Response to Ed

Might video games be considered potential works of art?

I would argue that yes, video games can indeed be considered works of art. It seems that although video games may not be an ideal form of art, they follow the criteria which were set in previous chapters which we have read. Video games are interactive art, which allows the gamer (for their benefit or not) to become consumed in a fictional situation where they actually have a level of control over the storyline. When playing a video game, gamers often are completely submerged in the fictional story. Game systems like Wii even allow the gamer to move their body in realistic movements to control games. Unlike film or photography, video games do not require that the themes or characters in the game actually exist. Which for Scruton, this makes a big difference. Video games also take a certain amount of artistic ability to create. The creation of complex games may take an extensive amount of time and requires attention to detail. The artist creating the game represents some sort of intent through their work which may be interpreted by the gamer. My only resistance here is the capacity for a video game to move someone. I have to think that video games do posses this characteristic for the simple fact that when I was younger I was afraid of playing "zombie" themed games and would nearly toss the controller when it got too intense. We could also argue that video games have caused some people to "copycat" in real life, extensive studies show that violence in video games can be translated into violence in life. This statistic is debatable for me. I am not entirely sure if people are more violent as a result of video games, or just if violent people play violent games?

Although I would not necessarily claim that video games are a "major" art form, I feel that the amount of artistic ability involved in creating a game, and the emotions and reasons for playing them correlate to the criteria we have discussed which constitutes a work of art.


With game systems like Wii which force the gamer to actively participate (let's say, bowling for example), when this much physical effort is needed to play a game, what is it that prevents the gamer from going out and actually participating in real-life situations (i.e. actually going bowling)?