Videogames vs High Art

UPDATE: Read this more recent post first.

As of today, videogames have yet to transcend their name: They remain a plaything in the eyes of society. Their growing audience does little to strengthen their cultural importance - only their economic legitimacy. While their capacity for artistic merit has grown harder and harder to deny, it will be a while before videogames become a part of High Culture.

Which begs the question "why?" What has separated, and continues to separate videogames from literature, music, film and fine art? Many members of the online community have nodded their heads at critics, arguing that videogames have been neglected through the elitism of high culture. Others have focused on the type of critics native to the gaming world, condemning their criteria, their credo or their credentials. On the other side of the fence, public figures and critics alike argue that videogames are essentially unworthy of critique.

The answer, however, is more complicated. Respected critics have indeed lambasted interactive media, the “critics” of the game world have focused more on review than analysis, and ultimately it’s true that videogames have been excluded from the cultural canon. Each argument has a semblance of truth to it – more than a semblance, in some cases – however, the most important facet lies in the form of videogames themselves. The underlying structure of the videogame as a piece of art is undeveloped and flawed. This blog will (hopefully) serve as a place to outline these foibles and how they must change.