The debate over whether video games can be regarded as art is far from settled, but to state that they can is now a far more respectable position than it was just a few years ago. Many of the world’s most prestigious museums and art galleries now have collections and exhibitions of video games, including MoMA, the Smithsonian and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Art games

The ‘Art Game’ has been a recognized subgenre of video games since 2002, in academic as well as enthusiast circles. This is a game that either emphasizes an original artistic aesthetic or sets out to provoke an emotional or intellectual response. Crucially, it is created with artistic intent, rather than as a purely commercial product.

In 2003, Professor Tiffany Holmes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago further defined art games as: “An interactive work, usually humorous, by a visual artist that does one or more of the following: challenges cultural stereotypes, offers meaningful social or historical critique, or tells a story in a novel manner.”

An art game must still fulfill the functions of a game, however, with rules, objectives and a desired outcome that is reached or missed through the player’s participation. This distinguishes ‘Art Games’ from ‘Game Art’, where video games are modified to emphasize the artistic/aesthetic experience, often at the expense of gameplay.

Criticism

The fact that an art game is still a game, no matter how artistic it may seem to be, is what disqualifies it from being art in the eyes of some critics. Chief among these was the late film critic Roger Ebert, who said that almost by definition, a game could not be art. This, however, ignores the fact that much modern, post-modern and conceptual art has the qualities of a game, being often playful or having the status of a puzzle: you ‘win’ by ‘getting’ what the piece is meant to be about.

In addition, one could argue that all art is interactive, with even the paintings of the Old Masters requiring an audience to react and interpret them. This interactive, as opposed to passive quality, could even be regarded as one of art’s defining features. Again, modern art has increasingly emphasized this interactive quality, from the games of the Dadaists and the surrealists onwards.

The influence of art

Games have been influenced by art for many years, particularly if one includes novels and films as examples of true art. Even casino games such as online slots draw influence from classic movies and sometimes literature, as one can see by following this no deposit bonus casino list to sign up with legal gambling sites across the US. Major games that have been praised for their complex, immersive and thought-provoking artistic qualities include Fallout 3, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Red Dead Redemption 2 and The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild.

The Endless Forest (2005) was originally commissioned for an exhibition but also works as a multiplayer online game, though some have dubbed it a “social screensaver” for its privileging of art over gaming. Ōkami (2006) is a Japanese adventure game inspired by Japanese mythology, with graphics that resemble sumi-e watercolor paintings. Players even execute special moves by making brushstrokes on the screen.

Painterly puzzle games

Braid (2008) is a puzzle game with a painterly style and a philosophical narrative. It was followed by Windosill (2009), a multi-level puzzle game created by artist Patrick Smith initially for his own enjoyment. Smith was inspired by René Magritte, Joan Miró, Giorgio de Chirico and sculptor Alexander Calder, as well as the renaissance painters Paolo Uccello and Piero della Francesca in the use of flat shapes and 2D forms.

Monument Valley (2014) was inspired by minimalist sculpture and Japanese prints, and its use of optical illusions and impossible objects has seen it compared to M.C. Escher. It was deliberately designed so that each frame would stand up to public display. In 2017, artist Jason Roberts created Gorogoa, a simple puzzle game with each scene hand-drawn in a style influenced by Gustave Doré, cartoonist Chris Ware, and children’s book illustrators David Roberts and Christopher Manson.

Not all video games are great art, of course, and most don’t even aspire to be so. One should be careful not to confuse craft with art, and even the most breathtaking design in a game is not necessarily art if it wasn’t created with that intention. Design seeks to reach a target audience effectively; art tries to express an emotion or an idea. It’s a subtle but important difference. Nevertheless, many video games are created with artistic intent, and succeed on artistic terms. In the future, we may see increasing crossover between the two worlds, with video games influencing art, and vice versa.