This document discusses whether video games can be considered art. It presents some common definitions of art and examines arguments that video games are not art because they are immature, derivative, mass produced, distasteful, and do not provide the same cognitive and perceptual pleasures as other art forms. However, the document counters that video games tell complex stories for mature audiences, build on previous works like all art forms, are popular due to their ability to immerse players in vivid worlds, elicit emotions as other media do, and provide highly visual and challenging experiences that can give both perceptual and cognitive pleasure. The document concludes that video games are a valid art form capable of immersive, original, and beautiful experiences.

1. Are Video Games Art?

2. Some definitions
• “the creation of beautiful or significant
things”1
• “the products of human creativity” 2
• “architecture is the art of wasting space
beautifully” 3
• “the process or product of deliberately
arranging elements in a way to affect the
senses or emotions” 4

3. Fine Art?
• An excellent example of the
technical art of painting
• An historic artifact
• But how many people today
would hang this on their
wall?
• It’s a great painting but not
great art.
• “Fine art” is often only
appreciated by the
pretentious

4. “...the art of wasting space
beautifully”
• REALLY!?!?!?
Problem?
• No art here, only
showing that “art
people” will find
meaning in anything
An early example of trolling

5. • Surely this is far
more likely to elicit
emotion than many
traditional art
pieces.

6. What about video games?
• One opinion that I feel sums up many of the
arguments against video games being art:
videogames are immature, derivative, mass
produced, distasteful, and do not afford the
sorts of perceptual and cognitive pleasures
that proper artworks do.
• Let’s take this apart shall we?

7. Immature?

8. Immature?
• Certainly video games are widely played by the young but that
doesn’t make games universally immature.
• Very briefly: “Assassin’s Creed” is about a modern day man who
lives out the genetic memories of his ancestors, and becomes
involved in an ongoing ancient plot, between two factions, to find a
“Piece of Eden” (a mystical device of extreme power).
• Hardly child’s play!
• Video games are a very recent medium(1970’s), as a result the
audience for games has been young, and many of the games
produced are aimed at this market.
• As the medium matures over time the audience will naturally grow
to span age brackets, and more and more games will be produced
that are aimed at a mature audience, and games will become
viewed as a valid art form, the equal of film or any other art.

9. Derivative?

10. Derivative?
• Naturally video games build on what has come
before it. This is how progress is made.
• Does this mean that there is no originality in
games? (see previous slide!)
• Yes, certain game franchises suffer from
unoriginality, (yearly updates of sports titles
being the chief offenders).
• Video game technology offers an almost limitless
canvas with which to create your own universe. A
medium with more scope for originality there is
not.

11. Mass Produced?

12. Mass produced?
• Why should mass production take away from
the artistic value of something.
• Surely the fact that there is such a demand for
games only speaks of their massive popularity.
• The best selling games generally are the ones
that are best at immersing the player in
different universe(See GTAIV, Fable II, Red
Dead Redemption....)

13. Distastefull?

14. Distasteful?
• Criticising violence and sex in various media is
nothing new.
• The fact of the matter is that as long as people
enjoy feeling emotion of whatever sort,
people will keep trying to elicit base emotions
from people by portraying acts of violence
and sex in whatever media they desire.

15. Perceptual and Cognitive pleasure?

16. Perceptual and Cognitive pleasure?
• This is probably the most ridiculous argument
against video games being art.
• Perceptual? Some of today's games you could
nearly take a screenshot of and put in an art
gallery straight away. The overall interactive
effect even more visually powerful.
• Cognitive? Ever had a particularly hard puzzle
that took you forever to solve? Do you
remember how you felt when you solved it?

17. Video Games are art because...
• They provide by far the most immersive,
pleasurable, rewarding, original, creative,
beautiful and sensuous experience of any
medium available today.
• I rest my case!