Are Computer Games Art?
Unfortunately to adequately answer this question we need to go back to that old cliché of “What is art?” (Is art, art?). To understand what art is, perhaps we should look at some definitions. Collins English Dictionary defines art as the following: “the creation of works of beauty or other special significance”, or “imaginative skills as applied to representations of the natural world or figments of the imagination” or “the products of visual arts, sometimes also music, drama, dance and literature”.
By taking these definitions, although we probably couldn’t say that all games are art, we could definitely argue that some games are art. When I try to think of games that could be defined as art, the names that come to mind are The Grand Theft Auto series, The Zelda Series, Shadow of the Colossus and Ico, etc... With the possible exception of the Zelda Series what do all these other games have in common? The answer is that they are all relatively new and that their story forms an integral part of the experience of the game.
If we think of earlier games such as Pong, Space Invaders and Donkey Kong, these games were purely about entertainment; some had stories of a sort, a lot didn’t even have stories at all. These early games were comparable to comic books in terms of an art form in that they were intriguing at the time as they were a new type of media and they held the potential to be art. These games were let down however as the technology of the time wasn’t sufficient to include a detailed and engaging narrative, so these early games much like the comic books of the 1950’s and 1960’s are looked upon as something of a joke of an art form.
So at what point did games become art? In my opinion this happened roughly at the time home systems become very popular in the mid to late eighties. These home systems allowed game designers to experiment with more engaging and immersive games. Before home systems, games were limited to the arcades and were designed to give short thrills. This led to certain types of games being created to the detriment of other types of game that would not have been suitable for the arcade environment.
Whether games such as Super Mario Brothers and Sonic the Hedgehog are art is debatable. While these games are truly iconic, to consider these games as art I believe is a step too far. However, I would consider the first game in the Zelda series, 1987’s Legend of Zelda game to be art. This game (like all the games in the series) see’s the player taking on the role of Link, a knight on a quest to save a Princess. While this game looked very primitive in the sound and graphics department (especially now), what made it art in my opinion was the story and the way it engaged the player and made them connect with the characters and the game’s story. By the end of the game the player actually felt like they had been on an adventure comparable to the best novels and films, but due to the interactive nature of the game it allowed the player to connect in a way that literature and film could not.
So what enabled games to overcome the stigma of being thought of as simply a fad, or only of interest to kids and to reach the level of art was their interactivity and their storyline. The interactivity in computer games is their unique selling point. Interactivity is a tool that other areas of the arts would love to be able to use, but with the exception of certain art installations which allow people to interact with them, most cannot. Also there was a certain change in the demographics of those playing computer games in the mid to late 90’s when the average age of those playing games increased from people in their early teens to those in their early 20’s. These were the first generation of gamers who were brought up with the home systems in the 80’s and 90’s and instead of turning their backs on games when they grew older they stayed playing games. This was because there were more mature games being made that appealed to them, possibly made by people not unlike them: people who grew up with home systems in the 80’s and 90’s, were now in their 20’s and wanted to make games that appealed to their age group and not just to children.
So where does all this leave the future of games? Taking all these considerations into account it could be seen as reasonable to assume that as time goes on, due to technological advances, more and more games could be seen as art. The reasons for this are three-fold: firstly these technological advances allow for a more realistic, immersive and engaging user experience. This can be brought about through graphical advances and also through the utilisation of new technologies such as motion sensing technologies that further immerse the gamer in the experience by engaging more of their senses. Secondly as the systems that run these games become more complex and the storage medium that the games are delivered on become larger, it allows game designers to add more of a narrative to their games, along with better sound, graphics, character details, all of which will enable more and more impressive and immersive games to be created. Thirdly, as time progresses there becomes a bigger legacy of great games that can inspire and direct the game designers of the future to create games that can truly become art!
