Do you see video-games as a form of entertainment, or as a form of art?

[Lotus Victoria]

You can choose both, of course - that's what I usually hear. But I've also heard people saying that video-games can't reach the potential that a book or movie can, because they're not mature enough. While I don't agree, I'd like to hear your opinion on this.

Do you see video-games as a form of pure entertainment, without the need of an artistic purpose behind them, or do you think that video-games are, indeed, art?

[dope_danny]

Videogames are a medium, they can contain work with artistic merit but in a medium where it ranged from puzzles to 'various ways to kill imaginary shit' the odd walking simulator does not art make. No matter how many 'indies' making flash games looking for validation desperately want it to be.

Thing is being able to discern that being a description and not an insult is important, because a lot of folks have the strange idea that somethings only good if its art. When there is art that is literally shit on a canvas thats been given awards before.

They are games. People can want them to be all sorts of things but thats what they are. Games. DnD is all storytelling and imagination but its still a game, a good one but still not art either.

[mickybrighteyes]

If a movie can be art... a game can. And considering what gets labeled as art in the art world.... I don't see what the high standard to be counted as "the expression or application of human creative skill and imagination" is meant for.

[WintersLegion]

I see them as both.

[Jtbrig7390]

They are factually both.

Now are they good art/entertainment, That is subjective.

[Requimortem]

I've seen those "artistic" video games. They're pretentious garbage.

[zoefschildpad]

I've seen those "artistic" video games. They're pretentious garbage.

Exactly like a lot of other art.

[nyc81991]

I think of "Video Games" as a form of entertainment with "Art" in it.

[Requimortem]

Exactly like a lot of other art.

I could not agree more.

[Low Hanging Fruit]

For me personally 99% of them are just entertainment. But every once in a while one of those 1%ers come along and blow me away as a true work of art.

[Altrec]

They are both to varying degrees.

[EyelessCrow]

Depends on the game but both. Sometimes I take a second from the entertainment and just look around at the scenery and sometimes it catches me off guard at the level of detail.

[Wondercrab]

"Art" is always a very nebulous and subjective term, but going with the common understanding of it as a creative work that somehow transcends regular run of the mill turn-your-brain-off entertainment, then gaming is just as artistic as most other modern mediums. It just doesn't yet have the prestige of mediums that have been around for longer, with decades or even centuries of material to draw from, much of which was created during a time when the expression of said mediums was more artistic than commercial.

There are a number of great artsy games out there, and many more that have artistic elements wrapped up in an entertaining package. The one thing that most games still struggle with is expressing ideas in ways that are truly unique to gaming, however. Once more developers figure this out, the artistic potential of gaming will become more apparent to the mainstream.

I agree with the common sentiment that gaming is absolutely an artistic medium, but as a whole it hasn't yet matured to anything like the peak of its potential. It's in its awkward teenage years at the moment. We're beyond the wild, often clueless experimentation of the medium's infancy, but we're not quite at the point where we really understand how to capitalise on the true potential of gaming as an artform.

[Badlanguage]

Art is a form of entertainment...

[Deleted]

Human beings like stories.

We started with telling stories around the fire.
Then we wrote the stories down in books.
Then we acted out stories on a stage.
Then we acted our stores and filmed it.
And finally we put ourselves into stories (games).

So to me video games are just a natural evolution of enjoying stories, with the potential for absolutely best and most immersive experience of all the story telling mediums (subjective).

They are art. They are entertainment. The 2 are not exclusive.

[socomdan]

Art is such a hard thing to define... what is art for some is not art for others. For me all video games are entertainment and some of those are artistic in nature. I remember having a deep appreciation for the metal gear series since it had impactful scenes where some even brought me to tears! So much so that I still remember those scenes up to this day. If a video game can do this its art! but not all video games are art.

Defintion of 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"

[MonsieuRoberts]

A medium for a creative mind to work upon can be either. I see games as both, with plenty of variance from a 1 star creation to a 10.

[Pull My Finger]

It should be both. The artistic potential of video games is mind-boggling.

Unfortunately, for the most part it's just entertainment, a shallow one too.

[Badlanguage]

let me reiterate: art is a form of entertainment, video games are a form of art, therefore video games are entertainment.

[Deleted]

The first game I saw that made me think about games as art in a way that wasn't crudely apeing the storytelling of films or books and wasn't trying to look as pretty as a picture, was Antichamber. There are others I suppose - but to me, Antichamber stands out as the true, shining example of what videogames as art should really be about.

Obviously this is subjective, and if I gave it five minutes of thought I'd find dozens of other examples, but... Antichamber.