Video Games as Art

In case you didn't know, The Smithsonian is featuring The Art of Video Games next year.  In addition to having played many of the video games who won spots in the exhibition (an Internet poll allowed users to "vote" on which games from certain time periods and genres should be featured), I recently took an Art Appreciation class, and therefor am educated in the appreciation of art!

A list of games and my take on the exhibit - after the jump!

The winning games are as follows (games marked with a * are games I have played!):
Era 1: Start! (Early 1980s - Systems: Atari VCS, ColecoVision, Mattel Intellivision)

Games from this era are crude and simple in their design, and rely heavily on the gamer's imagination to fill in the blanks with which technology cannot currently occupy.  Some very important classics are presented in this era, including Pitfall and Donkey Kong, which introduce the very beginning notions of gameplay physics (gravity).

• Pac-Man, 1981 (*)
• Pitfall!, 1982 (*)
• Space Invaders, 1980 (*)
• Combat, 1977
• Donkey Kong, 1982 (*)
• Pitfall II: Lost Caverns (*)
• Zaxxon, 1982
• Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator, 1983
• TRON: Maze-Atron, 1982
• Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, 1982
• Star Strike, 1981
• Utopia, 1981

Era 2: 8-Bit (Mid 1980s - Systems: Commodore 64, Nintendo Entertaininment System [NES], SEGA Master System)

Systems to operate games have become widely more available, with the NES having market dominance in bringing games out of arcades and into homes.  New genres are explored in this era's winners, especially from artistically diverse selections.  Sid Meier's Pirates! for example, showcases the beginnings of polygonial recognition for future consoles, whereas games like Mega Man 2 (nominated) and Super Mario Bros. 3 embrace and expand on the pixels allowed by the system, capitalizing on the ability to create animated sprites of gameplay.  And of the games I've played, Marble Madness moved the ball forward significantly in the notion of gameplay mechanics (particularly, again, physics - truly introducing concepts like momentum, inertia, and friction).

• Jumpman, 1983
• The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate, 1988
• Attack of the Mutant Camels, 1983
• Sid Meier's Pirates!, 1987
• Super Mario Brothers 3, 1988 (*)
• The Legend of Zelda, 1986 (*)
• 1943: The Battle of Midway, 1988
• Desert Commander, 1989
• Marble Madness, 1986 (*)
• Phantasy Star, 1987
• After Burner, 1988
• Spy vs Spy, 1984

Era 3: Bitwars! (Early 1990s - Systems: SEGA Genesis, Super Ninentdo Entertainment System [SNES])

Sprites are king!  The 16-bit consoles allow developers to create sprites with far more detail, though realism is hard to acheive in this medium (probably why Earthworm Jim got a nod here: while the game is throughly unrealistic to the point of the bizarre, it is one of few games of the era to consider proportions - whereas Mario, Link, and others have absurdly gigantic heads).  StarFox breaks the mold and is one of the first console games (the PC had featured games like this before) with fully operational polygons, though incredibly crude to today's standards.  Donkey Kong Country (nominated) is notable for it's use of pre-rendered 3D graphics.

• Earthworm Jim, 1994
• Phantasy Star IV, 1993
• Gunstar Heroes, 1993
• Dune I: Battle for Arrakis, 1994
• Super Mario World, 1991 (*)
• The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past, 1991 (*)
• Star Fox, 1993 (*)
• SimCity, 1989 (*)

Era 4: Transition (Mid-Late 1990s - Systems: DOS/Windows, Nintendo 64, SEGA Dreamcast, SEGA Saturn, Sony Playstation)

While the console is still the primary gaming device for most consumers, the increased availability of the home computer has increased its ability to host games.  Polygons and pre-rendered 3D are the building blocks for almost all games (Final Fantasy Tactics used an interesting blend of polygons for terrain and sprites for characters/actions; it really worked!), and developers again ask imagination of their users.  Yes, Cloud Strife's head polygon is not connected to his torso polygon during several scenes of Final Fantasy VII - put we are allowed to make the connection ourselves.  On game of particular note is Goldeneye 007, a first-person shooter based on the Bond movie of the same name.  The incredibility of this game is its ability to finely recreate the scenes in the film to exceptional detail.  Artistically, a departure from sprites allows proportions to become much more important.

• DOOM II, 1994
• Fallout, 1997
• Diablo II, 2000
• StarCraft, 1998
• Super Mario 64, 1996 (*)
• The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, 1998 (*)
• Goldeneye 007, 1997 (*)
• Worms Armageddon, 1999
• Sonic Adventure, 1998
• Shenmue, 2000
• Rez, 2001
• ChuChu Rocket!, 1999
• Tomb Raider, 1996 (*)
• Panzer Dragoon Saga, 1998
• Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei, 1996
• SimCity 2000, 1993 (*)
• Metal Gear Solid, 1998
• Final Fantazy VII, 1997 (*)
• Einhander, 1998
• Final Fantasy Tactics, 1998 (*)

Era 5: Next Generation (2000s and Modern Games - Systems: Microsoft XBox, Microsoft XBox 360, Windows, Nintendo Gamecube, Nintendo Wii, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3)

Game technology allows game developers to be diverse with their creative expression.  Though only a nominee, the Paper Mario series successfully utilizes sprite-based graphics in a comically medium.  Games are exploring different ways to render and design games - like Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker and Okami using cell shading to create cartoony, and naturistic environments.  The era leads into modern times, with games like Uncharted 2 and Heavy Rainreally showing how realistic games can become.

• Halo 2, 2004
• Fable, 2004 (*)
• Panzer Dragoon Orta, 2003
• Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell, 2002
• Bioshock, 2007 (*)
• Mass Effect 2, 2010
• Geometry Wars, 2008
• Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II, 2006
• Portal, 2007 (*)
• Fallout 3, 2008 (*)
• flOw, 2006
• Minecraft, 2010 (*)

Sorry to interrupt the list here, but look at that.  MINECRAFT, which at first glance looks like a game made on a much, much, much, much, lower-end system.  But I am delighted to see it make the Smithsonian's list.  To me, Minecraft represents for video game art what cubism did for painting.  The world of Minecraft is a real place, much as Picasso's works were of real people and real places, but it is perceived in a unique way.  That, and the fact that the game isn't even released yet (it's still - technically, in Beta) and has sold over 2.5 million units.

• Metroid Prime 2: Echos, 2004
• The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, 2003 (*)
• Star Fox: Assault, 2005
• Pikmin 2, 2004
• Super Mario Galaxy 2, 2010 (*)
• The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, 2006 (*)
• Boom Blox, 2008
• Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure, 2007
• Shadow of the Colossus, 2005
• Okami, 2006
• Gradius V, 2004
• Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty 2001
• Uncharted 2: Among Thieves, 2009 (*)
• Heavy Rain, 2010 (*)
• Flower, 2009 (*)
• Brutal Legend, 2009

I am definitely making it a priorty to attend this exhibit!  And I am very encouraged to see The Smithsonian embracing the interest and putting some of its top art historians and theorists on sculpting the exhibit like they would for traditional art.  It's exciting to think about how - just as I have never picked up a paintbrush - an art historian who may have never touched a joytick will approach the crticism and analysis of video games as art.