Support NeoGAF

[BennyBlanco]

No. I think games can contain good art like OSTs and character designs, etc. But the game itself is more important. If a game gets too artsy fartsy it's a bad game. If a game tries to be like a movie it's a boring experience. Games with shit or minimalist art like Slay the Spire or Balatro are more fun than games that prioritize art or cinematic flair like TLOU or Hellblade IMO. A game can overcome having bad art if it's a good game mechanically. A bad or boring game can't be saved by good art IMO.

 

[Cfh123]

Absolutely. A thing can have several attributes - it is a toy and it is art. Games are predominantly toys, buy pretty toys can be more enjoyable.

Visuals do not have to be detailed to be good art. Good art can involve simple shapes and colours, e.g. Matisse's cut-outs, Rothko's intense blobs of colour, etc. People love Van Gogh but not because of the realism of his paintings.

 

[kevboard]

nope.

like an exhibit they can contain art, but the exhibit itself (the game) is not art.

some games don't even really contain any art. Pong for example... zero art in that. there's no pixelart, no music, nothing. 2 lines, 1 square and 2 numbers.

 

[Donald mac Ronald]

No and it's cringe as fuck when people refer to it as that.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

is it's kinda Kojima, art. If it's drunkman Fart

 

[Aenima]

Let's see your framed pamphlet collection then, if you think that they are art. They take creativity and skill to create, but they are not art.

When i was a teen i collected and placed in a book all the logo stickers that i could find from pieces of fruit. So yeah, graphic design is a form of art, just like videogames, music, movies, etc, a graphic designer can create something more artistic or go for a more comercial aproach. Same thing as games, movies, etc. I studied graphic design and most disciplines around it was based on art, from history of art to photography.

EDIT: Aparently im a horder of certain items and i managed to find the book with the fruit stickers. The 95 number means the year i collected the stickers as most times the same brand had slight different designs, so yeah i did this 30 years ago.

 

[Guilty_AI]

They're more of a medium than an artform, they can be art but only if the one producing them so desires.

If i were to draw a comparison, videogames are less the equivalent of movies and more like the video format itself. Movies are art, but not every video is art.

 

[Humdinger]

Depends on how you define "art." I think of art in two ways - art with a low-case "a" and Art with a capital A.

The former is any type of creative expression. Doodling by a monkey can be considered art in this sense. There's a continuum. You have bad art (monkey doodles) and good art (a beautiful painting or graphic design). All videogames are art in this sense, just by definition - they are a product of creative expression. That's how most people think of "art" - anything from their daughter's doodles to a painting - so from that perspective, yes, videogames are art, because they are a creative expression.

Capital "A" Art is a different animal. That's also known as "high art" - what would be called Leeteratuuure in the world of novels, as opposed to commercial fiction. The classics, for instance. Likewise, in film, there is the distinction between artistic masterpieces and regular movies. Regular books or movies don't try to do anything much besides entertain and move you. "Art" in the capital-A sense does more - not only is it beautifully constructed but it also expands your mind and soul; it elevates your perception and experience of life. In this sense, videogames are not Art. They are entertainment. And that's usually how I think of them.

 

[GooseMan69]

But accurate, since this is discussion only about whether they are art or not, and Resi, as much as I like it (and as much as I dislike the "slop") ain't it.

It is though.

 

[Sinozen]

I think it's absurdly snobbish to say it isn't art. There is expression in every video game from Mario Kart to Shadow of the Colossus. Art is not just something that impacts you personally and that's where the absurdity comes into play. It's just people trying to gatekeep what art is. If something doesn't speak to you then that's on you, doesn't mean it isn't art or there isn't artistic value to it for someone else.

I remember this being contested by boomers all the time like Roger Ebert (the film critic). It's just ridiculous. Even back then it was obvious that games are art. It's just a rage bait topic. Sorry, OP. No offense.

 

[Represent.]

Yes, to think otherwise is just stupid. Even at the most basic level, there's literally hired artists paid to make art for the game. Stop trolling.

 

[Jesb]

You need artists to make a game so why wouldn't it.