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<blockquote data-quote="Aberzanzorax" data-source="post: 5951681" data-attributes="member: 64209">1. No medium is inherently art.&nbsp;2. Any medium can be utilized to create art.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;That's really all there is to it (in a learn the rules in two seconds, take a lifetime to master them sorta way).&nbsp;&nbsp;Painting my house isn't art. Singing happy birthday isn't art. Writing a grocery list isn't art. Slogging through Diablo III isn't art. Reheating leftovers isn't art.&nbsp;BUT.&nbsp;There are many paintings that are art. Many songs are art. Many great writings (poems, books, etc) are all art. Some skill in playing (as well as designing things) in the medium of video games is art. Creating an exquisite meal can be art.&nbsp;&nbsp;And of course, as with most any definition, the definition itself is more of a &quot;sphere of accuracy&quot; with &quot;DEFINITELY ART&quot; through &quot;MAYBE? ART&quot; through &quot;I'm pretty sure that ain't art, but some critics disagree.&quot;&nbsp;In RPGS...&nbsp;...beer and pretzels is usually meant to be &quot;a fun, nonserious game&quot;. I'd categorize that style as &quot;not art...but a fun game likely&quot;.&nbsp;...storytelling games CAN fall into the realm of art insofar as stories themselves can (or improv theater can). Some stories are silly little things, some encapsulate emotion, some are very meaningful, some teach a message, and so on. Stories of various qualities &quot;hit&quot; some of the commonly accepted motifs of &quot;art&quot;.&nbsp;...politcal and/or social games CAN fall into the realm of art insofar as art is representative of a culture (or phenomenon)--allegories are often art, as is satire. &nbsp;...sundry &quot;experience&quot; driven miscellany of RPGs could be art as well. Sometimes art is an &quot;experience&quot; rather than a product or performance. Here I might count some of the more experimental art, particularly that which includes audience participation...so much so that &quot;audience&quot; is an unfair term...more appropriate might be &quot;paying participant artist&quot;?&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Usually, but not always, to create art, one starts with a goal of creating something artistic (that being meaningful, spiritual, emotional, political, etc. etc...something that is greater than the medium itself; a pretty picture, a tasty dinner, etc. &nbsp;Sometimes (and often in the best art) one stumbles into it. In a search for meaning, a person records a diary that becomes read by thousands (I'd call Anne Frank's diary art, but I don't think it was intended as so). There is also that potential (maybe not with the same gravity) in RPGS. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;For RPGS to be art, I'd include the following elements as &quot;potentials&quot; for changing the category from &quot;game&quot; to &quot;art&quot;... a deep emotional involvement, a satirical or otherwise politcal representation (game of thrones on TV might be art), exploration of psychology through character, to such a degree that something profound is explored or maybe learned. There are surely other elements, but that's off the top of my head.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In the end, and as I said at the beginning...no medium is itself art. &nbsp;Art is something that people produce using one or more mediums. RPGS and video games are mediums. That's all you need to know.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Aberzanzorax, post: 5951681, member: 64209"] 1. No medium is inherently art. 2. Any medium can be utilized to create art. That's really all there is to it (in a learn the rules in two seconds, take a lifetime to master them sorta way). Painting my house isn't art. Singing happy birthday isn't art. Writing a grocery list isn't art. Slogging through Diablo III isn't art. Reheating leftovers isn't art. BUT. There are many paintings that are art. Many songs are art. Many great writings (poems, books, etc) are all art. Some skill in playing (as well as designing things) in the medium of video games is art. Creating an exquisite meal can be art. And of course, as with most any definition, the definition itself is more of a "sphere of accuracy" with "DEFINITELY ART" through "MAYBE? ART" through "I'm pretty sure that ain't art, but some critics disagree." In RPGS... ...beer and pretzels is usually meant to be "a fun, nonserious game". I'd categorize that style as "not art...but a fun game likely". ...storytelling games CAN fall into the realm of art insofar as stories themselves can (or improv theater can). Some stories are silly little things, some encapsulate emotion, some are very meaningful, some teach a message, and so on. Stories of various qualities "hit" some of the commonly accepted motifs of "art". ...politcal and/or social games CAN fall into the realm of art insofar as art is representative of a culture (or phenomenon)--allegories are often art, as is satire. ...sundry "experience" driven miscellany of RPGs could be art as well. Sometimes art is an "experience" rather than a product or performance. Here I might count some of the more experimental art, particularly that which includes audience participation...so much so that "audience" is an unfair term...more appropriate might be "paying participant artist"? Usually, but not always, to create art, one starts with a goal of creating something artistic (that being meaningful, spiritual, emotional, political, etc. etc...something that is greater than the medium itself; a pretty picture, a tasty dinner, etc. Sometimes (and often in the best art) one stumbles into it. In a search for meaning, a person records a diary that becomes read by thousands (I'd call Anne Frank's diary art, but I don't think it was intended as so). There is also that potential (maybe not with the same gravity) in RPGS. For RPGS to be art, I'd include the following elements as "potentials" for changing the category from "game" to "art"... a deep emotional involvement, a satirical or otherwise politcal representation (game of thrones on TV might be art), exploration of psychology through character, to such a degree that something profound is explored or maybe learned. There are surely other elements, but that's off the top of my head. In the end, and as I said at the beginning...no medium is itself art. Art is something that people produce using one or more mediums. RPGS and video games are mediums. That's all you need to know. [/QUOTE]

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