Video Games Are A Form Of Art

Tom Bissell, in his essay, “Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter” has described video games and how they are unique and different from movies, books, or even interactive films. Bissell says “I came to accept that games were incompetent with almost every aspect of what I would call traditional narrative.” This is showing the readers that even though there is a plot and story line, as characters can control and alter the story line or outcome by what you do or see throughout the game.

Video games have become as pervasive an aspect of our society as television, with many people spending more time playing video games than watching television. There are many perspectives with which to gauge videos games’ effect on society, from a functionalist, conflict or interactionist perspective. (Schaefer, 2011) Each of these sociological theories can provide a different view of video games, how they affect society and the subcultures that develop around them.

Using persuasive writing, Wright begins to influence his audience that game play is a beneficial source of entertainment not a wasteful one. Playing video games increases creatively, self esteem and improve problem solving skills of the players. Video games are becoming test runs that appear or feel close to the real thing. Where you can control everything with added effects like magic or future technology. Games have the potential to exceed almost all other forms of entertainment media. They tell stories, play music, challenge us, allow us to instantly communicate and interact with others. Encourage us to create things, connect us to new communities, and let us play with people across the world. Unlike most other forms of media, games are inherently tangible. According to Wright young children spend their days in imaginary worlds, substituting toys and make believe into the real world that they are just beginning to explore and understand. Wright states that games are the result of imagination and that they consist of rules and goals. Generation of teenagers has grown up with different set of games. Teenagers use the scientific method rather than reading the manual first. Games today maybe a person’s only place to express a high-level of creativity and growth. Older generations have a lot of criticisms for games, the games can help a person learn to think on his or her own.

Video games are progressively becoming a crucial medium today, despite the light connotation of its initial categorization. Today they are a business that produces billions of dollars and employs engineers and artists alike in an art form connecting interactive games, to virtual societies where millions of people dwell. However, like all human products, our same emotion, flaws and injustice show in the games, with the impression of hatred, racism and stereotypes that are our everyday background. What are the creators of these video games real intentions in the desire they produce in the human?

As stated earlier, there are several good learning principles that video games teach, which in turn complements learning. Video games allow students to explore roles and environments that would be otherwise impossible in a real-world setting. This principle is identity. Students learn a new domain by first experiencing/playing a new identity (Gee, 2005). In this identity, whether it is one created by students or a pre-created one that they take on, students observe value and work in the world, the way that their new identity does. In these games, students have the freedom to make alterations to the environments that they are in. Also, there are exposures to different time periods and extraordinary events. Reflection based on this data, reveals significant usage opportunities in subjects like social studies; timelines, time periods,

Tom Bissell presents an article in 2010, to college students of which is “Why Video Games Matter.” Bissell isn’t intending for the argument to be about video game criticism, the history of the gaming, or an assessment of anything. On the contrary, he wants to articulate his own opinions and thoughts on what playing games feels like, why he plays them, and the questions they make him think about. Being a gamer myself, I have also endured the struggles of what being obsessed with a video game feels like. It is understood that when first purchasing a video game, all one thinks about is getting home and popping it in the console, disregarding everything else that is happening in the vicinity.

According to Mary Flanagan and Helen Nissenbaum “all games express and embody human values.” Throughout all of chapter one in “Values at Play in Digital Games” both authors express their beliefs on the power behind videogames. According to them, one can learn an incredible amount about someone's beliefs and ideas based on how they play. From the way they make their characters to the different actions they commit, it all expresses their beliefs and values. One can even understand game developers opinions based on how and what kind of game they make.

The game seeks to trick us for a time into abandoning what is real (home) and focus on what is inside our monitors and T.V.s. Baudrillard spoke on the process of a simulated reality in a multi-step process. “In the first case, the image is a good appearance – representation is of the sacramental order.” This can be related to the early days of video games when they used cathode ray tubes to project pixelated images onto a curved glass scene. Video games where very new, and exciting. “In the second, it is an evil appearance – it is of the order of maleficence. This can be related to games starting about 15 years ago till today. Video games were and still are thought to be a source of violence in people. Many view them as a waste of time and that they detriment a person. Though this mentality is starting to fade as we shift towards the third order “In the third, it plays at being an appearance – it is of the order of sorcery”. Technology is starting to advance to the point that anyone without training in the field cannot understand what is going on. As myths about video games negative appearance are being debunked or confirmed their negative aspects are getting swallowed up by the more exciting advancements in the fields. “In the fourth, it is no longer of the order of appearances but of simulation.” At this level the video game stops being a game, and starts to become a part of everyday life (home). For as much as some may dedicate their whole lives to games, in the

To better understand this first one must understand what video Games are. Video games differ from other media (books, movies, television etc.) by the fact that video games are designed to keep people engaged. A person cannot passively surrender from a games storyline. The games were designed for the player to engage with their system and for the system to engage with the

Imagine it is 1990 and you just heard one of your friends got the new Super Mario World

Video Games to many, are a way to escape reality and get into their “zone” and do things only imaginable in virtual reality. For others, it's a stress reliever. Then there are those who see it as a horrendous creation that should

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

Video games are and interactive environment with a low cost and absolutely no risk. Games allow the gamer to have an active role in creating to the fullest extent (Video games act as educational tools). Games are worlds in which anything can be done, and the player is exposed to creativity with no limitations. When this creativity is exposed over and over, the creativity becomes stronger. Even very violent games like Grand Theft Auto 3, have educational background to them, this game allows the player to determine what type of person he will become. Gee goes on to say that “everybody plays that game (Grand Theft Auto 3) differently, they’re getting to explore identities, values, and ideologies.” (Video games act as educational tools). Also historical games such as Medal of Honor and Battlefield 1942, involve players into battles that happened in World War 2. I have learned about many battles while playing these games. I realize after playing, what type of climate the solders endured, what they fought against, and what was need to be done in order to win. These games give an accurate portrait of what the battle may have looked like, including bullets, expulsions, and historically accurate vehicles. Games like these show the students what they are actually learning. Also when the students tend to want to learn more about a particular battle, and remember information easily. Some other video games, such as

The video game industry is a multibillion dollar a year industry, so it isn't hard to understand why they go through great strides to protect their image. They provide entertainment to all ages, genders, nationalities, and ethnicities. Contrary to the opinions of the industries opponents, video games are not destroying our youth, they challenge, educate, and provide an escape from an oppressive world.

A large gap exists between the public's perception of video games and what the research actually shows. The following is an attempt to separate fact from fiction.