Video Games -- Artistic Medium
Our media-rich environment, in which digital technologies are proliferating faster than our cultural, legal, or educational institutions can keep up with them ... addresses our culture's contradictory imperatives for immediacy and hypermediacy" (Bolton, et al., 1999).
Should video games, which are interactive and bring a sense of immediacy to the participant, be considered an art form? Is it pushing the envelope too far to assert that video players are not only having fun and engaging in friendly competition, they are participating in an art form? This paper delves into that subject and points to the available scholarly literature that supports the idea that video games constitute an artistic medium.
The Literature on Video Games as an Artistic Medium
In the scholarly publication Library Technology Reports (LTR, 2006) the writer notes that increasingly "all types of libraries" are adding the phrase "gaming and libraries" to their list of services. Gaming and games have been around and have been entertaining people since ancient times, and these includes ancient Egyptian games, Sumerian games, medieval games and contemporary games as well. Games, the LTR article explains: a) test problem-solving skills; b) are inclusive; c) create community; d) facilitate learning; e) provide "fields for practice of leadership and team skills"; and e) develop identity (LTR, 5).
There are now whole academic fields -- along with courses and departments -- that are " ... devoted to studying video games" (LTR, 5). Educators are looking into way in which to incorporate...
Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.
Get Started Now