Can Video Games be Art?

After almost a decade of anticipation, every gamer is eagerly waiting for the release of Team Ico’s, The Last Guardian. Most of that excitement is because of the the company’s previous PlayStation hit Shadow of the Colossus, which is seen as a video game masterpiece. However, The Last Guardian is once again asking the question, “Can video games can be considered art?”

Art has always had a very loose definition. Some believe art is pure restricted to paintings and sculptures while other think that some forms entertainment, such as movies and novels, are also art if they give the audience some sort of emotion. Even the latter group, however, excludes video games in their definition. While this may be because the gaming community has been seen in a bad light by the general public over the past few year, some games easily fit this definition of what are should be. If movies can be seen masterpieces, why can’t games like The Last of Us or Metal Gear? Are visual novels such as Zero Escape or Ace Attorney any different from the story of a novel? If art is judged simply by their beauty, why can’t video games be judged the same way?

When a video game does attempt to be art, arguably, it can express its feelings, views, and emotions more effectively than any other art form. Video games make a direct connection to the audience. That is why horror games are much more terrifying than horror movies, action games more action packed than action movies, so on and so forth. No other medium except games can put you personally inside a world. Gamers can become quickly invested and that is what allows the developers to speak their thoughts. Journey, a game that has little gameplay and is all about how the gamer interprets the adventure, is a perfect example of this.

While most may not accept it, video games can be an artform that is unlike any other medium. Most games strive to be fun but there are few who attempt to accomplish this feat. But when they do, in the case of games like Shadow of the Colossus and Journey, they create an experience that is unparalleled.

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