29th November 2005, 8:23 PM
After reading Ebert say that videogames can never be art and then reading the ensuing arguement that sprung from it at GAF, I started thinking seriously about this. Art videogames really art? If so why? And if they aren't, can they ever be?
First off, we all consider movies to be art right? Okay, but how did art progress to that point? Several thousand years ago there were three distinct types of art: music, visual medium [painting, sculptures, ect.], and books. These three art styles rarely, if it all, had anything what-so-ever to do with one another. Fast forward a few thousand years to the birth of theater. It combined in all three and as well as adding new elements such as actors, set design, costumes, and so on. Now, no one today would dispute that theater is a legimate form of art, but it's quite likely that when it was first introduced their were many who were skeptical that it could hold a candle to a good book or a well-conducted orchestra. Fast forward to 1895 to the birth of cinema. It took all the the elements of theater it expounded them far beyond what could ever be possible on a stage. It added a sense of realism, depth, and a feeling of immersion that even the most elaborate stage plays can only hint. No one today would argue that cinema isn't a legimate art form, yet many people back in the early days thought that it could never be as good as well-made and acted stage play. However, the 1930's and 1940's proved that movies could be art in their own right with movies such as Citizen Kane, Metropolis, and Casablanca.
Cinema didn't become art overnight, it took dedication by skilled creators to transform it from mere moving pictures to legitmate art. To accomplish this all the factors that make a movie a movie had to be working in perfect harmony with one another. A 100 piece orchestra will still sound good even if a few of the instruments are working properly, but the truly great compositions need all 100 instruments to be working together perfectly.
And now we have videogames. My thoughts have lead me to believe that videogames are the next evolution in art, much like cinema and theater before. What seperates videogames from stage plays and books is that the audience is put in a seat of relative power. No longer are they merely watching scripted events play out in perfect timing, they now have the ability to decide how and when these events play out. In other words, videogames add freedom and interactivity, as well as a larger level of immersion, to what movies have added to art.
If videogames CAN be art, are there any yet that ARE? This is a difficult question to answer. While it's true that games such as ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and the Metal Gear Solid series have expanded the meaning of videogames, they are still no match for the for greats of other art forms. They give us a hint, a taste, of what videogames can do in the realm of art, but they are merely stepping stones in the evolution of the art form to heights that we cannot begin to imagine. It'll happen eventually; one day videogames will be considered legimate art in the same way that paintings, movies, books, music, and stage plays are, but until all the parts that make a videogame a videogame are able to work in perfect harmony this will still be a dream of the future.
First off, we all consider movies to be art right? Okay, but how did art progress to that point? Several thousand years ago there were three distinct types of art: music, visual medium [painting, sculptures, ect.], and books. These three art styles rarely, if it all, had anything what-so-ever to do with one another. Fast forward a few thousand years to the birth of theater. It combined in all three and as well as adding new elements such as actors, set design, costumes, and so on. Now, no one today would dispute that theater is a legimate form of art, but it's quite likely that when it was first introduced their were many who were skeptical that it could hold a candle to a good book or a well-conducted orchestra. Fast forward to 1895 to the birth of cinema. It took all the the elements of theater it expounded them far beyond what could ever be possible on a stage. It added a sense of realism, depth, and a feeling of immersion that even the most elaborate stage plays can only hint. No one today would argue that cinema isn't a legimate art form, yet many people back in the early days thought that it could never be as good as well-made and acted stage play. However, the 1930's and 1940's proved that movies could be art in their own right with movies such as Citizen Kane, Metropolis, and Casablanca.
Cinema didn't become art overnight, it took dedication by skilled creators to transform it from mere moving pictures to legitmate art. To accomplish this all the factors that make a movie a movie had to be working in perfect harmony with one another. A 100 piece orchestra will still sound good even if a few of the instruments are working properly, but the truly great compositions need all 100 instruments to be working together perfectly.
And now we have videogames. My thoughts have lead me to believe that videogames are the next evolution in art, much like cinema and theater before. What seperates videogames from stage plays and books is that the audience is put in a seat of relative power. No longer are they merely watching scripted events play out in perfect timing, they now have the ability to decide how and when these events play out. In other words, videogames add freedom and interactivity, as well as a larger level of immersion, to what movies have added to art.
If videogames CAN be art, are there any yet that ARE? This is a difficult question to answer. While it's true that games such as ICO, Shadow of the Colossus, and the Metal Gear Solid series have expanded the meaning of videogames, they are still no match for the for greats of other art forms. They give us a hint, a taste, of what videogames can do in the realm of art, but they are merely stepping stones in the evolution of the art form to heights that we cannot begin to imagine. It'll happen eventually; one day videogames will be considered legimate art in the same way that paintings, movies, books, music, and stage plays are, but until all the parts that make a videogame a videogame are able to work in perfect harmony this will still be a dream of the future.
Sometimes you get the scorpion.