Are video games art? And does it really matter?

This V&A exhibition certainly thinks so. Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt looks at the contributions of videogames to our modern society, raising questions about what art can be – perhaps it’s time to re-evaluate.

▲ Journey (2012), is often used as an example for contemporary artistic games. The game is featured at the exhibition for its immersive setting and distinctive visual style. Photograph: Sony

Are videogames art? The status of videogames as an emerging art form is a controversial topic. The V&A Museum’s exhibition, Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt looks at the design process behind ground breaking contemporary videogames, arguing that videogames are art and that their importance as a design medium should be recognised.

The exhibition’s goal is to demonstrate the complexity and potential of videogames, forged from an extraordinary fusion of art and technology. It looks at visionary work that breaks the boundaries of what it means to make a videogame – technologically, narratively, aesthetically and emotionally. From large corporations crafting cinematic blockbusters to independent teams telling intimate and personal stories. The exhibition looks at the controversial topics, exploring the medium’s power to criticise issues, politics and society.

Taking it all into account, shouldn’t this mean that videogames classify as art? Unfortunately, it’s not that simple, and both art critics and videogame developers have been against its inclusion.

In 2006, renowned videogame designer, Hideo Kojima, shared his thoughts on the debate, arguing that videogames are not art. From Kojima’s perspective, videogame creators focus more on the technical aspects and making sure that the game sells. Creators are too occupied with making sure that they produce a success, rather than appreciating the artistic elements that can exist within a game.

In 2012, the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition dedicated to 14 classic videogames spurred Guardian art critic Jonathan Jones to state that games cannot qualify as art. They could not qualify as artistic expression as their interactivity meant that creators couldn’t claim an authorial vision. Jones claimed that as no one owns the game, there is no artist, and therefore no work of art. A rather contradictory argument that would mean striking out all collaborative artistic projects.

▲ The Last of Us concept art. One of the many games on display at the Design/Play/Disrupt exhibition. Photograph: Sony

Chris Fite-Wassilak is a writer and art critic, who has written for multiple art publications such as Apollo, Frieze and Tate Etc. For him, art is a complicated mix of intention and context. “Anything an artist produces, is art, anything they say is art, is art. Video games are just another medium that can be used to explore emotion, sensation and contemporary existence. This isn't to say all video games are art, although they all do contain creative expression,” he says.

Fite-Wassilak highlights that every generation has a backlash to the creative uses and potential of new media and technologies. He uses photography at the start of the 20th century and video, in the 60s and 70s as examples. Both mediums had been relegated as not being “art” when they arose. He adds that there is a conflict when it comes to defining art:

“Part of it is an insistence on what art has been previously and defining what art can be. Though since the development of conceptual and social-dynamic art practices since the 70s, we might accept that art can be any form - a fleeting interaction or a designed structure or a platform such as a videogame.”

Tabish Khan is an art critic and visual arts editor for Londonist. He has always believed that videogames are a form of art, and writing about art and having grown up playing videogames, he’s seen both sides.

Khan thinks that videogames have transitioned from being functional to more stylised, where there is now more focus on the art direction. “In the early days of 8-bit gaming it was just about making a game that worked. Now there is more time spend on developing the art side of it,” he says. Khan goes on to give examples of how artistic expression and intent can exist within games:

“Some games like Shadow of the Colossus did focus a lot on the art direction. But even if you look at games where you probably wouldn’t appreciate the art, something quite intense, like Call of Duty, you can look at the graphics and appreciate the amount of time that someone has put into making the world. Even things you probably wouldn’t need to include to make the game work, they’ve done it because they want to make it more immersive.”

▲ Shadow of the Colossus (2018). Art & Characters, concept art: Gaius Roaming Landscape. Photograph: Sony

Progress in technology has allowed for more possibilities of what can be created, as well as greater accessibility to videogame content. Game developer, Matt Frith, attributes videogames’ rising reputation to social media and the development of eSports in the past decade. “People want to share their gaming experiences with each other as well as play together. The accessibility of gaming as a form of entertainment has also been a driving factor,” he says. Frith adds that multiplayer interactivity is a big focus in today’s gaming scene, and the emotions gained from these online interactions should be celebrated as much as traditional narrative storytelling in games.

▲ 2017 League of Legends World Championship Finals Stage. The event took place at the Beijing National Stadium, originally used for the 2008 Summer Olympics. Photograph: LoL Esports Photos, Riot Games

Khan thinks that the acceptance of games as an art form coincides with videogames being more accepted. When he grew up, gaming was a very niche hobby and there was a stereotype that gamers were loners in a basement. But now everyone plays videogames: “If you go on the tube somebody’s playing Candy Crush or some other game. I think gaming is still under 45 because people over that age didn’t grow up with them. I think that demographic will transition upwards.”

In a vote carried out on Instagram polls, I asked my followers, “Are videogames art?” Voters were largely in agreement and out of the 41 people that participated, 88 per cent viewed videogames are an art form. Bearing in mind that the majority of my followers are university students, it supports Khan’s belief in a transitioning demographic.

Game designer, John Lau, thinks that games have always been art and shouldn’t strive for the title to be more distinguished: “Art is an attempt to try to shed light on the human condition or to express something with feeling. I think there is a misunderstanding in the debate around calling something art, that is based upon thinking art is an elevated status that a medium will reach at some point. I don’t think it’s that way at all. Videogames are just art, they’re just expression.”

In the end, does it matter? Every individual has an opinion on what art is. Attempting to define what video games are, in their entirety, is as futile as trying to define what art is and what it shouldn’t be.

What we can appreciate is that videogames are a complex blend of artistic creativity and technology. Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt celebrates 15 years of videogame evolution. Whether or not they’re art, games are a fundamental part of modern society, and a diverse form allowing for artistic and innovative possibilities.

Videogames: Design/Play/Disrupt exhibition will be at the V&A Museum, London, until Sunday, 24 February 2019

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