Can Video Games Be Considered Art?

Aaron Smutz, a philosophy professor at Rhode Island College, in his rhetorical essay “Are Video Games Art?” asserts that video games are indeed art. He first puts forward three critically well-received games to be considered art, then determines what can be used to determine art by considering “sister media” like art and music as well as competition such as chess, football or ice-skating. After establishing an “informal” definition of art, Smutz comes to conclude that since the games he provided cover several facets of game-types and since those games can reasonably fall into the definitions provided of art, then most video games should be considered art. Smutz forms his essay in order to explore the artistic merit of games. Smutz also writes

Ebert's essay was strongly criticized by the gaming community,[23][24][25] including Santiago herself, who believes that video games as artistic media are only at their infancy, similar to prehistoric cave paintings of the past.[26] Ebert later amended his comments in 2010, conceding that games may indeed be art in a non-traditional sense, that he had enjoyed playing Cosmology of Kyoto, and addressing some replies to his original arguments.[27]

Main Point III: For this reason, this has been the focal point of the “video games are art” debate. At the same time, the debate as a whole has had some opposition.

Video games bring the fun out of people that can’t always get out and play sports like other people. Not everyone that plays video games is athletically challenged. Many NBA stars have even admitted to playing video games after games, practices and meetings such as Kevin Durant, Dwight Howard, and LeBron James. Gaming might eventually be considered a sport if more people in the community interact with games and other might consider the games their profession throughout their life. Gaming brings people together and makes people happy, can relieve people of their stress and lets gamers meet other people from different states and countries and make new friends and possibly relationships.

Games Art? movie critic Roger Ebert has an opposing view on whether video games should be

Gaming is as similar as any other sport as in gulf, football, basketball, etc, with all their plans, strategies, and “There’s only experience”. “Games help people expand their mind beyond what most other people can even imagine. . It uses as much mind as about any other sport. Just because it doesn’t use physical activity doesn’t mean it can’t be a sport. Some sports barely require physical activity instead they focus mainly on thought, for example chess.

Although competitive video game players or people who create video games may believe that video games are right in being considered as a sport, I do not believe that video games should be considered as a sport because they are not athletic in any way and do not require any physical activity. Although, I believe this there are certain points that I can agree with.

What is art? How can one define simply, a subject so broad, so complex, and as subjective as artistic expression? Leo Tolstoy postulates, “Art is architecture, sculpture, painting, music, poetry in all its forms…” (Tolstoy 15) I believe that although Tolstoy, may never have imagined it in his original definition, video games may certainly fit as a viable mode of artistic expression; I believe videogames are art.

Roger Ebert strongly expresses his opinion toward the tense debate on weather video games should be considered art. He expresses his belief by demonstrating in his article how video games could never compare to the amazing writers and the incredible filmmakers (Ebert). Ebert  envisions art being created by one person rather than a team of people having skilled enough abilities to produce the same masterpiece. He does not see a similarity in objectives between video games and an art piece. Ebert explains that in games there are, “Rules, points, objectives, and an outcome” (Ebert). As for art, that is something he believes one can’t win. Considering one who believes video games can not be a form of art may

Zimmerman discusses important reasons and has a solid knowledge regarding such matter. His critique of the question "are games art" shows that beliefs about what is or is not art is anything unless a mere own personal vision; because what a critical of art considers what is art you might not consider. Or vice versa.

why should video games be considered art? video games should be considered art because what they have done in such a short amount of time by taking video games apart you'll be able to see how much art actually gets put into video games such as music; visuals and acting.these all would be considered art on there own. but because video games are a new median of entertainment most people dislike video games and ridicule them for being new.

How can video games inspire someone to become an artist?. Since my first time using my Nintendo 64 something click inside my mind and tell me that it is possible to create a virtual world that makes a safe place to someone life problems. My goal on The Art Institute of San Antonio is to grow as a Game Art developer and make people feel like they are in another world inside of their consoles that make them feel the same sensation as when put my hands on my first controller.

“In books, everything is laid before you,” he says. “There is nothing left for you to discover. Video games are the only forms of artistic expression that allow the authoritative voice of the author to remain true while allowing the observer to explore and experiment.” This is especially true when looking at older creations, when the graphics and narratives were limited by the current technology, forcing players to draw heavily from their imaginations, becoming what Melissinos calls the game’s “third voice,” the first voice being the designer of the game, and the second voice being the mechanics of the game itself (Tucker).

Many video games use visuals to mentally immerse gamers into a virtual world filled with seemingly living, breathing people, animals, or cities. According to Michael Samyn and Auriea Harvey, game designers for Tale of Tales, video games increasingly develop into a true medium of artistic expression (Lamb). In just forty years, video games transformed from an abuse of the new computer for entertainment purposes into a sophisticated form of popular art. The development of video games recently produced results that arguably equal other similar, representational arts. Video games share many qualities with other forms of art, but they are also artistically significant in their own way. “This seems to be something

Ask any major in the fine arts for the definition of art. They're likely to tell you that it is self-expression through the use of some sort of medium. Most commonly thought of are clay for a sculpture, paint for a masterpiece, even music notes for a four-movement suite. The last thing you'd think of is a computer program for a video game. But why not? Don't video games incorporate both artwork and music? Each one is considered art, but many people consider the result, when put together, to be a waste of time. Through personal experience, I would have to define art as not only a way to express yourself, but as a source of inspiration to others. Not only do video games use art with music, they oftentimes