Gaming Is Art, And Then Some

As technology developed, the human race managed to manipulate it to their liking, spawning devices used for entertainment, health, therapy, convenience and many more ingenious uses. Such uses of technology can be seen through TVs, X-RAY scanners, cars and most of all, gaming.

For the first time in human history the act of gaming allowed consumers to live out the life of another - often fictional - character, and since her almighty inception, the industry has seen major improvements and refinements to make it more accessible, believable and most of all,enjoyable; however, since the very beginning gaming has been one thing: art. Let me elaborate, the definition of art is this: "The expression or application of human creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting or sculpture,..." and since the beginning, this is exactly what gaming has been - people have opened themselves up creatively in order to craft enjoyable, believable worlds in which one can live out their wildest dreams to whatever extent. And although this has been the case since gaming's inception, it has become easier to notice during the past decade as the graphical power of gaming consoles and PCs alike has superseded the first console creator's wildest dreams and then some.

What led me to such a realization was experience with my own game, that's right, I'm a brand-new Indie developer who began work on my own piece of art last month, and every aspect of game design is an art. For example, writing a script is the creative expression of a single individual which deems it as art; creating scenarios in which the game is set in itself is art as the drawing of pictures is required to achieve such an effect; the composition of musical pieces is also an art for it requires great concentration, appreciation for the form of media and most of all, a close ear to know what they're creating is atmospheric and relevant to the game's setting.

Although some may disagree, the truth in itself is that gaming truly is an art; however, I firmly believe that gaming is art, and then some. Not only does gaming allow the appreciation of a person (or team's) blood, sweat and tears, but it allows the admirer of the piece to take that work and craft their own experience from the work itself, this is particularly applicable to RPG and open-world games. Said genres allow one to partake in the activity of my choice and live the life through another, to escape reality, and although painted art allows that to a certain extent, the art of a game allows that to be taken to the next level by giving the user complete freedom and using their imagination to create what they don't have.

Every aspect of gaming such as the music, the scenery, the storyline and the characters themselves were crafted by somebody and such a blend of arts allows for an extraordinary experience that interferes with every single one of the player's senses excluding touch, the user's emotions are also touched if the game was created to do so; for example, a sad scene may negatively manipulate the gamer's emotions whereas a jolly situation would do the complete opposite. This is what takes gaming to the next level. It is no longer art due to being comprised of so many individual arts. In short, gaming truly is art, and then some.