But is it Art?

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lLDejFY0ssE&feature=plcp]64 Grumpy RPG Reviews: A Request and a Challenge - YouTube[/ame]

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

One of a number of ongoing debates about art is whether or not computer/video games can qualify as art. Related to that, though seemingly unstated, is the question of whether or not table-top role playing games can qualify as art.

I operate a video column/review series focusing on TT RPGs and I am asking that people to name a single TT RPG product they feel qualifies as art and to make a pitch about the product they have selected.

TT RPGs are the meeting place of several traditional fields of artist expression, including illustration, writing, and graphic design/composition. Further, a TT RPG is used by an ensemble group, much like a play or selection of music is used by an ensemble or performers.

It is probably impossible to establish a universally agreed upon definition of art – so rather than doing that at the outset, I leave the definition of art up to the people who choose to respond, which will be defined in the product they choose and the pitch they make.


Ideally people will send me a short video or audio clip of their selection and pitch – failing that, they can e-mail, or post to by blog, the name of their selection and a text-version of the pitch about why it qualifies as art.

At the end of the summer (late September) I will compose a video naming the product suggested and the reasoning behind their selection.

So, can you think of a single TT RPG product that you think qualifies as art? If so, why?

Please send the response to “grumpyrpgreviews-at-yahoo-dot-com” or “thegrumpycelt.blogspot.com”.

Thank you for your time.

 

[Leatherhead]

To be honest, I don't understand why games are compared to art.

Even animals play games, it's something instinctual and a part of the learning process. To say that games are art, is kind of like saying religion is art.

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

Quality writing is art, or can be.

Illustrations are art, or can be.

Graphic design and composition are art, or can be.

TT RPGs are made of three things which at least can be art.

Video games might well be art and if they are, why exclude TT RPGs?

 

[Kaodi]

If tabletop role-playing games are going to be counted as art, they are going to be a kind of performance art.

 

[Umbran]

If tabletop role-playing games are going to be counted as art, they are going to be a kind of performance art.

Well, there's two different things we might refer to as 'the game'.

There are the products themselves - the books are, as noted above, filled with prose and images, both of which can be rendered in a way that qualifies as "art". So, can the book itself be art? Can your PHB itself be a work of art?

Then, there's the question whether the game as played - the people sitting at the table rolling dice and talking - can be art.

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

Well, there's two different things we might refer to as 'the game'.

This is more or less what i was going to say - for example, the written play of MacBeth (which I like better than Hamlet) is one thing, while a performance of the play is another thing.

To reiterate something; it is probably impossible to come up with (here or anywhere else for that matter) a universally agreed upon definition of "art." So, at the risk of being a cop-out, I leave the definition of "art" up to those who participate, and their selection of a TT RPG product will say much about the participants thoughts about art.

 

[Bedrockgames]

I tend to view gaming and game design (of the table top variety) as a craft. For me personally seems a more useful term than art because at the end of the day it is something people use. When someone makes a game for me to play, i am interested in its functionality, its elegence, not big ideas or layers of meaning. But them I am more of a craft type than art type. Not saying this is the only interpretation, it is just how I view the hobby.

 

[Super Pony]

I think an important distinction for people to keep in mind is artwork versus art.

The Encyclopædia Britannica Online defines art as "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others".

Which I snatched from wikipedia...a source of a source is moderately worthless but hey...I can't be bothered for better at the moment

Roleplaying, singing, jamming (either in a band or actually creating jam), quilting, and any other number of activities would pretty easily qualify as art.

But is it artwork? That's far more subjective and 'in the eye of the beholder' so to speak.

 

[RangerWickett]

Of course it's art! Everything is art.

The question is, should we bother discussing it in the same way we discuss fine art? Should we consider its aesthetics as being equally important or of superior importance to its game-iness?

And like so many things, it depends.