Hall 1

Drew Hall

Mr. Smith

Junior ELA

6 November 2023

Video Games Have Artistic Value

Since the age of simple arcade games in the 1960-70s, the video game industry has

developed rapidly, with new innovations happening all the time. Due to this massive growth and

change happening in a relatively short time span, many debates regarding video games and how

they should be treated have ensued. A significant amount of discussion about video games has

been centered around their relation to other types of media, such as movies, books, or music.

These varieties of media are generally classified as art, which has naturally led to the debate

regarding if video games are worthy of the same treatment. While many people consider video

games to be less artistically meaningful than other types of media, treating them solely as

entertainment, video games have an incredible amount of artistic potential because of the way

that they can enhance storytelling and visual imagery with interactivity.

The main argument against video games being classified as an artistic medium is that by

being games, and especially by including direct interaction, they are incapable of having any true

artistic value. There are many different definitions of the word “art”, but the true meaning of all

words lies within their usage, not a single description of what they mean. Specifically, by

analyzing types of media that are traditionally considered to be artistic, the bounds of what art

can be are established. Despite the level of interactivity in video games, there are already varying

amounts of interaction in defined artforms, meaning that this cannot prevent video games from

having artistic value. When comparing strictly visual mediums such as paintings to literary
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mediums such as books, the lines of interactivity between them are already somewhat blurred. A

regular painting is not meant to be interacted with past viewing it, but the pages in a book are

meant to be turned, providing a small amount of extra interactivity. Additionally, one of the most

traditional forms of art is architecture, which further complicates the issue of purpose and

interactivity in art. Architecture, in many cases, applies to an entire building, which is highly

interactive in that people are meant to be inside of it. Furthermore, while there is undoubtedly an

artistic element to architecture, it also must have practical purpose in being structurally sound

and functional. This proves that a medium can have an alternate purpose while retaining artistic

meaning, as is the case with video games being games. While mediums considered to be art give

an estimate of what the word “art” means to society, its actual usage gives a direct picture of

what it means. In 2012, the Museum of Modern Art officially recognized video games as art by

adding fourteen video games to their collection of artworks (Antonelli and Galloway). While one

source does not even come close to dictating the meaning of art throughout all of society, the

Museum of Modern Art has a significant amount of influence on what defines art. The museum

is one the biggest in the world, with millions of people visiting their gallery each year. On top of

this, their decision to include video games under their umbrella of art was backed by the many

expert art curators that work there, who are specifically employed for the purpose of evaluating

works of art. The Museum of Modern Art therefore displays a fairly clear picture of what art

means in the modern world, which, by their standards, does include video games. Although

video games are obviously classified as games, the modern and even traditional use of the word

“art” demonstrates that this does not prevent them from having artistic value as well.

The interactive element of video games not only allows them to be considered art, but is

actually vital to the specific kind of artistic meaning present in video games. As previously
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stated, the idea of art cannot be summed up to an exact definition, but in order to dissect exactly

what makes video games artistic, a general meaning is necessary. In loose terms, something is

artistic when it appeals to the human experience by expressing beauty or feelings. The high

interactivity in video games is able to magnify the impact of artistic elements, allowing these

feelings produced by them to be felt even stronger. To demonstrate, a study on the topic of

meaning in video games states, “Whereas viewers and readers typically watch characters make

decisions in movies and books, many video games allow the player to actually make those

choices, resulting in feelings such as guilt or pride” (Swayne). Video games, along with other

types of games, are practically defined by the fact that the player has control over components of

the game. By not only observing the world of the video game, as is done with most other artistic

media, and instead actually taking part in it, the connection that individuals can feel to the game

is well beyond that of other mediums. Having a stronger connection to the video game then

allows the player to more strongly experience the artistic elements. As no other medium really

has the same level of interactivity as video games, the player connection and therefore artistic

potential within them is uniquely powerful. Another artistic benefit provided by interactivity

comes in the form of variety. Basically all forms of media have significant variation between

works, but none can truly compare to video games. Through their use of interaction, games are

given an entire new dimension, making the umbrella of video games include many works with

vast differences between them. For example, the incredibly popular sandbox survival game

Minecraft generates a practically limitless world where players are left on their own to survive

and create. Minecraft is almost entirely defined by its interaction, with a main appeal of the game

being its lack of rules or fixed way to play. On the opposite end of the single-player game

spectrum, the narrative-driven role playing game Disco Elysium focuses on its story and visual
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style, giving the player little but decision making power. Most of the meaningful interaction in

the game is done through dialogue options, which in such a different world from the boundless

structure of Minecraft that comparison between the two is almost ridiculous. The gigantic scope

of the medium of video games produces virtually unlimited creative potential, both in terms of

game and art. Video games are significantly more interactive than other artistic mediums,

allowing for players to become more emotionally invested, and designers to utilize more

creativity, resulting in artistic potential.

Through the use of interactivity, video games are able to have highly significant artistic

meaning. However, this remains nothing but theory unless there is actually a game that is able to

accomplish it. The 2019 exploration-adventure game Outer Wilds provides a perfect example of

how a video game can have this artistic value. Outer Wilds takes place in a foreign solar system

where the player controls an alien astronaut stuck in a time loop as they try to unravel the

mysteries of the cosmos. At the beginning of the game, the player is given a small amount of

instruction before launching into space with no specific objectives. While this may at first seem

reminiscent of open world survival games such as Minecraft, they strongly differ in that Outer

Wilds is story-driven and has many achievable objectives, they are just not directly given to the

player. Instead, the player must explore the solar system and define goals on their own. As they

make their way around the different planets, the main story slowly reveals itself, of a long extinct

civilization that lived in the same solar system millions of years ago. The story of the ancient

race, called the Nomai, unveils itself as the player retraces their long forgotten steps by

translating writings left behind. The open exploration consistently elicits a sense of wonder, with

many impactful moments of realization and discovery. By having the player uncover the mystery

entirely on their own, the game allows them to deeply connect with the compelling and
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ultimately tragic story. If the storytelling was merely presented to the player, as it typically is in

many other types of media, it would not have nearly as much emotional, and therefore artistically

impactful. One of the central mechanics of the game is the twenty-two minute time loop that the

player finds themselves in. Throughout their twenty-two minutes of exploration, the solar

system’s sun slowly expands and eventually goes supernova, wiping out all existence in the

vicinity. Following the event, the player wakes up in the exact same spot they started the game

in, all progress reset, but their new knowledge still intact. This creates an interesting gameplay

loop where the only progression is in the form of information learned, tying progress directly to

the player instead of the game. As the player learns more about the repeatedly exploding solar

system and the influences of the ancient Nomai, the main goal of the game becomes more and

more clear. The actual ending of Outer Wilds is a fairly abstract sequence that does not provide a

clear narrative ending, but rather focuses on the themes and ideas presented in the game. While it

is very much up to interpretation, the meaning of the game revealed in the ending has in some

part to do with accepting change and being able to let go. In the case demonstrated in the game,

the player is accepting the death of the universe, but this message still translates to real life.

Personally, I played the game over a year ago and this message, along with the creative way it

was presented, still deeply resonates with me. Outer Wilds builds off of its base of an interesting

interactive system to create an incredibly immersive and impactful experience. The emotions that

the game evokes are a clear indication of artistic meaning, no matter the exact definition.

Video games are a unique medium, largely due to their prominent use of interactivity.

Some believe that by being so interactive, video games are incapable of having artistic potential,

but the clearly undefined boundaries of art suggest that this is not the case. In fact, the interactive

elements of games give them a distinct artistic meaning through their more creative and
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immersive design. One game that demonstrates this is Outer Wilds, which creatively utilizes

interactivity to enhance its artistic value. Although there are games with significant artistic

meaning, the medium is still in its infancy, with a long way to go before the real potential of

artistic interaction is fully realized. Until then, the game industry will continue to improve and

create, making it more and more undeniable that video games are truly capable of being great

works of art.
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Works Cited

Antonelli, Paola, and Paul Galloway. “When Video Games Came to the Museum.” Museum of

Modern Art, 3 Nov. 2022, moma.org/magazine/articles/798.

Swayne, Matt. “Video Games Can Power up from Merely Fun to Meaningful Experiences.”

Pennsylvania State University, 15 Apr. 2015, www.psu.edu/news/research/story/video-

games-can-power-merely-fun-meaningful-experiences/.
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H Argument Essay Rubric

Skill Not Yet Foundational Proficient Advanced

Identifies a basic claim Appears in first Thesis establishes a

Thesis paragraph complex claim

Thesis establishes a Establishes counter-

topic and a claim argument in claim

Topic sentences Topic sentences have Topic sentences have

Claims/Reasons contain basic claims clear and distinct clear and distinct
claims that relate to claims that relate to
the thesis the thesis and make
nuanced points that
consider alternate
perspectives or
counterarguments

Uses some brief Uses multiple pieces Uses a variety of

Evidence examples, or one of evidence (personal evidence (see
example, to support experience, anecdotes, previous column) that
each claim; may all be survey, research etc.) supports each claim;
personal experience to support each claim different types of
evidence in each body
paragraph

Use of reliable outside

sources

Brief explanation of Explains how evidence Provides strong

Analysis how evidence supports topic explanations of how
supports topic sentence/claim of evidence supports
sentence of individual individual paragraphs topic sentence and the
paragraphs and the thesis thesis while also
considering
Includes at least 2 counterarguments
concessions in body
paragraphs Seamlessly mentions
concession, and offers
response/rebuttal

Counter- Makes some mention Structure counter- Well-structured and

Argument of opposing argument argument which: effective counter-
Mentions the opposing argument which:
argument, some Establishes an aspect
mention of how of the opposing
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opposing argument argument, clearly and

may be disproven logically disproves the
argument

Some elements missing Heading is correctly No errors in MLA

MLA Format or some errors in MLA formatted format
format
Pages are numbered

In-text citations are

correctly formatted (if
sources are used)

Works Cited format:

hanging indent, double-
spaced, alphabetized,
starts on a new page (if
sources are used)

Works Cited: each

source entry is in
correct MLA format (if
sources are used)

Shows evidence of basic Quotes are correctly Quotes are correctly

Conventions proofreading integrated most of the integrated
time (if sources are
used) Shows evidence of
careful proofreading
Follows essay
organization (claims in Includes fluid
topic sentence; transitions between
evidence; analysis; ideas
concluding sentences)
Eliminates wordiness
Shows evidence of
proofreading

Utilizes mostly simple Some varied sentence Consistently varied

Fluency sentence structures structures sentence structures

Some use of advanced Advanced use of

vocabulary vocabulary; including
use of active verbs