Videogames : The Ultimate Form of Art

What an important statement I did with this title!
The Ultimate form of Art... Am I exagereting perhaps?
Videogames aren't cheap, they require expensive consoles to be used, they get people addicted to them, they are noisy, they shoot flashy lights towards the consumers and even more.
Aren't they a simple waste of time and money without any actual meaning behind them?
Well, I hope this is what you're thinking about them dear reader, because in the following paragraphs I'll surely be able to change your mind about them and everything that circles around these incredible works!

The current Forms of Art

When someone hears the word Art, the first things that can pop up in its mind are Books, Poetries, Songs, Paintings, Pictures, Films, Theatrical Performances and many others.

They all seem so different from each other... Books must be read, Songs must be heard, Paintings must be watched, every single one of them requires to be felt from the audience with one or more of their senses to fully enjoy them and yet, there's a single element that unites all of them and it's the same reason for which they were born in the first place.
They were all made by an Artist to Express a Feeling, a Point Of View, a Message or a Story to their audience, so that even they could perceive the world with the same eyes of the Artist itself.

However, not everyone can understand what the Artist intended to express with its work, this is because everyone has a different predisposition for Art in one's mind.
There's who loves Thriller genre and who loves Fantasy, who listens to Classical music and who listens Celtic, who watches Action movies and who watches Sci-Fi...
Every Artist can be master of a single Art, and every Art can be understood by a specific audience.

And this is valid for Videogames too!
The senses used to live them is the Sight, to admire the worlds, the creatures and the cultures within them, the Hearing to listen to the environment, to the characters, to look out for dangers or to be amazed by the Original Sountracks composed by great talents and sometimes even the Touch, to feel within your hands the impact of something big, a suffered hit or something ominous getting closer and closer to you.

The Best of them are used to express literally everything to their audience, the suffering of a character, the pain of a loss, the joy of a triumph, the wrath of a betrayal and all of this meanwhile the Story continue to go on exactly as the Artist had imagined that.
But now, let's procede in the right order, shall we?
The best way to prove a point is to compare the interested subjects.

Differences between Videogames and Books

Usually these two are seen as the antipodes of each other, but in reality they share the same creative thought process and spirit.

Books are well known for many aspects:
-they can talk about real life events, invented stories, certain arguments, personal point of views, basically everything
-they can talk to the readers indirectly through metaphors, idioms and morals or directly through examples or by breaking the 4th wall.
-they can be written in any way the writer desires, the only limit is the imagination.
-they grant to the readers the faculty to imagine in their minds everything written on their pages on their own terms.
-they can be exposed on a library to show one's cultural level.

But for some Creators, this isn't enough.
If a writer wishes to paint a certain situation in its story, a certain character or a certain scenario without the reader's imagination intrusion, it can be done with enough care in the descriptions, but it will never be able to express at the 100% an exact replica of its idea through only words on a book.
That's where Videogames are able to surpass the Books.
A described roar, scream or sound can be reproduced instead of being interpreted and a described character, event, item or emotion can be showed as Creator intended instead of being imagined

Because in every other single aspect they are the same!

Videogames can be built in any way the Creator desires, even imagination itself cannot be considerd a limit!

Videogames grant to the players the faculty to link the dots of everything described in texts or sentences that doesn't have a cutscene to find the Real Story behind the Events.

Videogames can be exposed on a library to show one's videoludic cultural level.

They don't seem that much different now these two, right?
But before getting to the Climax however, we must move towards the next comparison.

Differences between Videogames and Paintings

These two couldn't be more different from each other than they already are, and yet, only because Videogames are what they are, it’s possible to do this comparison!

Paintings are another incredible form of art with which the painter can catch an instant of what he has in front of him, what he has in its mind or even what its eyes are truly seeing that nobody else can.

Styles, meanings, secrets, stories, emotions, passions... Everything can be put on the canvas and everyone has their own interpretation of every work, but only a few will be able to truly understand what the Artist intended to represent in their painting.

Someone may ask to themself “Wouldn't be nice to be able to enter in the painting and visit the entire world within it with the same style, colors and environments?”

Well, many videogames, if not everyone of them, are able to give you an experience like that!

Every work of Hidetaka Miyazaki is a good example of it and i'm not saying this only because you can literally enter inside paintings in his games.
Every single second within his titles at camera still make you feel inside a painted masterpiece, from descending Lordran's Catacombs to ascending Anor Londo, from walking within Yarhnam's streets to diving into material nightmares...

Every single frame is able to make feel something different, exactly like gazing at a painting, and that's absolutely magnificent!

Besides, there are a lot of examples that can be brougt out, like The Master's Pupil, that is set in an entire world painted with the style of Claude Monet;
Okami, set in a an whole world brushed with the Sumi-e ink techniques;
Bendy and the Ink Machine, set in a world drawn in the old Comics Style;
Cuphead, with a style resembling the old cartoon's from the '30s

The brushes may be different, but both of them start from a blank canvas that must be filled with one's imagination, care and effort to take life and being admire by everyone else.
Both of them are full of life within, one is able to express it with motionless details and the other with motionful details, but only one can grant you the chance to enter in it and to explore it at one's please.

I can already sense your thoughts running in your mind!
You're starting to reconsider it, Aren’t you?
But stay tuned, the best has yet to come!

Differences between Videogames and Theatrical Performances

Between these two there souldn't be nothing to talk about, but they share a crucial detail that makes them both what they are and of course, they use it in a different way because of their natural forms.

I'm talking about the interaction with the audience, something that can be done rarely by other forms of art for how difficult it is to applicate, and yet, for both Videogames and Theatrical Performances it's as natural as it is for humans to drink water.

In the theatre everything happens in real time, and in some performances the actors can interact with the audience by walking among them, give them props or even make them part of the act itself!
That kind of interaction is special to the viewers, because within the theatre they are not only audience, they are part of the whole performance!

In Videogames that feeling is even more common than in theatre!
This is because the player is both audience and main-actor within a videogame!

Of course, exactly as Theatre Performances, there are works where that feeling is higher, lower or completely absent in comparison with each other.

The best videogame genres where one can find a very prominent amount of this precious element are Interactive Games, where the player has the power to control the choices of one or more characters within a very well designed story that will inevitably bring consequences for the rest of the playthrough

and Role Play Games, where the player can create from zero an avatar of themself with which it can explore the world, interact with the in-game characters, decide how to live that story and even control the events through multiple choices during the whole game that will bring consequences for the future of the playthrough

Every other title has this element too, but in different forms and quantities.

Usually in Metroidvenia and Adventure games you have the faculty to decide what to use and where to go, but in the end everyone is forced to reach certain places in a certain order to continue in the game.

In Sandbox Games, the player can go anywhere they wants whenever they wants to do anything they wants in any order they wishes, even if in the end no choice will have consequences in the future of the playthrough and, at some point, everyone must have some mandatory items to be able to continue the game.

In "Hero" Games -as I like calling them-, the player is literally one of the most known heroes in humankind, such as Spiderman or Batman, and it has the chance to use various builds and abilities depending on the player's tastes.

The player will never have the chance to decide the future of the story, but they have the power to decide what missions are to be done before the others, a very teeny tiny freedom in comparison with the majority of games

And of course, every genre has its exceptions in handing over more power or less to the player, but we can't stay here talking about any single example unfortunately.
Let's move to the final paragraph now!
It's time for the Climax!

Why Videogames are the Ultimate Form of Art?

We talked about the differences that Videogames have with Books, Paintings and Theater Performances...
Where are all the others? Was I lazy?
Of course not, this Post is too much important for laziness to take the upperhand!

The truth is that there's no way Videogames can have differences with other Forms of Art such as Songs, Films, Poetries, Sculptures, Pictures and every other one, because they are both stand-alone works and individual parts of Videogames themselves!
To be honest, even the "Big Three" (Books, Paintings and Theatre Performances) can be and are parts of any Videogames!

Not only that, but every single one of them, within a Videogame, can assume a form that in the real world would never be able to take!
This is because in our world, Art follows the current times and trends as the years pass and it will never go back on its path.
It has been and will always remain so.
But everything can change within Videoludic Worlds, where everything is possible!
Within them past valours such as Honor, Loyalty and Self-Sacrifice can get back to life, Music can go back to compose new and unique Classical works, Songs can go back to their prime where every verse was unique without words that repeat themselves over and over again to be the new hit of the season, and they can even be composed in any of their past forms such as Opera Lyrics, Hymns or even a combination between them and modern style such as Rock, Metal and Synthesis.

Old Styles of Scuptures and Paintings of certain periods of time can be used again within a Videogame setting.

And the craziest thing is that every single one of them will stay in perfect harmony with each other thanks to the incredible work, dedication, patience and passion that only the Creators, and all the Artists that work for them, behind a videogame can have.

But that's not all!
Videogames aren't the Ultimate Form of Art only because they have literally every form of art within them...
They can give to their audience some things that only they can offer:
-A Challenge: In a Film or in a Song, to know how they'll continue, you only need to wait patiantly... In a Videogame you don't have this luxury! You have to earn the right to see how your story will continue! And to do so you must become strong enough to overcome the current obstacles in front of you!
-A Reward: After a Challenge the player is always rewarded for his efforts and that doesn't stop to a special skill or weapon for your character... This kind of reward has many faces and forms. A Reward can be the next part of the game, a very cool cutscene, a long waited answer, an unspeakable secret, the satysfaction of the well deserved victory, the background music of the next area, even the second phase of a bossfight with a new OST(Original SoundTrack) can be consider a reward strangely enough!
-An Experience: When you finish to watch a Film, to read a Book or to listen to a Song, it happens that “something” of them will remain deep within you, as an important teaching for the future that awaits you.
In Videogames that happens too, but the difference is the same... It was you who succeded in overcoming the challenges within that world, it was you who discovered the truth within a story full of lies, it was you who became the strongest of that world, it was you who succeded where many have failed!
That feeling is something truly indescribable that anyone should try to feel at least once in their life!

There are still some things Videogames do have that other Forms of Art doesn't, or to be honest they are a couple of last differences between them.

The First Difference is the Interaction with other People!
You see, usually people start to interact with each other only after experiencing a Forms of Art.
After listening to a new Song, after watching a new Film, after reading a new Book, there's little to do if not nothing at all during the enjoyment of that piece of work!
In videogames is quite different instead... People interact both after playing a Videogame to review the work, to discuss over the Lore(secret story of a game) or to show off their skills, and they interact in the midst of it in the form of Multiplayer Activities, sometimes because it's necessary, sometimes because they need a little hint and sometimes only because it can be done!

Two very good examples are Destiny and any From Software’s Souls Games.

Destiny is a RPG(Role Play Game) Multiplayer where people can interact and cooperate with each other to reach mutual goals.
The comunication between the players usually is always a good experience where everything is shared, even the happiness of succeding and the sadness of failing.

That game was built to be community based! Every day, week and month there's always something to do, something to find and everyone works together to help the community in the common knots.
The strongest emotions however came out during 3 particular events:

Raids, super hard missions were 6 players must operate as one to be able to win incredible experiences and rewards;

Trials of Osiris, the ultimate PvP(Player vs Player) challenge. 3 players must put their skill to the test against other teams to be able to get their hands on incredible and very rare rewards. Winning after fighting together in those incredible matches against other incredible players is something that cannot be described! It's simply mesmerizing;

Exotic Quests, special missions that often require incredible skill and collaboration from each player to complete every single step of them, and by doing so, everyone will receive one of the most powerful rewards in that game, an Exotic Weapon.
I had the chance to play Destiny 1 and 2 for years so I'm well aware of what i'm talking about.
Since I stopped playing to the saga, I never felt again those kind of Experiences and Emotions in other titles, it was truly special!

In From Software’s Souls Games instead, the players can interact with each other in unique ways.

Everyone is the owner of its world(and it is the same world for everyone), but from your own world you can leave messages that will be visible in every other world of every other player. And with them you can help other players by pointing them a secret, warning them about a danger, making funny jokes or even lie to them to lure them into lethal traps if you desire!
This is a passive type of interaction, but there is even an active one.

A player is free to summon other players to its own world in order to get help in its current struggles so that they can fight together for the win and for a common reward, but a player can also invade another player's world and try to kill it in order to steal something from them.

There are a million of other examples of interaction between player!
In Monster Hunter the players must work together to hunt dangerous and powerful monsters;
In Minecraft the players can build and explore together to create marvelous structures and memories to be cheered;
In Battle Royals the players are divided in teams that have to fight each others in order to remain the only team left and receive the best rewards of them all!
And many others are out there that could be described in here.

The Second Difference is a very important one and it's basically exclusive to Videogames.

The Players aren't just the audience of this Form of Art, they are an integral part of it!
In a Book you read a story and in a Film you watch it, but in a Videogame you are part of the story.
In a Song you can passively empathize with the Singer message, but in a Videogame Song you are part of the message and the reason for its existance!
In a Painting you can only watch those incredible environments, but in a Videogame you can also walk within them.
With a Melody you can imagine certain images in your mind and feel certain emotions in your heart, but with an OST(Original SoundTrack) you have the perfect music in the perfect context to amplify your emotional response to the highest peaks.

To put it in simple terms, every Form of Art gives importance only to itself, a Videogame instead revolves around the player.

In a Book or in a Film the main character has its fate already sealed by the script…
A Painting, a Song and a Melody will remain the same forever according to everyone eyes and hears...
But a Videogame can have tens of thousands of different realities of itself, one for each player!
Because every person will take different roads, make different choices, find different items, use different tactics and most importantly, everyone will find its own personal ending.

Getting every achievement of the game, completing the game once, exploring every corner of the game, completing the game in the shortest time possible, depleting all the things to do or even losing interest in the game.
It's not just a Story, it's your story, a reflection of the person you are, of your tastes, desires and abilities!
However it ends, it depends only on the player's spirit, nothing more nothing less… But the aftermath will always be the same!
An Unforgettable experience!

Last Thoughts

This post hasn't the purpose to attack the other Forms of Art! Every single one of them has their own uniqueness and was an inspiration for the new generations that had yet to come.
My purpose, by writing all of this, is to give renewed respect for this misjudged Art that in reality is helping a lot of people finding their own inspiration for their own projects and dreams!

I would have liked to write another chapter about the Power of the Community capable of expand Videogames, Books, Songs and other Forms of Art with their own talent and imagination, but it would have been so long that it's better to make a Post fully dedicated on this topic.

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