[HN Gopher] Video Games as High Art? The Museum of Modern Art th...
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       Video Games as High Art? The Museum of Modern Art thinks they are
        
       Author : doomlaser
       Score  : 14 points
       Date   : 2021-04-22 04:50 UTC (18 hours ago)
        
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       | urda wrote:
       | I think so too. Video games are just another medium, and there's
       | nothing stopping someone or a group of someones from expressing
       | their artistic interests through it.
        
         | betterunix2 wrote:
         | Video games also involve gameplay design, which is an aspect
         | that separates video games from other forms of art (and thus
         | justifies video games as a distinct art form) and which is part
         | of what makes a great game "great."
        
         | Kranar wrote:
         | It's a perfectly good argument and I will admit that the
         | distinction isn't particularly meaningful, but I don't consider
         | video games to be art anymore than I consider basketball to
         | itself be an art.
         | 
         | Video games make use of many arts, music, visuals, storytelling
         | etc... but a video game is identified by the goal it sets for
         | its player, its win condition, strategy, etc... the use of art
         | is mostly to keep the player engaged and entertained instead of
         | being the defining characteristic.
         | 
         | That said I also agree this may not be a particularly useful
         | distinction and don't have very strong feelings about it.
        
           | chrisco255 wrote:
           | Basketball is the same game played over and over. The
           | objective is to make the court and gameplay setting as
           | consistent as possible across different locations so as to
           | set the best players against each other in a competition.
           | 
           | Some video games fit this sport-like criteria and are
           | competitive in nature. Others are storytelling experiences
           | meant to be enjoyed for the sake of enjoyment. It's an
           | interactive art form and some of the talent that goes into
           | some of the most well-designed games is extraordinary and
           | should be recognized as such.
           | 
           | People fall in love with some games based on their characters
           | and storyline. If making people fall in love with a creation
           | isn't art, then I don't know what art is.
        
           | kroltan wrote:
           | The classic counterargument is that _game design_ (or, more
           | broadly, interaction design) is the art medium, not the game.
           | The game is the result.
           | 
           | A basketball player might not be an artist, but the person
           | who created the idea of basketball could be called one, under
           | this premise.
           | 
           | Now, most computer games are way more complicated than
           | basketball due to what their platform allows, but the
           | argument remains that the rules of interaction and the
           | responses of the game to player's actions are designed to
           | provoke some specific response, or even used contemplatively,
           | even if you were to change what actual medium those responses
           | were in (for example, text-based dungeon crawlers versus
           | something more visual like For the King).
        
       | [deleted]
        
       | chrisco255 wrote:
       | Video games are one of the highest forms of art, in my opinion,
       | because it's a blend of so many art forms. The architecture,
       | level design, cinematography, character animation, storytelling,
       | the music, the voice acting, the game play mechanics, etc. There
       | are some beautiful games out there that have shaped culture and
       | brought people together as a bonding experience. It's high time
       | the world recognize that. I suspect it will more and more as
       | digital natives come of age.
        
       | xnx wrote:
       | Katamari Damacy was an excellent choice for their collection. I
       | have enjoyed a lot of games (Breath of the Wild!), but Katamari
       | is the only one that comes to mind that felt like it had a
       | message that was bigger than the game itself.
        
       | void_mint wrote:
       | Oxford's definition of art:
       | 
       | > the expression or application of human creative skill and
       | imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or
       | sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their
       | beauty or emotional power.
       | 
       | I would say that video games are inarguably "high art". The
       | greatest thing about the increased ergonomics that Unity/UE bring
       | is the ability for less specialized people to express themselves
       | via video games. Visual expression, storytelling, sound, etc.
       | It's all there.
       | 
       | I am not involved with Fullbright, but the game Tacoma
       | (https://store.steampowered.com/app/343860/Tacoma/) I think is an
       | excellent example of video games as art. For those curious, I
       | would highly recommend taking a look.
        
       | notsureaboutpg wrote:
       | Sports aren't an art. Sure there's an artfulness to the way high
       | level athletes play their sports, but that doesn't make the sport
       | (or any specific sport) art.
       | 
       | I appreciate all the arguments for video games being art. In fact
       | I lean to that side of the discussion myself. But I can't shake
       | the feeling that just adding a bunch of artistic things into a
       | product doesn't make that product art. Art is meant to be viewed.
       | A video game isn't...
        
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       (page generated 2021-04-22 23:00 UTC)