Video Games as Art

This is the first post of the Exploration topic, so it deserves a quick introduction. In Exploration posts, I delve deeper into something I already enjoy. I’ll try to come at it from a different angle, or from a specific perspective.

While I worked as the Youth Outreach Coordinator at Metropolitan State University, I had the opportunity to run workshops for middle schoolers. I knew immediately that I wanted to give those students an experience they wouldn’t get from middle school, or even from a traditional college classroom. So I knuckled down and took a look at my major (art) and my interest (video games) and how to combine the two.

At this point, I need to make a list for myself of topics that I want to look at specifically, much like Extra Credits does. Extra Credits is a group of industry professionals that, like me, take deeper looks into video games and why they are important, but unlike me, they are actual video game professionals. I hope to one day have half of the content they do. Anyways, here’s a smattering of specific topics I want to talk about one day:

• Video Game/Art History
• Why Mario was good
• Why Portal was good
• Why Undertale was good
• Why Bastion (the game, not the Overwatch character) made me cry
• Why Bastion (the Overwatch character) made me almost cry
• Why Mass Effect 3 made everyone mad
• My favorite video game music
• My favorite video games

And that’s just video game topics. This doesn’t include movies, music, art, Magic: the Gathering, and craft sodas.

OK, back to art and video games. I crafted this workshop to show that video games were art, and that video game history paralleled art history. Today, I’ll cover the first part (video games as art) and next week, I’ll tackle Video Game/Art History.

Art is creative expression of human effort, usually admired for its beauty, but not always, and usually visual, but not always. Among the artistic mediums, many stand out. Traditional art like painting and sculpture are good examples, but movies, books, and music are all artistic in their own way. Video games are expressions of human effort, and they are usually creative. Are they art?

The sticking point I found was “usually admired for its beauty”. Very few Madden or NBA 2k players play those games because of the beautiful graphics. They play them for enjoyment, and because marketing practices have convinced them to purchase the latest version of the game that has the best graphics. But that’s fine. Not all art is beautiful to everyone. Video games can be appreciated for other factors.

Video games can tell a good story, but in a way that other mediums cannot. Even choose-your-own-adventure books have their limitations; Undertale and Doki Doki Literature Club are two recent examples of games using choices as a game mechanic in ways that movies and books cannot hope to match. And the story doesn’t have to end positively. Both Undertale and DDLC, as well as Spec Ops: The Line, have endings where the player is meant to contemplate serious subjects, much like classic tragedies or thrillers.

Video games can entertain through interaction. They are unique in that the player is a part of the action. Theater plays and screenings of Rocky Horror Picture Show have elements of interaction, but the show will continue even without audience participation. Video games require a player; they need to be played to function as intended.

Video games can be beautiful, and in different ways. Far Cry games have incredible graphics. Portal has a very clean, simple design. Thomas Was Alone uses rectangles to paint a vivid picture. VVVVVV combines nostalgia for the original video game consoles, and Cuphead takes that nostalgia back to Steamboat Willie. I could list games that have high artistic merit until I’m blue in the face, but thankfully, someone has done it for me, and they have a lot more experience.

The Modern Museum of Art in New York has a permanent collection of video games, many of which are playable. Portal is on display, as well as many others that are beautiful not just visually, but also from a design perspective. When I (eventually) take a vacation to Washington, DC to visit the National Gallery, I’m going to take the train into New York to check out the MoMA.

Thanks for sticking with me through this first cursory look at video games and art. If anyone out there reads this, I’d love to hear what you think. Why do you like video games? Do you agree or disagree that video games are an art form? What video games do you appreciate on an artistic level?

Tune in next week, when I explain how Pong is a cave painting.