8 Reasons Why Video Games Are Art

Journey Right then everyone, I€™m going for it. I€™ll do my best to break down the various viewpoints around this rather hefty debate, as it seems 2013 has been the year when this discussion has boiled over into the overall gaming vernacular. Not only have we had Bioshock: Infinite do extremely well with its controversial prejudicial depictions of an Old-America-gone-wild, but also The Last of Us with its zombie-backdrop-black-mirror, questioning the player as to how inhumane they are forced to become to survive an apocalyptic nightmare with some sense of humanity intact. I€™m not about to pick apart the biggest most easily-accessible titles under the guise of high art, much the same as a discussion around film€™s artistic label would not immediately be applied to Michael Bay€™s Transformers series. That being said as the debate around video games as art rages on, I do think they are an ever-increasingly important medium that is often at the forefront of media consumption. Just look at the incredible success of Grand Theft Auto V (29 million units so far) for confirmation as to how something that was once regarded as a literally-underground pastime has crossed over into being fully embraced by the mainstream.
 
Posted On: 
Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.