Very often, talking about the game, we must ask ourselves whether these, at least in certain cases, can be considered the true works of art and not just mere means of entertainment.
Interviewed by Culture.pl, the story director at CD Projekt RED, Marcin Blacha has expressed his opinion on the matter, citing also his Witcher, a title which, he claimed, does not fall within any category of artistic expression. “I’ve participated in such discussions many times, although I was never particularly convinced because, to tell you the truth, I don’t know. I know that games are an important part of culture – this is undoubtable. But whether they can be art or part of it? I guess so, but not en masse, meaning not every game is a work of art… And there are cases where a game is a work of art or nearly a work of art. With a game like The Witcher, I don’t think so, but there are artists who express themselves by creating games.”
“That’s true, but film or visual arts are different from games in that they are directed from the very beginning to the very end. There certainly are such forms of art – especially modern art – which assume a degree of interaction, that play with the audience. But one can assume that traditional art is much less interactive than games. In the case of games, artists are scriptwriters, but it is the gamer who is the ultimate director, because it’s the gamer who decides about what will ultimately happen in the game, and in what form events will happen.”
What do you think about it? Can the games fall into the category of artistic expression in your opinion? Let us know in the comment section below.
