Emma Spittel English 120 Prof.

Justin Cary 27 April 2014 Final Prompt Response "This proactive production by players of story elements, a visual-motoric-auditorydecision-making symphony, and a unique real-virtual story produces a new form of performance art coproduced by players and game designers. We have as yet no useful tools for analyzing the elements that make up this art form. But it is a form that has the potential to integrate pleasure, learning, reflection, and expanded living in ways that we expect from art." -James Paul Gee, from "Why Game Studies Now? Video Games: A New Art Form"

In this excerpt by James Paul Gee, he argues that video games are in fact an art form. Gee relays how in art views expect to reflect, learn, take pleasure in and expand living and that video games, too, offer players these same attributes. Art resides in various unexpected ways throughout society and often goes unnoticed by the citizens within them. I agree completely with Gee in that video games truly are yet another New Art Form. Others who would also conclude that video games are an art form include the Smithsonian (and guest curator Chris Melissinos), game designer Jenova Chen, and game developer Kellee Santiago. For critics such as Roger Ebert though is difficult to recognize art when it is not smeared onto a canvas, molded with hands, or words crafted to become a poem or in Mr.Eberts case tastefully crafted into a series of moving images set to the symphony of a story (Ebert). Because of this reason it is also difficult for most of society to see a video game as an art form, but there is a canvas involved, there

molding does occur, and there are words crafted and movies made. The Supreme Court too agreed upon this fact ruling that video games are truly a form of art just as much as a book, a play or a movie (Brown, Governor of California vs. Entertainment Merchants Association). The canvas of the digital world is a screen. In high contrast to a painters typical white canvas the screen is black. The artist in a video game has a much more difficult task in order to create his image. This artist cannot layer the paints on top of the canvas instead he must meticulously place pixels beneath a screen without ever touching them. The hands of a game maker have a very different job than a painter, the commands are not the same, it is not a bush stroke but instead a computer code which can lead to an equally spectacular display. Jenova Chen discovered that some of the current mediums of art such as photography and video were unable to capture the feelings and emotions in a particular experience he had (Tucker). This experience occurred as he for the first time experienced the vast beauty of rolling hills and meadows on a drive on Interstate 5 (Tucker). Chen expressed that the only way he could possibly bring back the same feeling he received that day would be through artistic exaggeration (Tucker). Chen achieved this exaggeration in the more than 200,000 blades of grass he created in the video game Flower (Tucker). Flower has the ability to bring nature into the urban homes of thousands the same way that a painting might, the only difference though is that a video game allows for the creation of an experience (Tucker). The molding of art occurs through not only the maker of the game but the player as well. The maker weaves a beautiful web of possibilities forming multiple paths to many conclusions and the gamer pulls together the components to mold a story all his own. Each gamers unique story is their free expression, very much a reflection of some part of themselves. Artists stories are relayed through a series of depictions, be it a painting, sculpture, words or even games. These

aspects of an artists life relay a message about who they are which is why it becomes important to recognize this in video games. A gamer has the unique ability to explore the artistic expression of a games creator. How amazing would it be to climb inside of Van Goghs Starry Night and discover the people he imagined living in the town and attending the church. Not only would you be seeing the people but interacting with them as well, experiencing their characters. Do the people in the town of Starry Night have a warm or cold disposition? If Starry Night was a video game, the world would have the chance to find out. Video games tend to have a complex storyline explained through a combination of text and vocals. Together these mediums create a story just like any other piece of literature. Video games pull in an even more moving aspect to the literature, the sound. Sound can account for realism as the story plays out which can cause the game to have more depth. By the end of a game the player will have lived another life, just like they would through a novel. Video games tell stories. The stories that are told have the power to reach deeper levels of emotion in their players which sets them apart from the category of game. Many video games are absolutely nothing like football, soccer, chess or backgammon because they can have a deeply moving internal impact upon the player (TEDxTalks). The definition of the word art itself proves to encompass the video game world. MerriamWebster Dictionary explains art thusly:
: something that is created with imagination and skill and that is beautiful or that expresses important ideas or feelings : works created by artists : paintings, sculptures, etc., that are created to be beautiful or to express important ideas or feelings : the methods and skills used for painting, sculpting, drawing, etc

In Response to the first bullet, one cannot argue that video games are not created with imagination and skill. The skill that is showcased by the millions of codes in order to create a

certain series of displays upon a screen. The imagination it takes to decide exactly what displays will be shown and the reaction to each of the players unique responses. Upon analysis of the second bullet the proof seems self-explanatory. Video games are most definitely a beautiful display of the mind of the artist who has created them. The way each character reacts to certain events express multitudes of ideas and feelings. And finally video games utilize the same methods as painting sculpting and drawing. For example the video game Marble Madness utilizes the art styles that create depth upon a flat canvas, through shadowing and positioning of lines (Tucker). It may be difficult for the world to view video games as an art form. This may be due to the fact that they are a combination of such a multitude of mediums and when so many come together it becomes more difficult to single out the art that occurs within the game. Gee likens the events that occur within a game to a symphony, which is very beautifully put. The symphony plays an orchestrated song featuring dancing pixels along an amazing web of events to the ever playing background music of sound effects layered with text of an occurring quest. A video game is a symphony, to the tune of the player, it is his art. On a more emotional level Abigal Tucker explains in Smithsonian Magazine that Games offer more than a chance to mow down armies and plunder cars [gamers are] inspired to feel guilt or joy or moral ambiguity. Video games are such a true form of art that they have the ability to transform people who engage in them.

Works Cited art. Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d 27 April 2014 Abigail Tucker. The Art of Video Games Smithsonianmag.com Smithsonian Magazine. March 2012. Web. 27 April 2014. TEDx Talks. TEDxUSC-Kellee Santiago Youtube.com. YouTube. 17 August 2009. Web. 27 April 2014. James Paul Gee. Why Game Studies Now? Video Games: A New Art Form. Games and Culture. Sage Publications. January 2006. Web. 27 April 2014 Roger Ebert. Video Games Can Never Be Art. Rogerebert.com Roger Eberts JOURNAL. 16 April 2010. Web. 27 April 27, 2014. Brown, Governor of California vs. Entertainment Merchants Association Supremecourt.gov. Supreme Court of the United States. October Term. Web. 27 April 2014