Video games have been popular for decades, but in the last few years, they have received more attention and progress than ever before. As technology improves, so do the games, and with online play, more people worldwide can now play together. Experts, critics, and fans have also started to consider that games might be a new frontier for art-style experimentation.

What is clear is that video games have become a new media that allows art-style experimentation and a way for game directors to introduce new art to the community. Whether this art is purely aesthetic like Elden Ring or incorporated in the gameplay like Hue, it remains a new element of games players can explore.

With games, we don’t mean the entertaining types of games available in 10bet Casino in Mexico or other casinos, but specifically video games.

The Relationship Between Video Games and Art
These digital games haven’t always been a contender for new art forms, as it was simply considered part of the entertainment sector. However, as these games develop, studies and research papers explore the relationship between a video game and art. To better understand this relationship, we should first consider the definition of both terms.

The Definition of Video Games
There are various definitions of computer games; some are broad, like the Oxford Dictionary’s one. It states it’s a game you play electronically, manipulating the images a computer program produces and displays. According to the Oxford Dictionary, a game is any activity you engage in for amusement.

However, others have more detailed definitions, which define a video game not solely by the amusement it provides. In this, a video game can be considered a software product that must be presented on some sort of display. It must experience player interaction and provide challenges to overcome/aesthetic response.

The Definition of Art
Art is a much more challenging concept to define, with literal decades of philosophers and researchers aiming to nail down a definition. However, looking at an amalgamation of the ideas of what art is, the following definitions seem to be the most prevalent:

Art should show:

● Expertise/Virtuosity: The creator of it should have used specialised skills to create it.
● Non-utilitarian pleasure: When viewing it, you appreciate art for its own sake.
● Style: Follows the build-up of traditions and styles over the years to create new styles.
● Criticism: It’s subject to discussion and judgement of others.
● Imitation: It imitates aspects of real life in some way or form.
● Special focus: It’s treated as a break from your mundane reality.
● Imagination: It’s always an effort in someone’s world of imagination.

Popular Thoughts

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In the art and video gaming world, clear stances on whether a video game can be considered art or should stand alone exist. However, a clear stance on this has already surfaced without the attention it deserves.

Organisations like The Game Awards and IGN review and rank games based on various categories. One of these categories is Best Art Direction at The Game Awards and Best Video Game Art at IGN. Although a video game can’t be considered with traditional fine arts, it’s forging a new artistic category.

As such, you find more and more games that incorporate interesting art principles into games but in a unique way. A video game is judged and defined not only on the physical appearance of the graphics, as most art pieces are. It’s also on how the graphics interact with the players, non-player characters (NPCs) and other elements in the game.

Some Options Incorporating Art-Style Experimentation
Quite a few games incorporate these principles. There are award-winning ones like Elden Ring. This game won both the Best Art Direction and Best Video Game Art categories in 2022 due to its exceptional graphics. However, you also have less well-known games which incorporate the concept of art in new art-style experimentation.

Eastshade
In Eastshade, you are a travelling painter and can explore the open-world map of Eastshade. It follows the mechanics of a regular RPG (Role-Playing Game), but players can stop to enjoy magnificent views and create “paintings” of these views. The entire game is one of aesthetics rather than overcoming a big bad.

Chicory: A Colorful Tale
Following an interesting theme of colouring book art, this top-down adventure follows players across the pages of colouring books as you unlock new painting skills. These skills let you better explore the world and allow you to draw what you want while solving puzzles and exploring the plot.

Hue
Hue is a puzzle-based game where you must change the game’s background to solve the puzzles. While it might not have the graphics of games like Elden Ring, God of War: Ragnarok, or Horizon Forbidden West, it is an innovative art-style gameplay not seen before, making it exciting.

The Eye of the Beholder
After considering the various views on video games and art, we believe that some element of video games resonates with the concept of art. However, ultimately, art is in the eye of the beholder, so it depends on each person’s beliefs and perceptions.