What is art? That is a question that does not a have a definitive answer because every single person you talk to has his/her own opinion and there is not one single definition of what art is. In my opinion art is an expression of the creator displaying something that they feel and what others to do the same, what that means to me is when I’m looking at art I’m looking at something that can make me want to share a connection with the painting or the character. Now in today’s society movies, books, sculpture, and painting are all considered art in some way shape or form, but many people consider video games to not be part of that group as they are more or less “games”, and they do not have the ability to portray what most people think of as art.
From the early days in the 70s and 80s through to the new millennium gaming has changed a lot in the gameplay and in aesthetics sound and presentation to a point where there are some games that look almost real, and with these new developments comes a want to be recognized in the world of art. There are many people who have been put on record saying video games are not art the biggest being Roger Ebert
“To my knowledge, no one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers. That a game can aspire to artistic importance as a visual experience, I accept. But for most gamers, video games represent a loss of those precious hours we have available to make ourselves more cultured, civilized and empathetic.”
Roger Ebert
But when you look at games today it can be absurd to consider them not to be art for example Shadow of the Colossus which has a beautiful art style and a gripping story that can pull you in and make you care about who you are and you are trying to do. At the end of the day even though the game is basically just going out and fighting monsters it’s a visual aspect that makes you think it’s more than that. In 2013 we saw the release of a game called The Last of Us which one countless game of year awards and is considered one of the best games of the last generations of consoles but it wasn’t the gameplay that got people hooked it was the story, the visuals and just how it made you care about these people and what was happening around them. A person can get a similar feeling if they read reading a compelling book or movie where it can make you care about the characters, so what is really the difference between the three in the world of art?
Now in 2013 The Supreme Court had ruled that video games should be considered an art form and protected under the same safeguards as the protected books, plays and movies that preceded them. Even though video games now have safeguards protecting them they have a long way until they are seen in the same light as other mediums.
