Is a video game considered art? When you think Pac-Man, does Michelangelo or Picasso even spring to mind? Can Spyro the dragon be considered part of the same category as a musical masterpiece by Mozart? For most people, they would say no. Most would not appreciate a video game as art. Make no mistake though; video games are as much an art form as music, movies, or paintings.
Video games come and go, from basic 8-bit to 128-bit and beyond. Games now allow a person to create what ever they want, wherever they want, and how ever they want. Earlier games limited what an artist could do, just as limited colors or brushes could limit and painter. Games must be considered by their potential, not what is in the current selection of games. Games like Katamari Damacy, Zelda: Wind Waker, ICO, Shadow of the Colossus Killer 7, and Psychonauts use a visual dynamic to bring their games alive. Some of the games listed above use cell-shading as a visual aspect, and some others use small details to accent the entire experience.
There are many other forms of art used in games beyond a visual aspect, a game its self is art. Most times art is meant to evoke an emotion through the fantasy your mind creates, something that is limited by traditional art forms. A video game programmer must create the conditions and tools for which the gamer will use to create an individual experience. Gaming is thus an interactive art, something that grabs the attention better then a painting or statue in a museum. Games like Call of Cthulhu not only have the player on the edge of their seat scared, they have the in-game character scared. Call of Cthulhu takes away the Heads Up Display, and any form of a life bar. The only way you know how hurt you are is by how blurry it is, how dark it is, and how scarred you character is. You must take in emotional aspects of the game in order to play it. There are few games that have caused this kind of reaction, games like Resident Evil 4 on the GameCube caused quite a stir, but there was still a heads up display. I’m not really sure if there are any more games like this, Call of Cthulhu is really a pioneer of its kind.
Until recently games have been in the hands of programmers, not artists, to make a game is simple enough, to make something that drives emotions, and creates a realm of possibilities is something that only a true artist can bring to a game. People like Hideo Kojima, Keita Takahashi or David Jaffe are not well known names for no reason at all, they are forerunners of an artist in a programmers position. They are the ones who define what games can be, Games that make you feel what your characters feels, make you care about the person you are playing as emotionally.
Recently the video game industry has been expanding with the creation of the Indian Games Industry and Trade Association (iGITA). This very same organization is requesting 10,000 animation and 1,200 gaming professionals for immediate hire. There isn’t that many people actually available for hire, especially people with an artistic flare for video games. “Art should be seen as art. The focus should be on evolving the latent creativity. It should not be treated as a software training module that can be rushed through,’’ said Manu Ittina; director of Ittina Animation Studios. Mr. Ittina continued by stating that lack of talent is a major issue, and that companies should give ample time for the creation of a product, thus helping tackle the issue of creative restraint to a degree.
Hopefully with the creation of iGITA, the Indian gaming industry can thrive and succeed in its goal of hiring great talent and creating thought provoking games, this really is the an important step in realizing the art potential in games. This will become one of the building blocks in the history of games. Newer consoles such as the XBOX 360 and the PS3 will only further the ability to create art. The console is only the canvas.