Are Video Games Art?

It has been many decades now (more than we a priori imagine) that video games have been part of our lives. Many generations of children have had fun through this popular form of entertainment, and we cannot deny that video games have provided us all with many hours of play and distraction. Now, can we consider video games as a form of artistic creation?

This is a question that has been talked about a lot lately. Many video game designers have claimed their place in the artistic panorama and, really, they are right. Because, although video games began as very basic computer programming, for years they have been a prodigy of imagination and creativity: from the tremendous graphics used to the exciting stories, which could perfectly be the plot of a movie (and, in fact, we find many films based on video games).

In this article we will analyze if video games are art and because.

Can video games be considered art?

This question, although it seems easy to answer, is not so easy. Because, although there are video games that, as we have already pointed out, are authentic prodigies of creativity, it is also true that others present a much more basic argument.

The historical moment in which each video game is developed has a lot to do with this. Because the first video games from the 50s (yes, you read correctly, 50s!) are not the same as the current ones. So let’s start by doing a brief tour of the history of video games

What was the first video game?

Well, it will depend on the expert you talk to. Because even today the international community does not agree on this matter. It is almost unanimously accepted that the first video game was the famous Pong developed by Atari and released in 1972. But this is not exactly the case, since this game was preceded, only by a few months, by the Magnavox Odyssey. And here we have the first controversy.

But the issue goes further, because many experts go back to the 1950s to locate the birth of video games. The video game that marks the beginning of this entertainment would be, in this case, Noughts and Crosses, designed by AS Douglas and released on the market in 1952. This game was a simple and basic tic-tac-toe game, in which the player could interact with the machine. This video game would be followed by Tennis for Two (1958), developed by William Higginbotham and which would be the first to allow the game between two people.

For others, the date of the first video game is 1951 To affirm this they rely on the existence of Nimrod, a machine created by John Benett that was presented at the Festival of Britain that year and offered visitors mathematical games and puzzles. For many, well, that is the first video game in history.

It is? Well… technically, no. Because if we travel to no less than 1939 (just when World War II began), we find that Edward Uhler Condon, renowned nuclear physicist, designed he Nimatronthe first machine against which the player could compete He Nimatron It also offered mathematical games, and was presented at the Westinghouse Exhibition of 1940. In fact, it seems that the Nimrod by Benett was based on this first prototype.

Were these first video games art?

It can be said that, obviously, these first video games were not art. These were very basic computer programs, where there was no room for any type of creativity. For example, him Noughts and Crosses, also known as OXO, was a simple black screen that featured noughts and crosses (a tic-tac-toe) in green. Of course, we’re talking about 1952; Computing was still taking its first steps, especially in the field of domestic gaming.

In reality, these first games were not intended to be kept at home It was not until the 1960s, with the appearance of the video game Fox and Hounds, which begins the domestic gaming revolution. This game would evolve, already in the 70s, in the aforementioned Magnavox Odyssey, the first home system that connected to television. The game was developed by Ralph Baer, ​​nicknamed the “father of video games,” and is considered the first video game console in history.

So were these first video games art? It depends on what we understand by art. If as such we also include everything created by humans beyond creative expression, then we can say that yes, these first games were art. But strictly speaking, and taking the definition of the word art that the RAE gives us (in the next section), we cannot consider these primitive computer designs as artistic expression.

So, when do video games become art?

The RAE defines art as: “manifestation of human activity through which what is real is interpreted or what is imagined is captured with plastic, linguistic or sound resources.” Based on this definition, it is clear that we cannot consider these primitive video games art, since they do not involve any personal interpretation of reality or what is imagined. They are simply machines that allow you to interact with a computer.

But little by little, Designers perfect their video games, and then new and great possibilities open up The decade of the 80s is a real boom in this sense; and later, in the 90s, video games reached their golden age.

The 90s marked the 3D revolution. Video games with three-dimensional environments are beginning to be designed, such as the famous Doom (1993). This new interpretation of video games presents a strong creative charge, as designers perfect not only the settings, but also the characters and stories. And this is when we can start talking about video games as artistic expression since its development implies, as we have already mentioned, a good story (in the manner of movies or novels) and good graphics that involve the player.

In the 1980s, some art museums exhibited video games that were already obsolete by then, making it clear that, yes, video games are indeed part of artistic expression.

The first works of video game art

These are some of the first titles that can be considered art forms in the world of video games.

Loom (1990)

Among these first gems is, without a doubt, Loom (not to be confused with the aforementioned Doom), developed and released by the LucasFilm Games company in 1990 Loom marked a turning point in the world of video games, since it represents a true artistic revelation. The game designed by LucasFilm Games perfectly combines wonderful graphics, an unforgettable story at the level of the best adventure novels and an immersive background, based on music inspired by the Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. Really, can a video game with such characteristics not be considered art?

Loom It’s pure fantasy. It was the fourth game to use the SCUMM (Script Creation Utility for Maniac Mansion) engine. This engine allowed us to support Loom’s graphic adventures, just as he had previously done with the no less magnificent Maniac Mansion (1987), also from LucasFilm Games. The story of Loom It is as sophisticated and elaborate as any novel, and includes elements of Greek mythology, as well as a Middle Ages full of fantasy. The graphics add to this wonderful world with truly magical settings, very different from the rest of the offerings of the time. These graphics, developed by Mark Ferrari and Gary Winnick, manage to capture, with the precarious pixel technology of the time, amazing details.

The creator of Loom, Brian Moriarty, expressed it this way in an interview with Adventure and Co.: “I was excited by the possibilities it offered. What if we made the programming and story of these games much more sophisticated? What if we put them in boxes and sold them as books?” We believe that these phrases imply an obvious connection with artistic expression.

Monkey Island (1990)

Since then, The world of artistic possibilities in video games expanded considerably The second gem of the video game, also released by LucasFilms Games, was the successful Monkey Island, created by Ron Gilbert, which would be followed by no less than 4 more games. This time, the story revolved around a young man, Guybrush Threepwood, who wants to be the best pirate in the Caribbean. The plot is a prodigy of occurrences and originalities, seasoned with a very peculiar sense of humor that gives it its personal stamp.

Monkey Island represented the continuation of graphic adventures, which allowed designers to sharpen their imagination Again, it is impossible not to talk about art when we refer to this type of games, since they perfectly combine good stories, good designs and excellent soundtracks. What difference is there, then, with a film, framed, by the way, in the so-called seventh art?

Video games as a cultural interest

In 2006, the French Ministry of Culture ruled that video games were an asset of cultural interest. This is not only true in that they are part of human artistic expression, but also because they are a very successful vehicle for the transmission of values ​​and cultural heritage.

In 1996, Cyro Interactive launched Versailles 1685, an adventure game set in the time of Louis XIV in the iconic French palace. The video game was just another graphic adventure, but it had a peculiarity: As the player progressed through the story, they could talk and interview real people who existed at the time Not only that; The graphics, absolutely fantastic, reproduced the palace of Versailles with absolute fidelity and realism, so that, in reality, the player was taking an interactive visit at the same time. The background music also consisted of musical works of the time, baroque jewels about which information could be consulted.

All this made Versailles 1685 a very complete game, since it not only allowed you to live an exciting adventure (in which the player had to unmask a plot against the king), but, at the same time, it immersed you in a specific historical moment and allowed you to visit one of the most significant monuments in France.

Video games, imagination and creativity

Throughout the decades of existence of video games, we have witnessed a refinement of designs and plots, which turn this type of entertainment, sometimes, into authentic works of art. As in all artistic sectors, in the world of video games there are works of higher and lower quality but that is only related to the creators, who are, in this case, the artists.

Video games allow, like painting, literature or music, to let the imagination fly. They have gone from being simple programming, like the machine that Edward Uhler Condon presented in 1940, to being authentic prodigies of creativity and design. Given such results, how can we not consider video games as another artistic expression?

A study conducted by Michigan State University and led by the school’s psychology professor, Linda Jackson, concluded that boys and girls who play video games are more creative. This is related, of course, to the design of video game developers, who are increasingly involved in stimulating the creativity of little ones (and those not so little ones) with their work. The study makes it clear that, within this stimulus, the massive use of computers and smartphones is not contemplated, which can have the opposite effect.

In recent years, many countries have established sentences that consider video games as artistic expression. This is the case of the United States, whose Supreme Court ruled, in 2011, that video games were a form of art and, as such, they enjoyed protections. Also Germany, in 2018, officially considered this type of entertainment as art. And we have already mentioned that, a little further back in time, in 2006, the French Ministry of Culture considered them cultural assets, as well as artistic expression.

These considerations at government levels do not appear, as we have already seen, just because. Throughout the article we have been confirming that video games are another form of expression of ideas and creativity, as well as a stimulus for the imagination, so, indeed, they should be considered art, in the same way that a good movie is. or a good book.