In many recent threads discussing games and their themes and settings I've noticed that many people compare games to books, films, and paintings. But are games really part of this group are they art at all? They certainly contain artistic aspects but that does mean they are art. Especially since that in virtual all art the individual is a spectator and never a participant, where as game the individual is usually a participant. When I thought about it more it occurred to me that computer games are really not art they are the same as board games or sports just utilizing a different medium. After all I do not think anyone would compare the creator of a new sport to an artist, and yet many game developers in this forum consider themselves artists. Are games a form of art and as such should be pursued and developed as such. Meaning that you do them not because you want to make money, but because you love making games and have a passion for them. Or should we consider them a business or construction project much like an engineer designing a bridge. Certainly as far as the major corporations are concerned games are a business just like Hollywood considers movies to be a business. Should we be treating games as such and work at them to produce a marketable good? Deep in my heart though I feel that’s wrong and that games should be made because you have an idea that you want to express regardless of whether or not anyone else experiences it. edit:damn typos... ----------------------------------------------------- Writer, Programer, Cook, I'm a Jack of all Trades Current Design project Chaos Factor Design Document [edited by - TechnoGoth on November 25, 2003 4:32:08 PM]

Is live theatre art?

ld

Yes.

NEXT !

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Sancte Isidore ora pro nobis !

ld:
Of course live theatre is art but I don''t see how playing a computer game equates to watching a play.
Maybe if you explained further it might make sense.

ahw:

....As a wise man once said, "explain, prove and justify"


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Writer, Programer, Cook, I''m a Jack of all Trades
Current Design project
Chaos Factor Design Document

quote:

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Original post by TechnoGoth


....As a wise man once said, "explain, prove and justify"


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Writer, Programer, Cook, I'm a Jack of all Trades
Current Design project
Chaos Factor Design Document

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That wasn't a wise man. That was a scientist.

Creating games is an art form thus making games an art.

[edited by - gh_0_st on November 25, 2003 4:54:51 PM]

No, no they are not.

How many threads did we already had about it ?

Short answer : yes, how could a sum of arts not be art ?


-* So many things to do, so little time to spend. *-

The problem with this question is that there is no clear definition for what art is, it''s very subjective. I''m starting to think that maybe there really is no such thing as art and it''s just a word that society has invented to attribute to certain forms of media. When a new form of media appears, if it resembles what is currently known as "art" we seem to then classify it as art. This is where the problem with games comes in because they fall somewhere between the technical and the artistic.

digital radiation

quote:

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Original post by TechnoGoth
ld:
Of course live theatre is art but I don''t see how playing a computer game equates to watching a play.
Maybe if you explained further it might make sense.

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Live theatre itself is art. But watching a live theatre is not art, that''s entertainment. The same goes for video games. Making them is art, playing them isn''t.

TechnoGoth:
"I''ve noticed that many people compare games to books, films, and paintings. But are games really part of this group are they art at all? "

My answer would be YES. Games are a form of Art, according to our dictionary art is the following:

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ART
Human effort to imitate, supplement, alter, or counteract the work of nature.

The conscious production or arrangement of sounds, colors, forms, movements, or other elements in a manner that affects the sense of beauty, specifically the production of the beautiful in a graphic or plastic medium.
The study of these activities.
The product of these activities; human works of beauty considered as a group.
High quality of conception or execution, as found in works of beauty; aesthetic value.
A field or category of art, such as music, ballet, or literature.
A nonscientific branch of learning; one of the liberal arts.

A system of principles and methods employed in the performance of a set of activities: the art of building.
A trade or craft that applies such a system of principles and methods: the art of the lexicographer.

Skill that is attained by study, practice, or observation: the art of the baker; the blacksmith''s art.
Skill arising from the exercise of intuitive faculties: “Self-criticism is an art not many are qualified to practice” (Joyce Carol Oates).

arts Artful devices, stratagems, and tricks.
Artful contrivance; cunning.

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So all you gotta do is agree with the definition of art. As yourself what is art? then games will then either fit or not fit. It''s all up to you, but personally if you are asking the forum, you should probably listen to the dictionary also.

Hollywood is business, the Video Game industry is business and even Art galleries are business. We still have great movies, we still have great games...no matter what.

The industry will grow up just like hollywood has:
- A license does not mean sucess 100%.
- Gamers are getting smarter, games must also be smarter.
- Word of mouth is extremely powerful.

ps Not all ART can be fun, but games sometimes are. woohoo!

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I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.

-Albert Einstein