Games Are Worthy

A game play screenshot of Microsoft’s video game Halo; featuring the Defiant Map Pack. Some could see this as an appealing piece of art.  Image from: http://www.wired.com/2011/05/343-industries-halo/

      Eric Zimmerman’s opinion piece, “Games stay away from Art. Please,” on Polygon.com, debates if games should or should not aspire to be art. As a freelancing, digital artist, I have to disagree with the author’s perspective; some video games are already art, and future aspirations are nothing to fear. Today’s games just have yet to earn the official, “tip-of-the-art-beret.” Let’s go through some of the reasons games are worthy to be called art and aspiring to do so should not be shamed.

“Slave Labour” by Banksy. This piece was auctioned at a final price of $1.1 million.  It included stencil spray paint and an actual string of fabric UK flags. Banksy, being anonymous, never collects revenue for his auctioned work.  Photo credit unavailable.

   Throughout time, new mediums of art have always been revealed, reviled, and then respected. Since the introduction of Pong, video games, have been the scapegoat for everything that is wrong with today’s world (Gillespie, 2014). According to Zimmerman (2014), “What makes something art are the social structures that surround it.” Just like the art of turntablism and scratching records is now considered an official type of music, street art, such as stencils and graffiti, has recently been accepted as an official medium of art. Once disrespected in the art community, Banksy, a famous street artist, is a name commonly heard in the press alongside words like “vandal” or “criminal.” In news reports, authorities would beg the public to turn him in, while fans were making art pieces, like “Slave Labour,” tourist attractions. “Slave Labour” was soon taken down and sold at an art auction for over a million dollars. Banksy, fearing legal action for all of his “vandalizing,” has never collected a dime from any of these auctions – he would rather make a personal statement and remain anonymous. Until people can see the similarities to art, video games will continue to be mislabeled by society as merely a product for wasting time and energy (Ryzik, 2013).

        All games are not created equal; which means some games should be viewed as more than just a tool for entertainment. Zimmerman’s (2014) article states games are, “…less of something created than something explored, manipulated, or inhabited,” which is an understatement. Much beautiful and artistic work is found within some games, but people are quick to forget this once it is stamped with a price tag down at the local Wal-Mart. This is such a lazy way for society to write-off all of this collaborative, artistic energy and it breaks my creative, little heart. Although Zimmerman (2014) describes games as, “…less musical composition and more musical instrument – to be played, by players,” some games are very similar to movies. Gillespie (2014) cites Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (2011) when ruling against censorship; “Video games create conversation just like movies, books and plays.” Both of them stir emotion and create imagination as long as they contain a good storyline and character development. You wouldn’t debate film production as an art, so why debate games when they are so alike? The earliest silent movies were created to humor and entertain; now, Hollywood celebrates film with conventions and coveted, golden awards. Video games are worthy of artistic validation, just like all forms of creative expression (Gillespie, 2014). Just like the Cannes Film Festival brings together thousands of movie fans, games are able to do the same.

A photo from Comic-Con (2014) showing the support of fans. Photo by Kevin Green © 2014 SDCC

      Artistic aspirations in movie making did not result in the “death of film,” so why is Zimmerman fearful of game creators doing the same? Included in his article is a paragraph titled, “Enshrining Something as Art Means Death.” When we consider movies, we can disprove this broad statement and realize that if something is respected as art, it can flourish. One only has to look as far as Comic-Con, which has increased to over 130,000 attendees, to see that games will thrive as long as fans support them. Zimmerman (2014) is unaware that he actually contradicts himself when he states that once games are, “’…just another kind of festival or marketplace,’ they will, ‘…no longer have the disruptive power that makes them so special.’” With this quote, we can assume that Zimmerman is a passionate gamer who considers games special, which is precisely why, with or without art recognition, games will not die. Fanatics are fanatics, whether it is oil painting or digital characters, whether the medium is formally acknowledged or not, fans will continue to support and appreciate their favorite art.

        When you think of Zimmerman’s worry about losing games to the mainstream “Art Monster,” you can understand his position, as purists have always been skeptical of foreseen change. But defending video games by saying they should not aspire to be art is actually hurting them; we shouldn’t muzzle their creative animal by putting them in some figurative box. If and when video games do earn the “art stamp of approval,” we should all rejoice. A classification such as this will give much more creative support to games and could open up tremendous potential.  Change is progressive, and could never harm the integrity of something like art; while stagnation undermines the very principles of what art is supposed to be. Let’s hope someday soon that video games get the recognition deserved; then artists will be able to aspire with greater creative freedom and push the limits of social acceptance as we evolve once more.

References

Anonymous. (2015) Comic-con International: San Diego. Comic-con.org

Web. 27 June 2015. Retrieved from http://comic-con.org/about

Anonymous. (n.d.) Slave Labour. Photograph.

Retrieved from http://banksy.co.uk/out.asp

Gillespie, N. (2014). Are Video Games Art?. Reason, 46(2), 46-51.

Retrieved from Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost).

Green, K. (2014) No title. Photograph.

Retrieved from http://www.comic-con.org/cci/2014/gallery/2014-friday

Microsoft. (n.d.) No title. Screenshot/Image.

Retrieved from http://www.wired.com/2011/05/343-industries-halo/

Ryzik, M. (2013, August 14). Another Banksy Mural to Go From Wall to Auction.

New York Times, 162(56228), pp. C1-C6.

Retrieved from Academic Search Complete (EBSCOhost).

Zimmerman, Eric. (2014) Games, stay away from art. Please. Polygon.com.

Vox Media. Web. 18 June 2015.

Retrieved from http://www.polygon.com/2014/9/10/6101639/games-art