Video Games Developers: Are they the new Scorsese?

In the 20th century film became art. Are the video game developers of today the Scorseses of the 21st century? Are video games art?

Prior to investigating the world of video games I was one of the those people who regarded video games as merely simple entertainment for children, nothing special, just something to keep the kids (or husband) occupied when I wanted some peace and quiet. However, after further research I have discovered an exciting world that educates, entertains and provides cognitive development all within an aesthetically stunning landscape.


Film critic Roger Ebert, who admits to rarely playing video games, argues that the interactivity of computer games means they can never be regarded as art http://www.smh.com.au/news/games/good-game-but-is-it-art/2006/09/03/1157222003715.html. I find myself disagreeing with his comments as there are certainly other more traditional forms of art that are very interactive. For example, performance art can be interactive, an audience can influence the course of a performance or can even participate in it. Also there are also many forms of installation art that incorporate an element of interactivity.

The French minister of Culture and Comunications recently awarded the prestigious title of Knight in the Order of Arts and Literatures to three game designers: Shigeru Miyamoto (Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda), Michel Ancel (Rayman, Beyond Good and Evil) and Frederick Raynal (Alone in the Dark, Twinsen's Odyssey) http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20060315/boissiere_pfv.htm.

Obviously the French have no problem qualifying video games as art.

I have to agree with Aaron Smuts who discusses in this article http://www.aesthetics-online.org/ideas/smuts.html there is still a lot of work to be done in the discourse of video games as art. He is of the opinion that the current discourse fails to achieve the level of argument usually undertaken within a discipline. Lots of people are debating the topic of video games as art, however not the right people. Smuts believes that philosophers of art have completely ignored the subject and in this article attempts to improve the quality of discourse around video games as art.

My mind wanders... a learned philosopher of art, armed with a game controller, frantically pushing game buttons, muttering "Ok Mario, where's the hidden exit to the green toad house?".
Perhaps these learned philosophers of art just need an introduction into the beguiling world of video games?

I discovered another cultural differential as I was researching. It is most interesting to note that there is a marked trend towards censorship of video games in Australia. This appears to follows the trends in the US. The level of censorship in Australia appears to bear the characteristics of moral panic http://www.mediaknowall.com/violence/moralpanicnotes.html. Games appear to act as a moral scapegoat for problems in society. What is happening to freedom of speech and freedom of expression? Who decides what we can and cannot see?

The need for more intelligent debate on this topic is essential and perhaps those who decide what is and what isn't art should become more familiar with the medium.