gaming What year do you think gaming became art?

[EmployeeAMillion 70]

The merit of video games being an art form is a serious debate, with some claiming that since the beginning and end is up to the players' skill, it can't really be a complete piece of art, while others, like myself, compare the games themselves to marbles that the gamers sculpt their own experience out of. However, when did video games start to become more like mass media? What year was the one where people were having second thoughts over gaming being some sort of fad? 1985, 1992, 1998 and 2006 are all contenders for me for various reasons:

1985- Super Mario Bros., 'nuff said.

1992- Mortal Kombat and Night Trap gave gamers their first real inappropriate scenes and prophecised games needing a content rating system like movies/TV (though American TV didn't have ratings for it's shows until 1996).

1998- There were so many hit games this year (Mario Party, Pokémon Red/Blue, Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Sonic Adventure (at least at the time)) that it would be impossible to view video games the same way again once 1999 came around.

2006- The Wii coming out definitely pointed to a further divide between hardcore gaming (PlayStation and XBox) and casual gaming (Nintendo and later more advanced smartphone gaming).

 

Through all this, I see 1992 as the starting point and 1998 as the ending point for this evolution into a standard form of entertainment. I believe the 1990s may very well be the most important decade for video games and how we see them today, and 1992-1998 especially confirming that gaming is an art form.

 

So what do you guys think?

[FlitterFlutter 1,596]

ART-the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power: Oxford dictionary

 

By this definition video games are still not art as a whole. A game is normally not appreciated primarily for its beauty. 

[2DPone-3 21]

The merit of video games being an art form is a serious debate, with some claiming that since the beginning and end is up to the players' skill, it can't really be a complete piece of art, while others, like myself, compare the games themselves to marbles that the gamers sculpt their own experience out of. However, when did video games start to become more like mass media? What year was the one where people were having second thoughts over gaming being some sort of fad? 1985, 1992, 1998 and 2006 are all contenders for me for various reasons:

1985- Super Mario Bros., 'nuff said.

1992- Mortal Kombat and Night Trap gave gamers their first real inappropriate scenes and prophecised games needing a content rating system like movies/TV (though American TV didn't have ratings for it's shows until 1996).

1998- There were so many hit games this year (Mario Party, Pokémon Red/Blue, Ocarina of Time, Metal Gear Solid, Half-Life, Sonic Adventure (at least at the time)) that it would be impossible to view video games the same way again once 1999 came around.

2006- The Wii coming out definitely pointed to a further divide between hardcore gaming (PlayStation and XBox) and casual gaming (Nintendo and later more advanced smartphone gaming).

 

Through all this, I see 1992 as the starting point and 1998 as the ending point for this evolution into a standard form of entertainment. I believe the 1990s may very well be the most important decade for video games and how we see them today, and 1992-1998 especially confirming that gaming is an art form.

 

So what do you guys think?

 

I think that the act of creating a game is an art. I've worked in the indie game industry going on a year and a half now and I can definitely tell you that making a game is indeed an art but as of playing one, I do not think it can be considered an art HOWEVER, the ability to use strategy and calculate and utilize those skills is indeed an art and in my opinion those two things are what make the aspect of gaming an art.

[Discordian 6,021]

ART-the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power: Oxford dictionary

 

By this definition video games are still not art as a whole. A game is normally not appreciated primarily for its beauty.

Not necessarily true. There's a certain beauty in the functionality of a game and how well it all comes together. Even if the main reason you play it is for technical prowess there's something to admire in that. It's why games like Street Fighter and Devil May Cry became so popular in the first place.

 

Also included in that definition is the emotional power of the art form. Video games have been well regarded as amazing stories, moreso than most media because of the fact that the player is in control and it makes them more than a casual observer. People get really invested in games for their story, the characters and even the actions they take while playing the game. Whether sorrow, rage or joy there's almost always an emotional investment.

 

As far as gaming being an art form, I wouldn't know or care. I just play the games. But purely based on this definition gaming certain can qualify.

[FlitterFlutter 1,596]

Not necessarily true. There's a certain beauty in the functionality of a game and how well it all comes together. Even if the main reason you play it is for technical prowess there's something to admire in that. It's why games like Street Fighter and Devil May Cry became so popular in the first place.

 

Also included in that definition is the emotional power of the art form. Video games have been well regarded as amazing stories, moreso than most media because of the fact that the player is in control and it makes them more than a casual observer. People get really invested in games for their story, the characters and even the actions they take while playing the game. Whether sorrow, rage or joy there's almost always an emotional investment.

 

As far as gaming being an art form, I wouldn't know or care. I just play the games. But purely based on this definition gaming certain can qualify.

The key word in my statement was the word normally. you are correct it can qualify, i just don't think normally it does.