Are Games Art? | Brenda Romero | TEDxGalway
Вставка
- Опубліковано 15 лют 2016
- As cultural objects, games date back to at least 3000 BC, and video games date back to 1958. This talk explores the reasons that games are indeed an art form and perhaps the greatest art form of all.
Brenda Romero is an award-winning game designer, artist and Fulbright scholar who entered the video game industry in 1981. As a designer, she has contributed to many seminal titles, including the Wizardry and Jagged Alliance series and titles in the Ghost Recon and Dungeons & Dragons franchises.
Away from the machine, her analog series of six games, The Mechanic is the Message, has drawn national and international acclaim, particularly Train and Síochán Leat (The Irish Game) which is presently housed in the National Museum of Play.
In 2015, she won the coveted Ambassador’s Award at the Game Developers Choice Awards. In 2014, she received a Fulbright award to study Ireland’s game industry, academic and government policies. In 2013, she was named one of the top 10 game developers by Gamasutra.com and Develop magazine listed her among the 25 people who changed games in 2013. Romero co-owns Romero Games based in Galway.
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at ted.com/tedx
There's no solid counter to games being art. Video games have literally every major art form, literature, visual art, music, acting. Video games are the epitome of art.
Amen
I would actually argue that the main point of art in a game is not the graphics or writing, though these are contributing factors, I would say that the art of video games comes from the mechanics and how those are used to present the writing and graphics and the voice acting and such
@@sustancialarq Yeah, but that doesn't make the game itself art. A game is defined by it's rules. You can experience pieces of art in a game, but even with entirely different artists, or really no art at all, even if programmed in a different way or language, the mechanisms of the game would be the same. Take out or change those mechanisms and rules but leave the art, and you can still say it's the epitome of art.
@@veggiedanish2306 , for me, I'd argue it's the experience the game gives you, which every choice the designers make feeds into.
Just show these people about the SoulsBorne series.
If Bread, Meat, Chesse, Tomato and Lettuce were artforms, Videogames would be the Hamburguer.
I'm quoting you.
Is this actually said by u?
borrowing that for my essay thanks
quotting in my thesis! thank you
now that is a quote
My dream in life is to start a new game studio and create amazing artistic video game experiences
Same here, my friend. Let's hope our dream will come true
Good luck, dude!
I hope your dream comes true man.
you will probably fail, there are aroind 29 games uploaded on steam every day
@@Narko_Marko that's not very uplifting :(
yes they art.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk
Speech 100
Video games are just as valid an art form as film or literature, with just as much ability to resonate with viewers emotionally and intellectually
Video games are definitely visual art but it's the most expansive art medium. But I think some of the criticism stems from the fact that people still think that games are only there because you want to win. Petty victories stimulate the brain. This is true of a lot of games, including eSports like League of Legends, DotA2, and Overwatch. But Video games as a medium have evolved pass the "pop a quarter just so you can write a 3 letter swear word to the high score table" times. It is an Interactive, Narrative Medium. It is not like most interactive art forms where you have to stand in one specific place, and unlike other Narrative mediums, you are not an audience in the traditional sense, you are part of what is happening in that world. It can make you feel so much more than any film with the right direction. Take for example, Spec Ops: The Line. The way it was advertised was like any other military glorifying shooter but once you step into it, it makes you see the horrors of war and what it does to good men. "In war, no one is a hero. No one wins." How about steering away from oscar bait games and talk about the pioneer of interactive story: Half-Life. Half-Life is basically like an interactive movie. But Unlike David Cage games like Heavy Rain and Detroit: Become Human, the experience cannot be replicated by watching Westworld and hitting the pause button every 2 seconds. The game world is fully interactive to a degree because of hardware limitations. The story starts out very simple but acquires depth as you move along the game. It won't projectile vomit the narrative in your face but it is up to your interpretation of what is happening and why it is through brief moments in the game without going into cut-scenes or text scrolls and interrupting the pace. Half-Life 2, Bioshock 1 and Infinite, Doom (2016), Undertale are some of the other notable examples. Like movies, it is also an amalgamation of other art forms like music. It's not the just music in the sense of there is music there but the use and disuse of music to create a sense of atmosphere. A recent example of this is the critically acclaimed The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild. People complained about the "non-existent music" in the game. But the game actually has music but the music for the zones are used to emphasize the emotions that the game developers want you to feel. Out in the field, the music is very subtle and even cuts out entirely and you can only hear the ambiance; grass being stepped on or flowing in the wind and birds chirping and makes you feel that you are alone. But when you get to areas of interests, their themes get louder as you go towards them. The music in the villages reflect the culture of the area and usually the emotions you feel when you see them. Zora's Domain has this air of wonder to it. The Majestic structures built by these people. Also, when the night comes, the themes change to better appropriate. You won't hear a very loud, and cheerful theme playing during the night. In conclusion, those who are over 40 now who don't recognize games are art will someday die and it will become a legit art form...
I didnt know how to express my point of view until you literally wrote it, videogames are not about winning anymore, at least not in some cases
Yikes, man, have you ever heard of paragraphs?
@@kitthekat6844 mmmm I don't think so, what are those?
There's still people who exist that think video games are only 8bit and Pacman. It's kinda crazy lol
Play the last of Us, and tell me that you don't feel something. Play rdr2, and tell me it's not a literary masterpiece. Play The Witcher 3, and tell me it's not one of the best fantasy-epic stories. Play God of War 4, and tell me you don't care about the characters. Play Spec Ops: The Line, and tell me that it doesn't portray a deeper meaning.
You can't. If you consider movies an art form, games are just as legitimate. Often portraying the same messages, sometimes better.
play dark souls and tell me that you dont feel depressive yet so beautifull
@balorama. ...
which games do you play
there is a thing called story boarding
I'm a gamer who is very familiar with many of these, also including Silent Hill 2 and The Last of Us is one of those games that makes me feel NOTHING! It is one of the most uninteractive and derivative experiences you will ever have in this medium
MGS2 also
What is closer to art than something that allows you to experience another reality?
A good game to me has always been like exploring the insides of a painting. I don't know how they can be considered NOT art.
Short answer: Yes
Long answer:YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEES
Ori and the blind Forrest is the pinnacle of art design in video games and darksouls is one of the strongest forms of what makes video games unique from using your mind to overcome problems and impossible odds also the meaning of life and death. There’s so much more than that
Conor Doyle
Pro was good but the last hour or so was weak imo.
Are you trolling?
Don't forget about Bloodborne that forces us to realize the limitations of a human's nature versus a god no matter your story.
@@kapanavi why would he be trolling?
I wish more games were like the Souls games. Having to figure out and discover things on your own is so satisfying compared to most AAA games that just spoonfeed you the story and gameplay
Anyone who argues that they aren't, play Silent Hill 2 and ask yourself that same question. Play a visual novel, JRPG, or a crafted platformer like Hollow Knight. The level of cohesive art direction in some video games is well on-par with cinema and even exceeds it at times. There are stories you can never tell in any other medium. It's not only an art form, but one of the most immersive and engaging ones at that.
Ik I'm late but also Bioshock like jesus that Rapture intro is so iconic
Unfortunately most people think of games as retarded mind-less things, where you have to press buttons until you break your keyboard...
Condescending, considering how other forms of mainstream entertainment involve people sitting down and simply consuming a product, never actively involving themselves in a product or influencing it in a meaningful way.
The problem is many developers also think this, and the games they create reflect this.
Serafin - All too true.
True for some nonsense... But condescending for the soap watchers to say even about CoD
I think even the most banal games have something to give us. Modern Warfare's Nuclear Bomb scene is the clearest example of this.
Fantastic episode. It's great to hear industry veterans tackle subjects like this.
Love you Brenda!...& John of course!
Yet another great talk; Brenda rocks! :D
A true legend, a rockstar of a gamedesigner
Thank you, Brenda Romero.
It always annoys me when people say games are mind numbing, but then they go watch a movie. With games, you actually interact, and have to think, with movies you're just watching, not watching and interacting.
The Witcher 3... enough said
Interacting may actually distract from the full extent of what can be gleaned from a piece of art. If you put as much effort into watching and analyzing a Coen brothers film as you would playing a video game, you can easily gain just as much if not more from it.
Video games are only about pushing buttoms shoting people on the face. In movies you think when watching
Rafael Scatena « in movies you think when watching » same is true for video games. It’s not just mindless button pressing and shooting
@@rafaelscatena7997 Have you ever played a video game before? Play night in the woods, you will then understand how amazing video games can be.
Play dark souls you will know the answer
Ah man, good days, what am I saying I still play ds3
Awab Tarik you haven’t beaten it?
@@buffbarney2648 I did, but I *still* play it to this day
@@somethingsomewhere66 Nice
I know right dark souls to me is what showed people that video games are art
I loved this talk
OKAMI. now THATS a videogame that is pure art ecstasy!
There is Art and there is Fortnite
Don't you mean there is art and there is mtx and lootboxes season passes and even pre-order
@@siddheshpillai3807 you can pre order real art.
@@jaquejaque9893 but that doesnt mean art needs to have extra content locked in a paywall
Yep
BURRNN
3:53 7:07 10:40 11:17 12:32
Brendaaaa :DDD
love your ted talks
Wait a minute... This War of Mine was developed and published by 11bit studios, I've never even heard of GamesRepublic.
klnpd Lol looks like she didn’t do her homework properly, GamesRepublic is just a market platform for selling games (like steam).
I'm going to argue here that not all games are, in fact, art. Just as not every photograph, drawing, book, movie, or song is art. But, that doesn't take away the fact that games, artistic games, are probably the most expressive and complex and advanced form of art because games can be a blend of those other artworks and use them to convey an even more immersive experience.
Can you elaborate on what you mean when you refer to games and the other media you mentioned that aren't art? I kind of get what you mean, but I'm having trouble thinking of examples and am curious to hear more of your train of thought.
There being no more technical limitations is a really good justification for it being art. Regardless it was always art even back when that was a problem. That's like saying chiptune music isn't art because it uses 8bit style music
Short version: yes.
No one can tell you what art is but your self. If you want call something art then its art to you
It’s difficult. It’s easy to see a singleplayer game like RDR2 or The Witcher 3 as pieces of art, but looking at games like League of Legends and CS:GO, are they art or are they sports, or both?
I just played the witness, already know the answer
Random boomer games aren't art
Me: Play Bioshock, dark souls, rdr1, rdr2, gow 2018, you, Majora's mask, ocarina of time, witcher 3, sotc, bloodborne, tlou, breath of the wild, walking dead season 1, demon souls, hollow knight, mass effect trilogy if you don't think videogames aren't art after this you are not human
@gothyboi Even though video games are a young medium, there are already games that that absolutely are high art and are better than 99% of most books, music or films. Some examples are: Portal, Braid, Majora's Mask, Shadow of the Colossus, Dark Souls and Cave Story.
Yes
I wish I had a parent like this
Yes, end of discussion
The question isn’t what video games are, but it’s what art is.
i think to answer if games are art, you need to clearly define what you consider to be art, and what you consider to be a game.
only then can you find an answer. depending on your classifications you might even find that only some games can be considered art. its interesting
Shadow of the Colossus
See 'The Journey' - end of discussion :-)
Abzu, journey, dead cells, there are literally games FOR ppl that that want vibrant art.
When companies want to figure out how the environments/characters/ enemies will look they will literally draw CONCEPT ART. Then they have to SCULPT 3D MODELS to put in the game!!!!!!!
yes games are objectively art and it CANNOT be said otherwise.
To me anything that can move you is considered art, the last of us, Journey for example.
So car is art?
Emotionally , mentally and physically .
Next people will say that cars are art
@@rafaelscatena7997 when was the last time a car emotionally engaged someone ? Never .
You are illiterate aren't you ? Games are art in every way , they emotionally attach you to characters , give you a lot of joy and fun , make your inner soul happy , make you care about entities who never existed , make you learn from people who never lived ,
If books are art , games are art as well, it's just a simple fact
You know as great as last of us narrative is, i dont think it quite achieved the form that is game as art. Because it doesn't really utilize Game as an entertainment value to its highest form, meaning the last of us lacks interactivity that great games have. But it is still a Narrative as Art, so its still art nonetheless.
😊👍
Sry, but the first VIDEO GAME is actually Draughts by C. S. Strachey in the Summer of 1952 on a Manchester University called (if im not getting the name wrong) Ferranti Mark I and not "Tennis For Two" on the EDSAC documented in November 1952 by S.Gill
coucou a ceux qui check pour le concour d'ISART
7:36 ...unless you're Russian, Turk, Pole or Brazilian. (NOTE - this is a joke)
Denier: Games are not art
Me: Go experience Metal Gear Solid 2, and have a look at our current world
Not only are Video Games Art, they are far superior to any other existing art forms
lol that's a very close minded way of looking at art imo. there's not superior art forms, there's just different art forms that different people can enjoy
@@83rdgec17 You are right but you are also wrong. There is no way to quantifiy arts value. But if you consider the standards most art critics have to art, then video games are far superior. They contain almost every other art form usually. The interactivity and the immersiveness allow for a much more layered form of telling a story than movies or books ever could. This is what i mean with "superior". When it comes to the actual value of art, you are absolutely right! It is not possible to say one form is better than the other.
@@evilhorst2249 ah so it's from the perspective of an art critic. thanks for clarifying
Isn't that an opinion?
@@isaywhateveriwantandyougot7421 an argument already happened above you
Read that
GAME = INTERACTIVE MOVIE
How can you be so wrong by using only 3 words?
Games are better than movies
Future me: ARE GAMES ART?!
[Existentialism grabs future me]
Future me: WHO AM IIIIIIIII?!?!
If there is a way I can convince my mum that games are art then it's this. She said that the only reason Notch made Minecraft is for money
No that’s not why notch made Minecraft
You could literally use that same statement for any form of art
Play journey and you’ll know
She has a pair of good reasons.
Play Castlevania Symphony of the Night , then, you will have your awnser
good talk. However it is interesting how many speakers or game journalists don't play that many games. She's only played two games in an entire year. Many people like this aren't speaking of games from a first-hand experience. This is who I'd like to hear from.
+pete cruickshank To be fair the video was posted on 16th February - and was probably recorded before that. She may have meant 'in 2016' i.e. 'in the past month'. Also, she may only have been referring to new games she'd played. I don't know about you, but once I find a game I really enjoy, I can get stuck on it for a while.
Also, she's a designer, not a journalist
I bet noone has the guts to Play NieR:Automata and say videogames are not art.
salve guilherme
Life is strange is the most artistic game I have ever played.
Nier: Automata disagrees with you
Since I haven't played it
@@rodrigobogado8756 and I agree with you sir
I think you still have A LOT of games to play
It’s a shame she has to use 2D side scrollers and World of Warcraft. Because the modern pieces of art that can take your breath away, like Dark Souls, Battlefield 1, Call of Duty: World at War, and Bioshock, and Minecraft. Are a bit too advanced for the boomers she’s trying to communicate with.
Honestly hollow knight in my eyes looks way better than all of those “realistic graphics” games you mentioned ( other than minecraft of course)
Games are most definitely art, they're just not high art, not yet at least.
What would be needed for it to be high art? At least in your opinion.
@@Sophie_the_Sapphic Time, of course. In around 50 years or so we will see if art succeded as art and reached high art status or if got stuck into entertainment media or popular art. How will we notice it? Cultural importance and influence. Games have enough potential to eventually become high art, but most developers don't take serious what they do. They are convinced that games are just for entertaining people, and who can blame them? After all videogames are primarily games.
@@jaysonmunoz8342 I agree that most games released are just entertainment. But is there really not even a single game that you think has risen above that?
@@Sophie_the_Sapphic Some of them are pretty artistic, no one can deny it. However, they haven't had much of an impact out videogames world, no other high art form has been influenced by games. That's why I said that in the near future we will see if games are taken as serious pieces of art or left as a pure entertainment medium. I, personally, trust in games, I'm sure they'll find a way to reach high art status.
@@jaysonmunoz8342 ahem... Ahem...
SHADOW
OF
THE
COLOSSUS?
You can say what you want, but Bioshock 1 IS art.
Yes
Without art there will not be any games
Ok so?
Video games are the newest form of art
They are not as old as other artforms
Video game art is 10X better than 90% of modern art.
pls consider playing shadow of the colossus
Siege link
I wouldn't say that videogame art > modern art even though I'm probably one of the biggest fan of videogames (Dark Souls my waifu), just because modern art is here to tell us a message, about people about society, about racism... Something that videogames aren't telling us (at least not yet but I'm sure in the future it'll be a thing).
I'm pretty sure DOOM has a peaceful message to share tho.
This is all subjective opinion.
@@Dwarfplayer bruh play bloodborne
@@zed3ty RDR2
Why the some art these days yeah i think a video games are more artistic then a blue painting with a white line or some fish that are different sizes. Not to mention thier cheaper.
Metal gear solid 3 ending
Play the last of us and bada min bada boom there’s your awnser
She makes some wild connections... not sure I agee with those.
Sr. Sacaninha it's all sensational bs
Video games are not art. Is pure design from start to end and the product that emerge from that design is a utility for people can entertainment. In that sense video games are not created to be contemplated, but played. All the things in a video games are worked for a public target and is completelly metric and calculated. There is no difference between a digital app and a video game 'cause both are a software product waiting to be purchased.
smash
Bioshock proved to me video game are art
If you want answers, then play Bioshock
The last of us one and even two are two different type of art
While i tend to agree that games are art, the examples in this vudeo tend to be exactly the kind of games i consider "not art", Minecraft (and all other sandbox and survival games) is a storyless game, and an absolutely meaningless game, this also applies to simulators (by definition they try to simulate reality), and competetive online and couch games. These are not art whatsoever and can never be art. The games which can be art are story based action/adventure games, RPGs, certain indie expiremental and moody works etc...
Obviously the choices in games are there because the developer put them there, but why is the audience having choice is a bad thing in the first place? Why only the artist should have agency? Why artistic experience can be determined by only the artist? These ideas are elitist and flawed. Just remove them, and games can definitely be art if that is intended by the designer.
Battlefield 1 is an art form. It shows war. For example, in the first mission, you can see an American soldier crying behind a wall. In another mission, there’s a German soldier walking without hope. RDR2 is also art. There are small details of sad and depressing moments.
i think video games are art i think everything is art
When you're playing league and there is a feeding yasuo it is not art
It's art in an extremely annoying and "wtf" way.
Like that stolen toilet with a signature from the artist placed in a gallery.
When does she start river dancing?
Art is indeed anything man made, so yes: games are art. Just like my socks.
I'm not sure games are art. Games are made up of rules and mechanisms. I suppose the communication of these rules would inevitably be through a form of art, but the game doesn't exist as that form of communication itself, only as the proper understanding of it.
A game is a concept. Goals to achieve for fun or challenge within the boundary of the rules. Video games may contain art, but the part that makes it a _game,_ I'm not sure I'd call art.
Marc Pelletier How about you look at Dark souls and see if that make your statement correct or spec ops the line which shows the horrors of war and how it can affect people
@@marcpelletier2700 Yeah, games are made up of rules and mechanisms, but remember, video games don't just have rules and mechanisms thrown together. They're *designed* with certain rules and systems in mind to create a certain *player experience.*
This means that even gameplay is an art form, because it requires creative skill to design the kind of experience you want players to have, even though it also requires mathematical knowledge.
Game also don't need to be fun (see Pathologic) nor do they need to be challenging (see Animal Crossing, the Sims, Garry's Mod or any walking sim).
And even if there are video games that are designed to be "fun or challenging," I fail to see how that takes away from their status as an art form.
After all, are literary genres like comedy and superhero fiction not art because they are also focused on entertaining the one experiencing it? No, although they may not be high art.
thicc
Dude no
but do you know what really is the epitome of art? dota 2
few games can be considered art
Play OMORI if you think games can't be art, smh smh
The Question should be "CAN Games be Art?" Not Are Games Art ? and of course they can. But, very FEW really are.
Google believes games are not Art. Their news service categorizes all game news under Technology, not under Arts and Entertainment.
Technically they are technology...
so are movies
You do realize Google doesn't create this information, right? Anything you see on Google is programmed through different websites
First the Wachowskis and now even John Romero.... wtf?
... That's his wife.
Some native people believe that you become what you eat.
Only game designers amd gamers think games are art.. Whata coindence.
it's very likely that most of the other ones don't really know anything of it apart from 3 targeted pictures taken from Call of Duty, Fifa and Fortnite, so yeah, there are no coincidence
And people who play videogames have never read a book so they don't know anything about art.
@@rafaelscatena7997 and people who read books have never ever played a video game , they know nothing about art
I played a pinball machine for hours I am an art expert.
@@rafaelscatena7997 Damn, this must be eating away at you for you to keep coming back to this video over and over. Your ears are not folded, correct? If so, then get some help, kid.
Sorry words have meaning. Games are not sports or art they are games - specifically a kind of toy that infantilized minds want to ascribe more meaning to than can be carried.
Right
Okay boomer
You can't say that games are not art by taking the simpler ones. That's like saying that books aren't art by taking "The Lorax"
And how are movies art by your incredibly subjective opinion? Furthermore music, dancing would not be considered art considering they too could be performed and enjoyed by the acts of "infantile minds."
@@janjon5404 No it's not like saying that at all. I'm not attacking their simplicity I'm attacking the form itself.
games are art for kids...
Explain yourself please, I would like to hear your reasoning.
The rating is called E for everyone, not E for kids.
I thought it was E for Estupids
To my knowledge, 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. That a game can aspire to artistic importance as a visual experience, I accept. But for most gamers, video games represent a loss of those precious hours we have available to make ourselves more cultured, civilized and empathetic.
- Roger Ebert[29]
@@rafaelscatena7997 There's multiple reasons why that quote isn't a good reasoning for why games are bad.
1. Video games are pretty much a combination of already existing art forms into an ultimate art form. Writing, Drawing, Modeling, Music, etc. And that's not even counting things like coding the game.
2. Whenever a game releases, a community around the game is formed. Because of this, people can become friends with other people with similar interests. Especially since a lot of games allow you to play with people online.
3. Games these days are more than "shoot the square to win". Now they have stories to them. It's almost like you're inside of a movie. Saying that you can't learn anything from a game is 100% wrong. Let's use Undertale as an example. If you don't know, Undertale is pretty similar to a normal RPG. However, when you meet a monster, you have the choice to spare the enemy instead of just killing them. Because of this, there is three paths in the story: Pacifist run (sparing every monster), Genocide run (killing every monster), and Neutral (a bit of both). Right off of the bat, you're encouraged to go pacifist. When you go down the pacifist route, you grow emotionally attached to the monsters. They treat you like a friend instead of an enemy, and some of them realize that humans aren't as bad as they thought. You also learn a bit of the history of the monsters. But by the end, you save them from the mountain that they were trapped in and they are allowed to be free once again.
However, the genocide route is even better at destroying the usual formula for a game than pacifist. As you go through the underground and kill everything, the areas become completely empty. Characters leave behind notes that ask you to spare their families and multiple lead characters stay behind to stop you. It's at that point that you realize that you aren't the hero anymore. Instead of simply being nice, you kill all of the people that were once your friends. The thing is, you can't really do that with a book or movie. Only in a video game can you feel like your choices affect everything. Even with a choose your own adventure book, you can always just go back to the other page. With a game like Undertale, you have to live with the consequences.