Opinion: Video games as art

In today’s day and age, video games have become a controversial topic throughout media outlets and the customers themselves. Today, we are wrestling with the question “are video games art?” For me, there is a short and long answer. The short answer is yes, video games are a work of art. The long answer has more evidence to back up by opinion.

First of all, video games are art. To design a video game or to paint a painting, the artist must have a passion for what they do. The artist’s passions are exposed when the artist goes to a school for their interest.

For this topic we are going to talk about Full Sail University. Full Sail University is ranked No. 1 for video game design. At this university, there are four different types of degrees that an artist can get to work in the field of video games.

The first degree is computer animation. Computer animation has to do with the animation of characters and object within a video game. This requires the artist how to draw from different angles in order to make the character or object to protrude itself.

Another degree is Digital Arts and Design. This degree has to do with different types of programs used for video game like Photoshop and Illustrator. Requiring artist to have an expertise in drawing.

The third degree is Graphic Design which has to do with the textures within the game itself.

Last but not least the Media Design degree, which works all throughout the video game itself. More info can be found at the university’s website.

Like most artist in the past, they needed equipment to do their work. The same goes with video game artists. Some of the programs that these artist use are Photoshop, Illustrator, Gimp etc. These are just different equipment for the same purpose.

Both a canvas and Photoshop act as a place where the artist can directly place their art. All of these instruments add to their art styles and how they make their own mark in their field.

When you get better at your art style you become more famous. Some people who are masters of their craft are Michelangelo, Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, and many others. These are many painters that are famous for their work just like these video game artist. One of the most famous is Shigeru Miyamoto, the creator of game franchises Mario, Legend of Zelda, and Donkey Kong. All of these game are household names.

There are many people who still say that video games is not art. They say this because they still believe that art can only be done with a paintbrush and canvas or with a giant stone and chisel. But times have changed and technology has flourished within the last generations.

Game designers use different art styles from the past like romanticism, realism, surrealism, and many other styles in their video games to set the tone of their game. Classical artist and game designers both have a passion for what they make and both use their imagination to create something new and different.

Video games can be considered art. The style of the games and painting both have been influenced on different styles of art based during their creation. Both artists and video game artists make something that all ages can enjoy. So the next time you go to a museum or just play that new video game that came out, remember both are more similar than you think.