Videogames might hold pretensions of artistic merit but they’re simply a form of entertainment according to one side of a recent BBC debate.
A recent BBC debate on the topic of games as art starred former director of the UK’s Institute of Contemporary Arts Ekow Eshun and author and comedian Charlie Higson.
Eshun was quite to the point. Video games are entertainment. Most of the things we enjoy in life are entertainment. Lots of books, lots of TV shows, lots of films aren’t art. That doesn’t make them bad, it makes them really enjoyable.”
Commenting on Minecraft‘s award of the Game City Prize last week, Eshun disagreed that the game could be considered art: “No it’s not art, and I don’t think it’s probably trying to be art either.”
So what does Eshun think is art?
“I’d suggest that the things we really consider art are the things that allow us to ask profound questions about who we are, how we live and the state of the world around us. I think most games don’t get to that place, and it’s important to set that bar quite high.”
But wait! Don’t pull out your pitchfork and flaming torch quite yet. While Eshun doesn’t think that videogames have quite ascended to the lofty heights of art just yet, he’s fairly sure that this will come with the evolution of the medium.
“I think the likelihood is that at some point there will be games that ask profound questions. I’d suggest there probably aren’t right now, in the same way that 98 per cent of films, of TV shows, of music don’t reach that level either.”
What did Higson have to combat this quite even-headed argument? Sadly, in my opinion, not a whole lot. While Higson didn’t disagree he did argue that games are already changing the world we live in by affecting the cultural landscape.
“Games already have changed culture in a huge way,” he said. “Hollywood films – most of them look like computer games. Most of them aren’t as good as computer games.
“In terms of storytelling, a game like Grand Theft Auto is enormously complex and works on loads of different levels, and it looks amazing too.”
Perhaps not the most convincing argument but I’ll agree that games are having a profound effect on other, more established mediums.
However all this debating is fairly useless seeing as the definition of ‘Art’ tends to be a subjective thing at best. However I’m inclined to agree with Eshun on this. Not everything is art. Not all film is art. Not all novels are art. Likewise, not all games are art – many are simply entertainment. However I think Eshun lacks some knowledge of the industry and has overlooked a few titles that have been innovating away from the traditional AAA landscape. Flower anyone?
Source: Eurogamer