Can Video Games be Art - Essay Example

Different critics have argued that generally, games cannot be considered as forms of art. These include film critics such as Roger Ebert and art critics such as Jonathan Jones. The argument of these critics against qualification of video games as art mainly draws from a philosophical point of view (“The Guardian” WEB). However, the recent criticism of Robert Ebert about video games was countered by the US government, which emphasized that video games are a form of art (Tassi WEB). Regardless of all the controversies surrounding video games and their authenticity as an art form, there are those individuals, who like to identify with video games, and are greatly involved in playing them.

Such individuals support video games, and most think of it as a form of art, despite what the critics might say about video games. An example of such individuals is Blissel Tom, a popular author of the book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter. He is a man that is obsessed with video games, and confesses publicly, how he can spend many hours playing video games. Blissel is convinced that video games is a form of art, and in his book, he refers to video games as an art form. According to him, video games are an important art form.

Recently, I met one of my childhood friends, who lives in a different state. I learnt that he has taken up video games seriously, and he loves playing them whenever he is free. I talked with him lengthily about video games, and realized that he is well informed about video games. When we separated back while still young children, my friend had not been exposed to video games, and had never played them. However, several years down the line, he presents himself as an ardent fan of video games, and comes out as being obsessed with video games and being knowledgeable about them.

He too considers video games as an art form, since like other art forms; it requires skills and talent to play them. Besides the Federal Government, which has categorized video games under the other traditional art forms, the Smithsonian American Art Museum also considers video games as an art form. Previously, this museum undertook seven consecutive months hosting an exhibition, which they called ‘The Art of Video Games.’ In this exhibition, the museum aimed at celebrating video games as an art form, which has existed in homes for an approximate 40 years (“Smithsonian American Art Museum” WEB).

According to Jewell, video games today have revolutionized, and cannot compare to those of the past decades. She notes that these are an amalgamation of all the different types of the traditional art forms (WEB). These views coincide with Blissel’s views, as all these consider video games as art. According to Blissel (350), video games are an important part of a person’s social life. In his book Extra Lives: Why Video Games Matter, Blissel sharply argues against the critics of video games, including those who do not consider video games as an art form.

In the cultural aspect, Blissel considers video games as important as other art forms in the society, and equal to them in capacity. In his book, Blissel compared video games to traditional art forms such as movies, and novels. In Blissel’s comparison of video games with other traditional art forms, he finds out that video games have both a positive and