This may be an instant “yes” for some of you, but there are actual proponents to this idea of video games being an art form, separate no less.

Arguments include (non-exhaustive list):

  • Video games are just combinations of previously established art forms (music, fictional prose, visual art, etc…)
  • Certain video games (think Pong and Tetris) weren’t made for the purpose of being “artistic”.
  • Because video games are interactive, this positions video games outside of the area of the arts. No other types of art comes close to this level of interactivity.
  • Video games (especially mass-marketed ones), regardless of their nature, are not recognized as art for as long as the purpose is solely for financial gain, which is the norm nowadays.

Personally, I believe that video games are flexible enough to possess unlimited art forms, ranging from being creatively artistic and visually stunning (e.g. Journey [2012]) to being only a tech demo or both, since they are an amalgamation of previously established art forms.

To make this discussion productive, I’d suggest approaching these arguments with an open-mind and/or coming up with an opinion supported by some video game example (note, this is only a mere suggestion).

EDIT: Just to be clear, the counter-arguments list above are NOT my take on the matter. They’re loosely taken from several sources, including an IRL discussion w/ a friend and articles online, e.g. Games aren’t art, says Kojima.

  • onlooker
    3·
    3 years ago

    The question posed is a bit loaded, I think. To me it sounds like: “video games are an art form, but are they a separate one?”. Apologies if this is not the case, but the issue I take with this is that video games, just like any other medium, can be an art form, but it does not make them art simply by virtue of existing.

    Yes, you could argue that Citizen Kane, War and Peace, Braid and the like could be considered art. On the other hand, good luck convincing anyone that this is the case with, say, PUBG, Dude Where’s My Car or Fifty Shades of Grey.

    All video games are a type of medium, nothing more.However, individual games can be elevated to an art form or reduced to a fart form. Like this.

    • ghost_laptopM
      3·
      3 years ago

      In my opinion all of the last works you mention are art, in fact I think PUBG is really important in the history of the first person shooter, the other two examples are art, shit art, but art.

    • uberstarOP
      2·
      3 years ago

      No worries, that was not my intention. I proposed my opinion and a list of counter-arguments I had actually gotten from a previous discussion outside of this website on the matter and assumed that, because this community revolves around video games as an art form, it would be taken as “a given”.

      Whether someone thinks video games are wholly “art” in and of itself is up to the Lemmy user here, really I only wanted to spawn interesting and nuanced discussion, which is what ended up happening :).