Saturday, 14 November 2009

• Video Games Are Art

  

  Courtesy of Gavin M. at Koku Gamer
  

  Art is a funny thing as some people can base their entire being on a specific piece while others may stare at it in bewilderment, puzzled as to why people care one iota about it let alone devoting an entire room of a gallery to it.  I suppose that is why even the greatest minds of our civilization, such as Aristotle, have tried to classify what art is but still unsatisfied individuals remain.  If we must derive a balanced meaning of the word art, then it should refer to aesthetics, expression, and emotion.  With these standards, the remainder of this piece will outline why video games are a legitimate art form.

  Other industries have had to deal with the label of not being high art, most notably film.  Initially film was portrayed as derivative, based on photography and theater, and merely a passing fad.  While the technology was admittedly primitive at conception resulting in a less than traditional sense of art, over time it was able to achieve that status and has never looked backed having penetrated nearly every demographic amounting to one of the preeminent art forms in the world.  The history of film is strikingly similar to video games in that it was initially discredited but as the technology and skill of creators improved, so did the perception of the art form as it spread.  What is striking is that it is often those in film that forget that their industry and video games share a similar history.  It is commonly known that Roger Ebert, preeminent film critic, dismissed video games as a real art form because of structural problems.
  

  “Anything can be art.  Even a can of Campbell’s soup.  What I should have said is that games could not be high art, as I understand it…Many experiences that move me in some way or another are not art…I believe art is created by an artist.  If you change it, you become the artist.”

  
  

  The key error in Ebert’s logic is that he believes the structure of the narrative is compromised when the player makes choices, say in a RPG.  The narrative is not lost; in fact it is totally accounted for, since the developers only allow the player to make choices in a confined manner giving the sense of story progression.  In cases where player choices have an influence on the ending of a game, one must remember that these are all pre-conceived stories merely packaged in one box (Fallout 3) and not stories created by the player.  It is interesting that such an experienced critic would dismiss one art form altogether while the form he advocates is notorious for producing artistically hollow abominations only fit for a straight to DVD release.

  Aesthetic appeal is one of the commonly held tenets of art. Graphics, from the 1950s side projects made in national defense laboratories to the current generation consoles, have improved exponentially over the last few decades.  Pixilated and indistinguishable characters have been replaced by photo realistic models.  Environments are no longer non-existent or crude but now lush and detailed.  Yet again, it is remarkable how similar the origins of film and gaming are for in truth gaming is hardly out of its infancy but has achieved so much so quickly.  Aesthetic feats in films that amazed us like in The Matrix, Transformers, and Toy Story were the products of decades of evolution within film.  We should not be so quick to dismiss the games of this generation and the past.  When I look at my own experiences with games I think back to the first console game I ever played which was Altered Beast on the Sega Genesis.  Altered Beast is a side-scroller with questionable visuals at best.  Near the end of the Genesis’ life cycle there were games that looked far better such as Earthworm Jim and Comix Zone.  These days, developers are even implementing effects to immerse players even deeper such as shaky cameras as popularized in Saving Private Ryan, lighting sources, and sun glare.  This improvement in graphics is proof that beauty is an artistic priority of the developers.

  

  Expression, or narrative, is also a mainstay in video games.  The most impressive thing about it is the rate at which it has improved.  In the past, games were often simple tennis or vertical shooting games without a story.  While not yet on par with film’s classics like Citizen Kane, The Grapes of Wrath, or Gone with the Wind, games have been producing excellent stories since the early 90s with greats like the Monkey Island, Metal Gear, and Fallout series.  Much of the reason why video games like Pong and Space Invaders did not have a real story is because the technology was new and enough to satisfy players.  This is analogous to the silent film era as communicating a deep plot to the audience was often too difficult.  But the lessons learned in film have also helped to enhance the narrative in games as developers have enlisted experienced writers, great voice acting, and downloadable content to extend your play if you didn’t get enough the first time through.  This increased attention to expression is yet another tenet of what constitutes high art.

  Without emotion a painting is just a canvas with paint on it and a movie is only a succession quickly displayed photos with voices.  While I did enjoy Altered Beast, even Leisure Suit Larry had a more engaging story line.  Nowadays many games have a story with twists and turns that make your stomach do somersaults.  I have never really been an emotional guy, I may get a lump in my throat at a funeral, but crying is not one of my strengths.  For example, the last film I got that lump in my throat from was Schindler’s List.  Regardless, I still feel something while gaming and it is usually aggression and nerves.  This usually happens when my character is low in health and the sound effect of a struggling beating heart is pulsing through my subwoofer or a pivotal decision is upcoming.  For some reason this really gets my heart going.  Anger is also one my most common emotions.  Being a big hockey fan, I’ve played almost every incarnation of EA’s NHL series and if scored against like clockwork I will go off on that player, usually Henrik Zetterberg, and will berate his real life play and suggest that he receive the Lady Byng Memorial trophy for gentlemanly conduct this year.  But there are people out there who experience things differently than me.  Some cry.  Perhaps this may happen when their favorite character is killed off.  This is the ultimate emotional reaction a player can have to a game.  There are so many things that developers must do to make you cry like perfecting facial expressions, movement, acting, proper storytelling, and music.  But it happens.  And this is what makes video games art.

  URL: http://kokugamer.com/2009/10/11/video-games-are-art/

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