Video Games are Art: A simple answer to a long debated question.

Even within the gaming community the question of whether video games can be considered art has been a debate. I think it stems from the fact that video games largely started as a competitive "game" rather than as a medium to convey a message to the player. I would say part of the issue with people viewing video games as art is the fact it doesn't fit our traditional sense in what we assume art is. You will find no such debate in other mediums, basically the entire world agrees that music, visual art (paintings, sculptures, cartooning, etc.), film, architecture, drama, and literature all have concrete examples of "art." However video games which borrows heavily from most of these art forms gets tossed aside by many people. To sum up exactly how I feel on the subject we just need to look at the Oxford Dictionary definition of art.

1. [mass noun] 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:

In the first definition of the word video games easily can be classified as art. Many "artists" do work together to create video games, and the best of which are appreciated for their beauty and emotional power. I know many people may say a video game has never made them cry (I would be one of them) but I bet many games have evoked feelings of fear, excitement, or any overall care for the main protagonist and outcome of the story in almost any gamer. It is a medium that gets its message across beyond using language, and for that it fits the most basic definition of art.

The debate should not be whether video games are art or not, it should be how can we progress this art form to be more accepted in society. There was a time when rock and roll would never have been considered art, and now the Beatles are hailed as the brilliant artists that changed music forever. Cartoons would have been seen as simple children's entertainment, but now I dare you to find someone who does not consider Walt Disney an artist. Video games will have its time in the main stream spotlight as a serious medium one day, we just have to hold it up to that light.

Favourite Level: Mega Man 2 Wily World 1-1

Mega Man 2 is one of the best games ever made, it had a lot of charm, quick gameplay, and the best soundtrack on NES. Wily Stage 1 is the culmination of everything that makes the game great. It had the best music of any level, and was your first chance to play around with all the power-ups. If you want to read more about Mega Man check out my previous entry.

My Favourite Villian

GLaDOS

The term "love to hate" should apply to any great villian and that describes GLaDOS. Every time GLaDOS speaks is a funny moment of pure dark humour. Just watch and enjoy, even if you have never played the game you will still find everything she says comedy gold.

Awesome Video Game Music

Duck Tales : The Moon Level

Not only was Duck Tales an amazing game, but it featured some of the best music of any NES game. The Moon level was particularly fantastic, and many gamers have fond memories of it.

My Least Favourite Character: Vaan

Final Fantasy 12 is one of the few games I bought and stopped playing halfway through because I was bored to tears. It did not help the main character was a wimpy little boy. Japanese games traditionally have very androgynous looking male leads, but they usually at least have the persona of someone heroic. If you look at the leads in the previous final fantasy games, you can see that Square is really running out of ideas on how to create a lead character.

How gamers are viewed.

I know video games have come a really long way in public acceptance. In fact a recent California Supreme Court ruling found that video games fall under protected speech. However, that does not mean that a majority of people still understand what gaming is and what it means to the average player. This is no more evident than in something I saw in the Today Show the other day (which according the current figures puts their viewership around 5 million).

The idea to any man playing video games past the age of 30 seems ludicrous to these people. And again the idea that video games are only for children (the hosts say it is only OK to play games with your kids) shows that they have no real grasp of what a video game can be. Video games grew out of the "toy" market back in the 90s and is now a legitimate medium akin to film, TV, and literature. Sadly, it isn't just the Today Show that has no idea what gaming is, the media's lack of knowledge is evident in many ways.

In this NCIS clip, the writers show that not only do they have no idea what a computer is but basic knowledge of MMORPGs. In RPGs there is really no such thing as a "high score" and it shows that the people responsible for this scene still think of video games are like the Atari 2600 or the Arcade's in the early 90s.

The gamer stereotype is perpetuated again. The only person who is knows how to play is the man who "lives in his parents' basement and owns a Captain Kirk outfit." As if people who play video games are all introverts who will never know a woman's touch.

Hopefully things like this will change. The more people over 30 that are playing games, the more people will start understand, or at the very least accept it.

My Favorite Character: Mario

Could it really be anyone else? Is there really another choice? Is there another character that adapts so well to many different gametypes? Is there another character that is so engrained in video game culture?

No. An Italian plumber that saves a princess from a dinosaur turtle is the greatest character EVER!

If you want to read more check out my older post about Mario.