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Are Video Games Art? | Channel Awesome | YouTubeToText
YouTube Transcript: Are Video Games Art?
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Summary
Core Theme
The content explores the evolving question of whether video games can be considered "high art," arguing that while the medium's interactive nature and potential for complex narratives and player-driven experiences position it as a legitimate art form with the capacity for profound artistic expression, its recognition as such is still developing.
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[Applause]
hello I'm the Nostalgia Critic guy
remember it so you don't have to the
last video game I've ever played all the
way through was Super Mario Brothers Wii
and before that it was Metroid Prime 2
on the GameCube that's an entire system
later that's not to say I don't dabble
in a little Mario Kart Marvel vs Capcom
3 or am I most embarrassing recording
myself playing the Michael Jackson
experience in my pajamas which you are
not going to see I bring this up to give
you some idea of where I'm coming from
that I did play a lot of video games
growing up but recently I've kind of
fallen out of touch and that I still try
to keep a little on top of things by
being a Casual Gamer here and there I
bring this up because it's important to
know my background when I ask a question
that's been circulating the past few
years are video games art now on the one
hand this is a stupid question as you
could easily say of course it's art
practically anything can be art just
look at the definition the expression or
application of human creative skill and
Imagination typically in a visual form
such as painting or sculpture or Works
produced by such skill and Imagination
so hell even the picture you did of a
horsey when you were 5 years old
technically counts as art but I think
what people really mean when they ask
this question is are video games High
art will they be remembered are they
Timeless do they say something relevant
about life or Humanity that will be
relevant years later that's what people
are really trying to get down to I must
admit I didn't really think too hard
about this subject matter until I played
the game Metroid Other M despite all the
hype being built around it the game
pissed off a great number of fans and
Gamers but not for the same reasons that
it would have 20 years ago the biggest
complaint was that samis the badass
Bounty Hunter and star of one of
Nintendo's biggest franchises has now
been reduced to an overly emotional
yapping drama queen with dialogue more
like a soap opera than a Space Opera to
say fans were pissed was an
understatement but when it came down to
the actual gameplay itself people didn't
seem to have that big a problem with it
of course some people didn't enjoy the
playing part but the focus of the
criticisms was how poorly they
represented the character and the story
when did this happen nobody used to
question the motivations of a plumber
going after a princess or the storyline
of two guys with guns stopping an alien
invasion but clearly much more is
expected now out of video games because
the medium itself has naturally evolved
but many critics out there still declare
that's just a modern updated version of
this in my opinion the best way to
understand the evolution of the craft is
by comparing it to another craft that
many people argued for years wasn't art
movies for a long time many art critics
declared film as just a means of escape
and entertainment and nothing else but
as the art form Advanced more and more
we saw filmmakers take chances by
challenging audiences with new ways of
of telling stories and expressing ideas
films could be disturbing
thought-provoking enlightening even
breaking the bonds of the 3A structure
and just expressing motion dreams or the
subconscious because of this it is very
hard nowadays to find people who don't
in some form or another see the
possibility of film making great art
regardless the question remains do video
games have the same capacity well many
would argue nowadays that video games
are just a cheap imitation of movies
that they're trying to cash in on a lot
of the unique elements of film without
actually making a film and in many
respects they're correct there's no
doubt movies make big money and the more
game makers can make their games look
similar to movies the more people will
get the impression that they're actually
playing a movie which is a very
attractive idea seeing how people are
attracted to movies already so does that
mean video games are just movies light
are they just Advanced versions of
dragon layer where footage tells you
where to go and if you don't follow you
just lose a turn there's no denying that
some if not many games are very much
like that so how can games be expected
to evolve as an art form if it's just a
watered down version of another art form
well games do have a very distinct
difference over movies music paintings
and other forms of Art and that
difference is choice for the most part
you can't decide where a movie a book or
a piece of music goes it's finished when
it's finished and You observe it from
there but video games by Design are
dependent on different outcomes and true
there are are some pieces of art and
literature where the choice of the
Observer plays a big part but in video
games that's not just a small part of
the process it's the majority of the
focus because of this we create a medium
where not only are they allowed to
experiment with choice but they're
actually expected to and when you're
expected to produce more possibilities
you're expected to experiment more take
risks more and generally find out how
many outcomes can be created sure most
of them are very simple as in avoid
getting hit by something or you'll die
but how about the games that create new
worlds to explore new stories to create
and not just from the Creator anymore
but from The Observer few would disagree
that much of art is about the creation
and this is one of the rare mediums that
allows the viewer to make just as much
great art as the artist who created it
does it isn't just the graphics and the
technology that's evolving it's the
unique interaction between the player
and the game and yes there are games
that try to serve as nothing but
mindless entertainment and there are
games that Tred to be complex and
interesting but instead come out as
predictable and boring but how is that
any different from bad art or bad movies
they're all trying to tap into something
that makes you understand or celebrate
The Human Condition even something like
Transformers yeah I know easy target but
nonetheless something as simple as
Transformers is trying to get across
what we value as good human ethics right
down to the very basic good versus evil
now does that make it something that's
going to be relevant and studied years
later probably not but at the same time
you don't call an entire artistic medium
a failure because some bad art is
popular now if the question is have
video games reach that level of high art
that's a little bit more debatable as a
Casual Gamer I don't know if I've seen
that landmark that's the game equivalent
of the seven seal or 2001 but I would
make the argument that some have come
close this may sounds strange but
something like the Sims as much as I
personally don't like playing it toils
with the idea of living your life in a
world almost identical to ours but once
again the choices you make in the
environment I think can say much about
how people live their lives in the real
world and in their fantasy world just
the experience in what you do and how
you play and how it contrast to how you
react in the real world that's a very
different and interesting form of
artistic expression whether you realize
you're doing it or not and again the
genuine art comes from the user not
necessarily the Creator I think the same
can be said for games like sky or World
of Warcraft or any of these games where
you're allowed not to just go on
adventures but live a life any way you
want to live it in a completely
different reality I think you could also
make the argument that games like
BioShock Infinite though not allowing as
much Choice as other games create some
very powerful commentary while also
being a visual Marvel but like I said as
a Casual Gamer I can't act like I'm the
biggest expert on the subject maybe that
big game changer is out there and I just
haven't seen it yet maybe it just hasn't
gotten the public attention that it
deserves or maybe the big game changer
is one of these games and the reveal of
time will slowly show that but what I do
know is the possibilities are there and
they're being experimented with day
after day as the medium continues to
grow it reminds me of when people used
to say that comic books weren't High art
and that they were nothing but childish
nonsense I'll admit I used to kind of be
on that boat too but then groundbreaking
works like mouse came out and Watchmen
and pepolis and a lot of other great
works that said hey we don't care what
you think we're going to prove that
there is a medium here that can be as
powerful thoughtful provoking and
emotionally stimulating as any other
great work of art and sure enough the
medium is much more respected now than
it was before an argument has even risen
that Comic Book Heroes are the new Greek
myths being written from so many
different points of view but still being
the center of value that popular culture
looks up to perhaps the reimagining of
video game characters with their Legends
and quests could be working its way up
to the same page so in answer to our
video games art or high art I would make
the argument that if people don't see
that the answer is
yes they
will if a game doesn't exist that'll
sway you over the possibilities that
continue to evolve with technology
inevitably have to and yes many great
people I admire like Roger Eber declared
they never have been and never will be
art and while I respectfully disagree I
don't see see him or anyone who thinks
similar any less intelligent or
influential I simply ask that people who
think it cannot evolve at the very least
keep their minds open to the roads that
can be traveled with the medium that if
you think video games are not high art
now be aware that they certainly have
the ability to be so in the future many
evolving artists and mediums have been
shunned in the past and much of their
progress came from not what they weren't
but what they could be and it's hard to
see how the evolution of this to this is
any different from the evolution of this
to this yes there will always be
mindless games for escapism in the same
way there will always be mindless movies
for escapism but if that is the full
extent of the possibilities you can see
in video games I humbly challenge you to
stop start over and play
again I'm the Nostalgia Critic guy
yeah You' burned [Music]
[Music] it
[Music] a
a
well we got a lot of people asking Hey
where's suburbanites and Kass on DVD
well now's your chance to pre-order the
reorder once again that's right shipping
will begin July 1st and on top of that
we have copies left of the Nostalgia
Critic reloaded DVD if you order in the
next 2 weeks I will personally sign them
for you but hell with that wouldn't you
like to know the DVDs you're buying are
going to a good cause well they are
we're going to use that money to help
fund our charity drive this summer the
charity is for the one step at a time
camp and you can help support us to make
this Charity Drive happen buying great
entertainment going to a great cause
what's not to like well okay you don't
have to like bees but they're not a part of
of [Music]
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