seems like he drags this tired old debate from time to time just because he can, and he know it creates the most discussion out of anything. Talk about beating a dead horse.

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Ebert gave Blue Velvet 1 1/2 star, Fight Club 2 1/2, Brazil 2 1/2. I wouldn't trust him to tell me if the milk went bad.

If someone can criticize a piece of work by just a thumb up or down, they do not understand art.

Without reading any comments, of course video games are an art form. That's self-evident. In my opinion.

I work in a computer games company and my title is "Associate Artist" I work in photoshop, with a wacom tablet creating images and animation, is that not Art? How can it not be? The questions is not where is the line between art and entertainment but why is there a line at all.

Anyway, discussions on "what is art?" are not new and have been going on for centuries. Most modern artists understand the concept that if you think it's art, it is art, but it may only be art for you. Anything can be considered art, a famous example is Duchamp's Fountain,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fountain_%28Duchamp%29
which was considered art simply because it was displayed in an art gallery. I think Contempory Art has employed such a very broad understanding of art that the artistic community must include computer games, film, animation, advertising and many other "crafts" as art and be prepared to judge them as such whether they are entertaining, or amusing or silly or even ugly.

Having just been playing the latest Splinter Cell game - I will have to say. YES. There is a chance to see a panoramic view of Washington D.C.s mall from the top of a building. Unbelievable. And breathtaking.

as an avid movie fan and gamer, it's in my opinion that even games like grand theft auto can be considered art. What you have is an entire reconstructed city. What is focused on in the game and the characterization created are nothing short of immense attention to detail. Once you get past the fact that these games are only mass marketed to make money so that publishers can than make new games you realize that that's how every industry operates.

Games can be very artistic and have artistic elemtents, but can they be considered art? I suppose so, in a way.

However, calling it art these days is a slap in the face, since we often label any slapped-together-crap as "art".