- Question
Are video games art?
The debate over what counts as art has raged for centuries. Famous artists we know today were once under scrutiny for their art. Today the debate now includes a new art form: video games. So are critics right to say that video games are not art, or is there more to them than meets the eye?
Video games are art
Just like any modern form of entertainment media, video games are undeniably an art form. No one debates the legitimacy of film, photography, or digital paintings as art. So why should video games, which are essentially interactive movies, be excluded?
Video games are not art
Video games are not meant to elicit an aesthetic or emotional response from a player. They are instead a media which seeks to sell itself to as many people as possible, just like any mass-produced, off-the-shelf product. A car may look aesthetically pleasing, but it is still just a product meant to drive a person from point A to point B. A video game is the same.
Video games are art, but not fine art
No one can deny the artistic beauty which goes into the development of a video game. But no video game has ever mastered its art in the way that fine art has been mastered by the greatest artists. Culture has not been impacted by video games like it has been impacted by other, more established art forms.