Video Games: A Form of Art and Entertainment for the Future

Video Games are a form of Art

Well as the title itself says, Video Games are a form of Art.

"Games" is a title given and used far too lightly nowadays with some still clinging on to the impression that it means "child's' play" and other outdated notions that should have been left in the past by now.

We Gamers are not children with no responsibilities, neither people that have nothing else to do in their lives, neither individuals with no interests other than having fun and playing. Some cling to these notions and try to force gamers to believe that video games are for children and not for grown ups. Naturally they are prompting gamers to grow "out" of them eventually. Such beliefs couldn't be more wrong and couldn't be based on falser assumptions if they tried.

Believe it or not, there are indeed many people that still think like this. An arrogant and pretentious mindset knows no limits after all. Such people try to force their belief systems on others, judging harshly with some pretty ridiculous notions that can even lead to discrimination and cause more harm than good. Instead of understanding that they are of a different mindset and that each person has a right to chose which ideals and qualities they will warm up to in this world, these people that do not agree to gaming in the form it truly is find it fitting to try and make others that do not agree with them change by force and discrimination. Such childish behaviour.

Gamers and what are the defenders of this entire form of entertainment will have you know it is no less a child's game than half if not all the activities in our lives that we all partake in for entertainment. Like going to the cinemas, or playing cards, playing pool, bowling, and so much more. Pretty hypocritical to rule out what one does not understand or like as being childish when all these activities are of the same form.

It is 2014 and the time for such misinformed notions to come to an end is overdue.

To put it simply, Video Gaming is 1st and above all a form of Art and 2nd a form of Entertainment. The two intertwine and become ultimately one.

It's time everyone started to respect it as such, and further respect gaming as much as any and all other forms of entertainment and art out there. The same way films, books, paintings, music and other forms are here to express the inner worlds of creators so that they can be shared with hundreds of others, thousands or even millions, games are here with the same purpose and were established with this idea and need in mind. They simply just take things up a notch by comparison, making the experiences interactive and thus being the only difference with the other forms. At this point it is pointless to argue over the differences and further define each form to a specific target market alone (like that of children) as each form is and should be unique in its own way and is more than capable of being directed to any target market out there and of any age.

Art and entertainment takes any form it needs or requires itself to take, it is free of any boundaries and templates, and that is why it is both an artistic expression as well as entertaining.

From Timeless Books to Timeless Games

One of the differences between all these forms of art and entertainment is that gaming is a form that relies on technology, and for this reason it has been much harder in the history of gaming thus far for a title to become timeless (even though there are such titles) in the sense that future generations will be less likely to enjoy and participate in that same experience which will be by then outdated. Unlike a film which can be comparatively closer to being timeless although also ages, and even more a book, which may be read by many future generations down the line, video games thus far have not achieved at large such a feat due to their younger age.

A book comparatively as a form is much more perfected. The medium used expresses the writers inner worlds with words and it is timeless the moment it touches the souls of many, being able to stand before the weathering of time and aging no matter what. Music follows closely with pieces that have been composed that can outlast their own generation, and films try follow close behind from there, some of which become classics and thus timeless. Gaming is a much more difficult medium to do this in, though the technological progress in the last years perhaps finally states that this will soon become possible for gaming as well provided developers deliver with such greatness.

Personally among other titles I find Skyrim to be one of those timeless gems. Being now 3 entire years later, the technology used is more than enough to render the experience playable for many years down the track. I found a new play-through of late to be as fulfilling as the first time I touched it 3 years ago. Quake 3 Arena (now Quake Live) is another example, as it is seemingly a timeless classic and over a decade old. Remakes also make it possible for classics to continue living on, the same way a new revised publishing copy does for a book. Times are indeed changing and this is so even for gaming.

Interactive Entertainment at it's Best

As a medium itself video games surpass all the other forms of art. Not one of these arts is better than the other, though they can be compared on what they all offer to the human senses. Each form of art gives something different and they should and will be forever here to fill our worlds with colour. What games offer however nothing else does. The combination of audio and visual delight (the likes of films and music in one) with story depth (the likes of books) further adding something that was for many years thought of only as children playing and fantasizing their roles and worlds, simulation and involvement within these worlds.

For those that wish to experience something much more than a story told and want to be an active part of it all, this is truly the only form available other than actual real life dress-up roleplaying and other similar practices. Only that gaming does it better, it recreates an entire world in which you are completely free to experience a tale from the eyes of a specific character or even create your own character and choices. This experience really is the next step of entertainment. It simulates an entire setting and brings you in to take control of it.

Some games are just that, games for entertainment. They are just for fun and offer either a simulated experience or an interactive experience for playing alone and wasting time (the likes of usually lesser games including browser games).

Other games, and most of the games out there of our time, are for entertainment as well as much more beyond that.

They bring in a visual interaction and a depth of story and can be at times educational on many levels (including historical or even moral) and a means to create entire experiences that are much more personal to the person experiencing them than any other art form.

They also require more attention and even simpler games focused on entertainment alone surpass films created for the same reason (films leave the viewer passive) and music (again leaving the listener passive yet also having less of a story to tell) and lastly books (which rely on readers to create the worlds and sometimes simulate what games do, yet without the ability of changing the course of the story or completing it themselves).

The results and what the medium actually offers shows that "Video Games" or "Games" alone are terms that do not justify the medium itself. A more accurate term would be Interactive Electronic Video Entertainment, or Virtual Simulation. Being rather more difficult to keep to those names Video Gaming and Gaming alone remain as the most proper and easier terms, though people should not be confused at what the medium itself really is and it neither deem it as something to "grow out of".

It isn't something to grow out of any more than watching or reading Game of Thrones is.

It is simply a different form of entertainment entirely as well as more advanced, as it is the only visually interactive entertainment of our time. Gaming is here to stay as more and more people migrate over to it to experience all the glory it can give, and with good reason. Gamers often become the heroes, and at times, even the writers of the stories they will experience.

Video Games, the Dominion of all Ages and Entertainment

Game of Thrones, or The Lord of The Rings (films and series), do only so much as tell us visually a written story but they also take us into another world to experience it. Video Games do the same, yet add exploration to the experience at ones' own pace and for hours on end. Something no film could provide.

Films are also great for relaxing at times. The passiveness of the person enjoying them allows for their medium to be available at a larger range of moods. Perhaps the laziness of an "old" person to be more active can be for some people related to this medium as well, forming an idea that a younger more active person would be intrigued by an interactive experience when an older person would not. These are taboos and limitations that we should all steer clear of. What a generation till now experienced does not make it the norm neither right, it simply makes it what they experienced. We only grow as old as we want to grow, and ultimately the more successful people (not economically, but on a personal level as well) are those that know how and where to stay young and always full of life.

Back to examples however, Skyrim does the same thing as Game of Thrones and The Lord of The Rings, only that in Skyrim we can create our own character and story. The active and involved state calls for a different mood as well. Skyrim allows me to explore a world and the characters in it at my own pace, in my own way, in my own order, to make choices of my own instead of watch the choices others make, find out myself the consequences of those choices and lastly during an action sequence, unlike any film, it will give me the opportunity to participate in the action, change or control it, and form it to my own liking making me even more a part of that world. All of which during an inspiring score of music that is simply there to make me truly feel like an epic hero that everyone in a film would be cheering for.

This comparison alone shows that Video Gaming offers for a superior experience. Although more tiring as well since one partakes in it and perhaps not for every mood and hour of the day, hence it is for the right time and place like everything else.

I am not ruling out all other forms of entertainment of course as I tend to enjoy every one of them depending on my energy and mood rather than create boundaries and taboos. I think it is pretty clear out of all these forms of entertainment which one brings for more immersion as well as a more versatile and personal experiences, but this does not mean that a great film and a good read are not as priceless of an experience as games can be.

It is by far the most interactive form of art yet, and we are in an age where it should be respected as such instead of discriminated against or thought of as a form of entertainment for children. I don't know about others, but I personally would not allow my child to play a horror game the likes of Amnesia or some title with mature themes including sexual and violence, the same way one would not allow their child to see a film like Sinister, Dredd or Fathers Day (even I haven't seen that). I struggle to fathom how such mature content can be deemed as "childish" simply because of the medium used. Come on people, time to stroll out of the caves and stop being mindless mobs that squander around with a lack of comprehension of the world around them and things within it. Video Games are an advanced interactive form of entertainment and they are here for all ages, themes and moods, depending on what the creator or team are trying to express just like every other medium.

Gaming Discrimination

This is a tough and large topic to cover, and it was much worst back in our day as gamers than it is today yet it is not by any means completely replaced with acceptance. We as people have a ways to go for that to happen.

Some of the funny quotes people of our time on that end would use, include "Aren't you too old to be playing games?" or it's related phrase and close cousin "I am too old to be still playing games", or others of the likes "I'm not a child to play games, lets go out" and some of the worst ones include forms of discrimination against people that play games to refer to as something to make fun of (calling them nerds and what not).

Teens would be teens after-all, though I struggle to find the maturity in dancing in a club (oh that's right, where sex is included it is mature right?) or going to the cinemas, or worst yet as some would "recommend" to get $#!tface drunk for no apparent reason at all.

Just to recap about one thing, sexual relationships do not make you mature any more than someone else. Every single human being before and after us is involved in sexual relationships. As a matter of fact, it is pretty immature when one only involves themselves in this form of socializing and partner-swapping alone as this to me demonstrates true immaturity or being incapable of growing out of a phase. Let's be real about it, that is the phase people need grow out of. Known simply as, settling down.

Gaming discrimination can lead to peer problems in the younger ages and can be hard to deal with. I have seen it done a number of times, and yes they tried to do it to me as well. If I wasn't so ignorant, I too would perhaps have been influenced or even scarred of such behaviour. On the contrary, as being a creative person as well, gaming gave me larger horizons, countless inspirations, quicker thinking and reflexes, and more insights and perspectives on a variety of ideas. After all, I never ditched reading, watching films neither going out at the expense of gaming. So if anything it is the people that discriminate that come out of the situation handicapped by comparison. They have all my experiences minus an entire other range of influences that they usually have a hard time imagining of.

"I do not play games because I have no life, but because I chose to have many." That was a quote I saw a while ago, and kudos to the person who wrote that. Not to mention (for those still thinking about the sexual part) that surveys show gamers actually have more sexually active lives in their relationships than non-gamers. Funny that.

Any form of discrimination of this sort is void of logic. It is by no means an immature act, it is a form of entertainment. And all those (including "stand up comedians" if anyone knows my reference) clinging to phrases of the like "get out of the house" neglect to fathom a simple thing: We do get out of the house and we do involve ourselves physically in as many activities as others do. Yet when we are in our house, we simply know how to have a better time. It's simply logic.

As for those that actually do become less social as a result to gaming... Well they are extremities and are met in every single activity of our time. In a community of gamers they are very social indeed, the same way a biker that does nothing but ride all day can be an extremity and unsocial with most groups, yet very social in a similar community of bikers. I don't condone extremities of any form, but I will not rule out Video Game extremities as being the only bad ones the way many people do. Balance is they key to everything but of course, this is for each person to decide on for themselves and no-one should feel judged or less of a "human being" based on their activities enjoyed.

Apart from being void of logic, discrimination against gamers is as harmful as any. Thankfully it has decreased in our time as more and more people partake in it first from casual gaming, and others from more serious attempts to become a part of this entertainment and enjoy it. It might be a while until such "bullying" to children that have different likes is completely lost in the pages of history, but we are improving as a whole as is the understanding of many things that our world has to offer us. And that is always a good thing. Here's to hoping for a lighter and happier future for the generations of gamers to come, it is more than probable.

A Form of Art and Entertainment for the Future

Conclusion... Video Games are an advanced form of entertainment. Perhaps a little tiring at times too (depending on the game itself) and not for all occassions, but definately provide for experiences other mediums lack in.

The whole idea of them being both art and entertainment makes their approach itself timeless, and sure enough, timeless gems will be created within this medium as well as we move forth in technology.

The best part about it all is that now the idea of it has actually started to dominate the masses on what it truly is, a form of art and entertainment for the future. This article is simply to serve as an eye-opener for those few that are left behind that might struggle to understand what the fuss is about, or even an invitation to come and check out what they are missing out on all this time.

Even the amount of females that have become a part of gaming is a very large increase in number compared to previous generations and proof of times changing and people being able to enjoy all forms of entertainment in our world regardless of gender, race, and anything else. Of course the advancement in technology has helped for this to happen and developers focusing on both-gender themes and characters for years now, as well as the increase in casual games that are an invitation for many to come join us in the great realm of Virtual Entertainment.

The increase in gamers of all genders and likes simply proves we are in a time were Gaming is no longer a niche for the few. The "Geeks" or the "Nerds" or others of the like that some once deemed as "less social" for a variety of reasons, also being forms of discrimination, are now the gurus and prove they were ahead of their time. Gaming has become something that anyone can pick up and enjoy, and the few that might remain and still discriminate against it are but the few our time will soon completely forget. It is inevitable, they will either join in the experience or simply remain as the few unheard of voices before the many that will enjoy and partake in the fruits of Simulated Entertainment.

After all... Video Games are nothing more than just another form of entertainment, and people want to be entertained. It's only a matter of time until everyone partakes in this form as well like Films and Comics and Music and so many other things before it.

So... what are you waiting for? Another world to your senses is just a click away, you will be surprised as to what you have been missing out on all this time.

Oh, and you're welcome in advance ;) See you online...