Why there is Art in Video Games

Photo by Diodoro

Video games are a new medium which actually allow for a larger range of artistic expression than previous mediums. By involving the user, a game’s full artistic merit is shown by equal parts action and reaction - with modern hardware abilities and technologies the game environment truly becomes unpredictable and sometimes closely mirroring a real-world environment.

It is the designer’s artistic rendition of something resembling reality that draws the gamer into the experience. Think, for example, of “Grand Theft Auto IV” or “Metal Gear Solid 4.” Both games achieve different levels of immersion through careful application of beautifully rendered environments, choreographed fight scenes, and apt music selections (orchestral pieces in MGS4 or more fitting rap and electric productions in GTAIV)

Although such games have great artistic merit in themselves, remember also the games that purposely blur the line between simple entertainment and art. Ico, for instance, was an innovative game for the PS2 which garnered much praise for its’ beautiful environments and moving story line. “Okami” is an even more recent Playstation 2 game that aims to be most pleasing aesthetically, through its’ close imitation of Japanese calligraphy and wood block prints. The experience one feels when playing the game is unlike anything else currently available, simply because of the level of artistic direction applied by the designers, who wanted to make something new, novel, and beautiful. When considering the presence of art in video games, it is important to ask where the creator’s involvement ends, and the gamer’s freedom to create becomes apparent.

Even early games offer broad room for interpretation and reflection. Take the game Pac-Man, for instance. Is the maze filled with pellets simply an innovative game mechanic, or a fabrication reflective of a post-modern, consumer-driven society? Pac-Man’s only option is to constantly consume the pellets without stopping, his only solace found in devouring trivial, bouncing fruit or by exacting revenge upon the ghosts that haunt him.

Super Mario Brothers features many cheery landscapes with an underlying story of disillusionment and fraternal resentment, along with anthropomorphic themes of accepting dinosaurs, toadstools, and other animals as comrades - similar to many mythological tales. Martial artists can only dream of performing combinations such as those witnessed in the game series “God of War,” in which the fight sequences and abilities for destruction rival any of those found in cinema.

The next time you are playing through a new game, reflect a little bit on the aesthetics of the digital environment, think about how the different elements of the game act in harmony to create a special, believable experience. All forms of art can be found within the video game medium, it just has to be looked for!