Are Games Art? An Artist Appeal.

Art is incredibly hard to define. The most popular thought on art is something which is made by a creative talented mind, expression of his/her feelings. Something difficult and royal, which is sometimes hard to understand. Art should be educating, enlightening and empowering. It is made to forget about your shallow problems and daily routines.

On contrary, what is a game? Here’s a general description:

“A game is a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.” (Salen & Zimmerman, 2004).

Jesse Schell defines games as —

“a problem-solving activity, approached with a playful attitude.”

Sadly, there’s nothing about art, aesthetic, perception, whatsoever. Only the combination of words “playful attitude” provides a hint that games can be made as an artistic intention.

Even Hideo Koijima said in one of his interviews:

“Art is something that radiates the artist. If 100 people walk by and a single person is captivated by whatever that piece radiates, it’s art. But video games aren’t trying capturing one person. A videogame should make sure that all 100 people that play that game should enjoy the service provided by that videogame. It’s something of a service. It’s not art. But I guess the way of providing service with that videogame is an artistic style, a form of art.”

The core argument is that games are service which satisfies dozens of people. What a dark world we live in!

It is truly comical — I’ve been on two sides. When I started as a fine artist, I was assured that only 0,0001% artist of all gets into commerce and is able to make a living out of his/her passion. Now, as a beginner game designer, I have to face the fact that games belong into the commercial world.

Guys, let’s balance things out.

Why should artists dive into game industry? Instead of producing a painting, one could invent a whole world. It is a fantastic possibility to try out so many different areas: illustration, character design, modelling, writing/storytelling, coding (please don’t start arguing here that code isn’t art ). It’s worth to try making a 2d platformer with great art like Gris or a first person exploration game with your 3d art inside, or a visual novel! Remember, a game doesn’t need to be about competition or accomplishment. It can contain a beautifully made artwork, music or a strong message. Besides, there are so many possibilities to create a game nowadays without using a single line of code.

Let’s talk about a game called Mooncharmer.

Is it a game, you may ask? You cannot win here. But the thing is that you are actually playing with the main character, you control it’s behaviour. You can also leave the character walk in any direction you point and watch what happens. You are the one who defines if you accomplished something or not. There are boundaries, dictated by code, but it’s you, who determines the rules. Isn’t that what we all need in games sometimes?!

For example, I see Mooncharmer as a beautiful illustration of life. Every direction you take transforms your personality to some extent, you are constantly evolving and exploring different parts of your personality. That’s the beauty of merging games and fine art — every every person interprets your creation differently.

P.S. Don’t forget to check out other projects by Paws Menu, they’re as beautiful as Mooncharmer.