art and games - the extended cut

This is kinda a long one, so keep that in mind when setting out to read it.


It is often said that what constitutes Art is an exercise left up to the individual, which is a fascinating concept in and of itself. Art is a individual decision about what qualities something must contain in order for it to be artistic or "worthy" of being considered art. In this way, Art is much like Beauty, and the two are often tied together in that a beautiful painting or sculpture is often considered Art, simply because someone thinks it is beautiful. Can Video Games be considered Art in this context, where beauty is a major defining characteristic? I think yes, but not often enough to reflect the cultural impact Games have had on our culture, both as a generation and as a world community. I think that there are more important characteristics when it comes to defining Art than just Beauty, such as the interweaving of different techniques, or ,most importantly, that the piece says something reflective about the society that produces it.
How can this definition be applied to Games, however, when all of them are an interweaving of different techniques, especially in the modern times of games, when there are voice casts and lighting directors, designers and artists, all working on one final product. When it comes to Games, however, I think that the most critical measuring stick as to it being Art is if it says something about the society it comes from. For example, while the last five or six Madden football titles look better than it, none of them are on the artistic level of the Grand Theft Auto series, especially titles number three, Vice City, and San Andreas. This series, while basically defining a genre, also offered a surprisingly deep critique on the pop culture of a particular era of America, either the eighty's Miami in Vice City, or the early ninety's Los Angeles in San Andreas, or even late ninety's New York in Grand Theft Auto Three. This, more than the car stealing, mass murdering, or prostitute procuring is what attracted many people to the games. Unfortunately, those in-game actions prevented many from accessing these valuable critiques on American shared culture. Another game by the same developer that embraced this cultural critique was Bully a Grand Theft Auto style romp through private school. Bully examined things like bullying, obviously, violence and delinquency; however, it also showed the positives of attending class, treating others with respect, and finding solutions other than fighting. The key to the game was the freedom the player had to decide how to proceed.
It should be noted that not all games that provide you with copious amounts of freedom would qualify as Art under this definition, as games like Crackdown, Saint's Row, and True Crime: Streets of LA all contain a great deal of freedom, but are not artistic, as they do not say anything about culture. Likewise, while good games, Half-Life, The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion, and Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic, again do not qualify, despite their moral freedom. A game that fits in with this latter group, while saying something about the culture it emerged from, is Mass Effect. In Mass Effect, the player is tasked with stopping a intergalactic war by being a dark operation unit. However, the game gives you a reasonable amount of freedom as to your interactions with others, all while spinning a tale very reflective of politics of the past and foreseeable future. The addition of a not-so-subtle racist view directed towards the player is what truly sets this game apart, however. I'll try not to spoil anything, but racism can actually win here, depending on the player's actions.
Other games also qualify in this definition, such as some titles in the Final Fantasy series. The early titles all boil down to big evil is defeated by the player's party. However, some games in the franchise have messages that they are trying to impart, saying something that originates from the culture they come from. Final Fantasy Six, known as three in America, has quite a bit to say about unregulated development of military technology, and the loss of contact with reality that is more possible than ever in today's society, but is most notable for its inclusion of an opera, with full score and lyrics. The opera itself has things it says about culture, much of it being about respecting the past while embracing the future (The opera makes more sense if watched rather than described). The reason this opera is so notable, however, is that the player actually plays through much of it as a participant, selecting verses during the moving aria, beautiful despite the audio of the Super Nintendo. (The aria section can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuvSDedrtKM ) The following game in the series, Final Fantasy Seven, became known mainly because it introduced many people to the Role Playing Genre, but is also known for its very environmentalist focus, speaking out, indirectly, about the use of fossil fuels and other environmentally destructive practices. Final Fantasy Eight and Nine both failed to rise to the level of art, but Final Fantasy Ten not only delved back into artistic expression, but also back into a more subtle environmentalist message. In Final Fantasy Ten, the sins of the past continually come back to haunt the living, quite literally, as the big bad is named Sin. However, this problem has been repeatedly dealt with in the game world through history, it just keeps coming back. This sounds nothing like environmentalism, until you substitute the words "pollution" or especially "Nuclear Waste" in place of Sin. The game also features a well written, believable love story that gets no small influence from Romeo and Juliet, both of which are rarities in Games. The final game in the series that truly says something about culture is Final Fantasy Tactics, which places the character in a medieval setting, caught between warring factions of the royal family. However, what brings this game up to the level of Art is the way it handles the puppet nature of the whole situation, eventually making itself into a critique of the Roman church in Medieval Europe.
Still more games qualify, like Ico and Shadow of the Colossus, but unfortunately I cannot speak about them in any depth as I never played them. Another game that sadly falls into this personal category is Beyond Good and Evil, which would qualify if what I have heard is true. It is sad, however, that while this has been a subjective look at Art and Games, I could not find more examples personally of games that are Art, and that so few games that would be considered a part of the cannon of games qualify as Art under these circumstances.