Alexandra Busbin

Ms. Hensel
English III

16 September, 2015
The Art of Video Games

In June of 2011 the Supreme Court ruled that video games should be considered to be an art
form. That video games are as deserving of the First Amendment safeguards as the protected
books, plays, and movies that preceded them.(Supreme Court.) Video games are and should be
considered an art form.
Attempting to define art is an act of insanity. However, to identify it is not impossible. Art is
usually identified as the expression or application of the human creative skill and imagination.
This interpretation can be identified with paintings, books, music, and, yes, video games. The
misidentification of games is because they are a unique and complex medium of expression.
They communicate authoritatively but need user input to do so and even as they stay
authoritative games allow the player to explore and examine. They are a form of communication,
but this articulation is lost on people who havent seen the games that have a deeper, more
thoughtful conveyance. An example of one of these games is One Chance. As its name implies,
you can only play this game once therefore giving the player a genuine consequence for their
decisions. The protagonist of this game is a scientist who has to prioritize his last six days of
existing life on Earth. This forces the player to choose whether to try and remedy the
protagonists Earth destroying mistakes or to let him spend his last days with the people he loves.
This shows the players idiosyncrasies.

Some critics have questioned, Why do they [video games] need to be anything more than fun?
Why does everything have to be art?(Jonathan Jones.) The answer to this question is simple.
Video games are art because some people have chosen to use them to express themselves. They
cant be just fun because game designers have chosen to make games about serious issues and
some have used their creation to cope with loss and grief. Who are we to tell those game
designers that what they have created is just mindless, distracting fun? Games have spoken to
people in a way that books and film have failed to, especially to younger generations. Video
games have shaped and inspired people just as much as paintings and books have
Video games are already a legally protected form of art and are deserving of such protections.
The people who play these games are transformed instead of just distracted. These games have
more to say than just gunfire and havoc. It is an art form that is an amalgamation of the preceded
art forms. Video games are complex, unique, and, for some, hard to fully understand, but
nonetheless they are works of art.

Work Cited
"History, Travel, Arts, Science, People, Places | Smithsonian." History, Travel, Arts,
Science, People, Places | Smithsonian. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.
Stuart, Keith. "Video Games and Art: Why Does the Media Get It so Wrong." The
Guardian. N.p., 8 Jan. 2014. Web.
Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 16 Sept. 2015.