If you’ve read here for a while, you’ll know that I write a lot about video games. It’s something I have loved since I was young and have come to appreciate so much more in my teenage years. I’m passionate about video games and hope to make one or help make one, just as much as I want to make movies or get published one day. Now, I don’t have a position of authority on what I’m going to talk about, this is mainly opinion based. That said…
Video games are art.
This was at one point a topic of debate, but video games are now considered an art form in not only the eyes of their creators and players, but also the government.
In 2006, the French ministry of culture first recognized video games as a form of artistic expression. In May of 2011, The National Endowment for the Arts recognized video games as an art form by starting to give out grants for “interactive games” in the United States. Canada also does this with the “Canada Media Fund” which partially funded “The Long Dark.” There was also the 2011 “Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association” which gave games the same level of free speech other forms of art have in the United States.
superawesomevectorsWhy do we consider these games art? In my opinion, they are considered art because they are an amalgamation of all other genres of art. I love the visual stylings of “The Long Dark,” “Shadow of the Colossus” and “Pokemon,” and I love the music in games like “Transistor,” “EarthBound” and “Castlevania.” Not to mention the stories of “Bioshock,” “SOMA” and “Detroit: Become Human.”
Video games work as interactive experiences that rival the intensity and enjoyment of movies. They are one of the greatest and most prevalent forms of art we have in our day and age. The mixing of mediums that push games towards their peak of quality is what I love most about video games. Because of my minor dyslexia, reading has always been difficult for me. I have a problem with spelling and I prefer graphic novels and movies to a literary classic. Video games, movies, plays and other visual mediums have helped me express and explain my thoughts. That’s partially why they are the focus of what I write about here at the Daily Utah Chronicle.
I know a lot of people turn their nose up at the mention of video games, and that’s okay, but I would like to have game developers and games be as respected as all other artists and forms of entertainment. Video games can be family fun bowling simulators, big budget shoot-em-ups or a mystery novel come to life. All of them are in one way or another, an expression of creativity. Art.
If you would like to read any of my other articles or are looking for some great new games, I link them down below.
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