Games as Art: Comparisons

As I read the answers to the previous question I posed, along with my own personal thoughts, I think it's important to discuss the easy comparisons that games have to other art forms.  I'm inwardly torn on the subject - sometimes the comparison of games to other art forms create it's strongest case for games as art, and sometimes the similarities create huge stumbling blocks for game designers to work through as they push their medium forward.

Games are a unique beast, indeed, as they pull in elements of design from just about every other art form, classical or not.  Painting (backgrounds), sculpture (3D modeling), film (animated sequences and character movement), and writing (narrative and story) all have elements that are essentially necessary to create a game in the first place, long before it qualifies as a valid art form.  The question at hand is if the presence of these elements defines it's qualification as art, or is there a deeper standard that we are overlooking as we make a judgment.

These elements create an unfair standard (in two ways!) as we attempt to dissect games as an art form.  The presence of these elements can cause us to jump to too quick a conclusion, much in the same way we wouldn't question a sculptor's work for the sheer fact that we "know" sculpture is an art form.  It can also work negatively, causing a similar assumption that if a game doesn't contain a majority of these elements, it can't be an art form.  I've found that most modern art criticism's are similar to this train of thought... "That?! That's art?! My kid could make that", and so forth.  Film is probably the closest artistic relative to games, if indeed they are related at all.  Games move like film, they tell stories like film, they roll credits like film, they have directors/producers/etc. like film.  Games are made that are based off of movies, and movies can be made based off of games. Games are often described using words like 'cinematic'.  Yet, we know the difference between a game and a movie when we see them.  Games are not film and films are not games.

From my perspective, games share more in common (as art, that is) with theatre than film.  Theatre and games both require something that a film does not need - an audience.  Without this, there is no art work in place.  The theatre performer needs an audience to view the work, for without an audience there is no show.  (I suppose the same could be argued for a film or painting, but those things would still exist if no one saw them this very instant, unlike theatre which exists only live and in the now) Games work very similarly, not in the sense that they need the player to exist, but they need the player to continue.  Mario will never rescue the princess unless the player successfully guides him through the story.  Master Chief will never defeat the flood unless the player informs his movements and shooting.  Drake will never find his fortune unless the player helps.  Dom will never find Maria's rotting corpse unless the player guides Marcus through the graves.  In short, games need the player.

This may not seem groundbreaking, but if this is true, it changes the way that we look at every other element of gameplay.  If the player is responsible for their fair share of the work, then how could a story be told differently?  How should the lighting or the coloring of this in-game moment be approached if we are going to give the player freedom of exploration with their character?  How many cut-scenes should happen if we still want the player to feel responsible and in charge of the action?

I'm curious about your thoughts.  Do any of these thoughts hit home? Are there trends between the "artsy" games you've played that create any reasoning for (or against) games as art?  Should games even be looked at by this standard?

(I know this sort of post would be better fit in some sort of research paper, so I apologize if it feels disjointed and out of place. It would probably be better with a proper thesis and formal outline.  Also, if anyone is interested in a more in-depth breakdown of some of the thought processes that have fed me over the years, a decent overview can be found here, as wikipedia summarizes human aesthetics.  There is a section there that breaks down six broad standards for art, and I find it pleasing that games fit every one of those bullets. Great stuff.)