Zine Essay
When you think of art, you probably consider the ornately framed classical painting on the museum wall or the Greek sculpture that stands across from it. If you enjoy music, you’d probably tell me that lyricism and music theory put into practice is art.
An avid reader would say that a book is art.
I would say that all of these are a form of art, but have you ever considered that video games are art? You may totally agree with
me, disagree with fervor, or feel a little in between about it. I think I can convince you to agree with me, though. I am going to consider three different games and discuss how they are pieces of art.
The first game I want to talk about is Gris. I am starting out with this one, because I could argue that it might be the easiest game to digest as art. Nomada Studio, a Spanish video game developer, equipped Barcelona artist Conrad Roset with the task of being the creative director of the game. The game looks like a watercolor painting, except the figures and colors move across your screen as you interact with the character and the environment. This gorgeous painting style paired with a melancholy, yet beautiful soundtrack and story line creates an emotionally captivating piece of art.
The game takes you through the five stages of grief. The unnamed protagonist you play as starts in a world where she has lost her voice and all color has been drained away. The playability of the game is rather simple, yet not superficial by any means, as the team of mostly artists at Nomada Studios wanted to make an inclusive game that could be played by new and seasoned players alike (Vasilikaris, 7-8).
The breathtaking artwork that went into this game produced an amazing immersive and interactive result.
I challenge anyone who doesn’t believe video games are art to spend some time with Gris and it might just change your mind.
Now, I want to introduce you to Life is Strange. This story-heavy, choice driven game is one of a kind. This game has impacted me in a way no other has, in a way I don’t even know how to express. It’s like taking a piece of cinema and pairing it with an engaging narrative, and then making that something you have control over. This game has you making choices from the very beginning, every choice you make affecting the outcome of your story. Not only are you in charge, but you’re in charge of an emotionally charged plot that is sure to have you holding back tears. I think this game will especially resonate with teenagers and young adults, because, although there’s a supernatural element involved, the characters are dealing with intense, real world struggles. For example, one of the characters in the game, Kate, a shy, religious student, is subject to bullying after being involuntarily drugged and exposed on video and Chloe smokes weed and has some shady dealings with a local drug dealer (Grufstedt, 97).
It’s a jarring and unforgettable experience. You’ll feel like you’ve stepped into the characters shoes and you’re experiencing first hand the whirlwind of events that leads you to the end of the game where you’re left to make the biggest decision of all.
Lastly, I have a not so obvious choice, but AAA titles are not excluded from my argument. Monster Hunter is a series of video games that puts you in the shoes of an adventurer who goes on expeditions and fights monsters. The game begins with you creating a custom character, which gives you the opportunity to make someone look just the way you want them –
you could even make them look like you! As
you play, you will learn how to use your chosen weapon (there are 14 different types of weapons to choose from – each with different mechanics, furthering player expression) to most efficiently fight each monster. Every monster has a unique and believable design, inspired by the biomes they live in, each with their own mechanics and move sets. Some of them are giant lizards while others resemble medieval dragons.
This game is also visually stunning and immersive. Each environment teems with endemic life. The leaves on plants and trees rustle as you run by, sliding down sandy hills and twisted tree trunks, collecting different materials from flora and fauna used to craft potions, ammo, and other tools that will help you on quests. The Monster Hunter games were designed in a way that helps you fully immerse yourself in the adventure. However, it doesn’t ask you to escape reality, rather puts reality into perspective. There’s even a study that was run that shows that when the difficulty of the game is low, comfort is increased and excitement is high. During levels of high difficulty, comfort is low, excitement is relatively stable, yet the factor of achievement is extremely high (Jia et al., 6). The quests in Monster Hunter scale in difficulty quickly and are an exercise in attention to detail – rewarding perseverance. Early on, the game teaches you not to give up and to try again, even though you will see a “You Died” screen often. You’ll learn a lot about yourself through the skills you practice and the enjoyment of overcoming challenges. After beating a monster “the sense of achievement is enormous” (Jia et al., 3).
Referenced Work
"Agency and Consequence in Life is Strange" by Ylva Grufstedt
"The Aesthetics of Grief: Exploring Sorrow in the Paradigm of Gris" by George Vasilikaris
"The Relationship between difficulty and hedonic satisfaction of video games" by Xu Jia, Kun-pyo Lee, and Youn-kyung Lim