Video Games: Artform or Timewaster?

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A Controversial Statement

Roger Ebert, the late film critic, was right about many things. He even defended Star Wars in 1977, when other critics turned up their noses. There was one opinion of his, however, that proved far more divisive.

In 2005, Ebert announced that “Video games can never be art…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.”

It was an opinion that drew a firestorm of controversy online. Endless think pieces were dashed out, agreeing with or refuting the Pulitzer Prize winner.

What is Art, and do video games count?

Of course, at the most basic level, video games are a form of art. Anything that a human crafts with skill or imagination counts as art. But perhaps the more pertinent question is whether they are ‘Fine Art’. The kind of art that is profound, and will stand the test of time.

Ebert made this comment back in 2005, but it’s still true that the public tends to view video-games as distractions. Timewasters played by children and child-like adults. Apart from passionate gamers, most of us would be unable to name a title that we could comfortably classify as High Art. In that regard, Ebert may have been right.

Video Games are Evolving

The irony is that Ebert was a film critic. Like video-games, film is a relatively young art, 120 years or so. At the beginning it was thought of as nothing more than a novelty. It was a side-show amusement found at fairgrounds. With time, it evolved. With each generation, films became more advanced, experimental and thought provoking. 

Video Games are going through that same evolution. Changes in technology have taken games from blocky platformers to photo-realistic works of beauty, such as ‘The Last of Us’ and ‘Beyond: Two Souls’.

The Rise of Indie Games

Meanwhile, access to game development software has led to a rise in indie games. These are more personal works created by singular visionaries, rather than corporations. 

Will O’Neill’s ‘Actual Sunlight’, for example, is an autobiographical game born out of the creator’s depression. Sam Barlow’s ‘Telling Lies’ is a game that experiments with form, playing out like a computer desktop, and mixing in live action footage.

A Changing Reputation

The reputation of Video-Games is quickly changing. Respected art museums, such as the MoMA and the Smithsonian, have started exhibiting them. Studies, including one by Michigan State University have found that games can actually increase a player’s creativity over time. 

It’s an exciting time: While cinema seems stuck rehashing franchises and pandering to nostalgia, video-games are pushing the boundaries of what they can be, and challenging the audience to keep up. 

Isn’t that what great art does?


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