Blogpost # 6: Is it an Art?

Arguments and debates were spread over the internet about the topic: Is Video Game An Art? If you will ask me if it is an art, I will answer, "Yes, but it is still growing and developing as an art." Although I am not an artist, I appreciated every detail of the games. On how the programmers did their best to improve the storyline, the characters and the set-up of the games. But take note, I only say that it is "DEVELOPING" art but not an art yet. How can I say that? In my own perception, video game is a medium of art. We can use the video games to express our feelings and to show our creativeness.

As we define art, it is the product of the imagination, expression and emotion of the person through paintings, sculpture, photography, music, dance and other. Like the art, video game provokes emotional response, insire and reflect our social mores.

Computer programmer says that video games are art and designing them is. Just because they are not on a wall in a gallery somewhere it does not mean hours of work did not go into designing, creating, and crafting them.

Art can be seen, watched, listened, or read . Games can be played. But can you also play a work of art?

In the article entitled "Video Games Can Never Be Art" written by Roger Ebert in the site "Roger Ebert.com", he stood on his belief that video games cannot be art saying ,"To my knowledge, no one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers,"  though many people said that he must play games before saying such things. Due of those comment, he step out the issue on 2010 but give his words about the controversy.

Saying that video games can be never an art may be a foolish thing to say because never can define as long time or it will not happen. In his debate with Kellee Santiago regarding the video games and art, Roger conceded that Kellee might be right in saying that video games already are art. 

To elaborate on how Kellee convinced Roger, the lady presented a prehistoric cave painting, calling it "kind of chicken scratches on walls," and contrasts it with Michelangelo's ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Her point is that while video games may be closer to the chicken scratch end of the spectrum. Kellee then says that warning evolved in speech, writing began as a form of bookkeepping but it evolved as a storytelling or song. And the "kind of chicken scratches on walls" was on 3D film. 

Kellee said that baseball, chess, and even mah jong is not a form of art which Roger agreed. However, Kellee's definition of art came from Wikipedia, "Art is the process of deliberately arranging elements in a way that appeals to the senses or emotions," was not accepted by Roger because chess can be fit it the definition.

According to the article there is difference between art and game, you cannot win the art but the game you can.  Games has a rules, objectives, and outcome while art is subjective. Games without rules or points are just story, novel, play or dance. You cannot win them but you experience them. 

The author stated that Kellee phrases "Art is a way of communicating ideas to an audience in a way that the audience finds engaging."  Yet, for the author, what ideas are contained in Stravinsky, Picasso, "Night of the Hunter," "Persona," "Waiting for Godot," "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock?" 

Kellee now presented a sample game "Waco Resurrection". The game which the player fight against FBI agents. The author stated that the game shows brainless shooting-gallery because instead of inspiring his followers to play it it just showed to exchanged fire with agents. For the author, "Waco Resurrection" may indeed be a great game, but as potential art it still hasn't reached the level of chicken scratches.

The other game presented on their debate was "Braid". This game's objective is to explore our own relationship with our past. You will encounter enemies and collect puzzle pieces, but there is one key difference, you cannot die. You can go back in time and correct your mistakes. She said that chess cannot consider as art but the game is similar to the chess in terms of its rules, the taking back a move.

To conclude the article, video games is not yet an art or some are still lack of artistic value. Some are still evolving and need to develop more. May be there is a game that can be in a potential of chicken scratches. 

Another article that I found related on the article above is written by Patrick Holleman entitled "Can Video Games be Art?" in the site called "The Game Design Forum". The author started his article with Roger Ebert and his debate that I stated on my first article. 

This article breaks into three section. First is "what is art", followed by "what is play" and finally "how video games can be art?"

The author presented the movie entitled "The Hurt Locker" which is in the top-ten list movies of Roger Ebert. The movie is about a war between Iraq and United States, which Ebert said that it has a good work of art. If we are not in a military forces we might not enjoy it because who will enjoy war movies if we do not involved here. But the feeling of being excited, in action and in drama that the audience feel is what art means. They did not experience the actual war but the artistic war.

"Art allows the viewer, listener, or reader to experience something with their senses and emotions without actually experiencing it in reality" the author said and I agree with it. It is not new in film and also in music. We do not actually experience what the lyrics said but we enjoy and relate ourselves in painful and happiness in it. 

On the other hand, do you ever know the difference between game and play? Speaking metaphorically, game is a noun connected to play a verb. But what is play really means? The author did not give the exact definition of game but he cited situation. Seeing a puppies or kittens spar with each other is consider "playing" but they are not in in real fighting. Another situation is, children seeing their selves as pirates or one of the characters in their favorite game is is just a play.

But what will happen if the children imagine various scenarios while they are playing? It is just a kind of a play imitating an action without risking the real world outcome. If the children wielded their sticks in each other in an imaginary fight, they will not hurt.

Play, in its most essential form, allows the participants to experience an activity without actually engaging in that activity. Play is a way of understanding an activity, and a way of building skills for an activity, in a safe, controlled environment. Rules protect the participants of play and embody the safety and structure that allows a play experience.

Play and art have similarities, with these definitions. Both art and play are meant to allow participants to experience things that they are not actually doing. In both art and play the experience is a safe one, whether emotionally, or physically, or both.

But there is one question that still remain as unanswered, "Can play be art?" , "Can we play the art?" Those questions will be answered if the arguments and debates with each party will be cleared. Video games may become more artistic and it is now possible because of the technology and widening audience for it.