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[Stench Guzman]

Killer7

[Iduno]

I can't distinguish art from nostalgia.   In my opinion, eighties and nineties games are generally more artistic, often as a result of technological constraints.

First you better stop waving it about like a feather duster.

[pikachu17]

Killer7

Umm... you're supposed to also specify under what definition of art you are considering under and how the game fits. It's even in the title.

[Mesron]

I would have to say Journey would be my favorite Artistic style game. From the overall visuals to they way they tell the story of the world, as well as, the somewhat abstract way you get to interact with other players, since there's no way to talk to them, other then chirps.

[Salmeuk]

The Painters Playground is a wonderful, albeit underpopulated, painting simulator. You can buy and sell various paintings, and create your own to display or sell on a player-driven market. It is simple, plain, and not really trying to be much more than what it sounds like. My favorite part of the game is the strange art seen in the public gallery. This game is not for the hyper-critical art consumer, I wouldn't say the art you browse is super impressive, but it provides a platform for creating and perceiving weird ideas. I'm all for it!

I'm taking your question too literally. You could ask the question, "Can video games only contain art, or is it possible for a game to be art?". I'm of the belief that most games contain art from many different mediums, making the game into a composited art object where in the process of playing you consume the art. But for me to call a game art would require me to see it attempt something interesting that is exclusively possible within a video game. Something systemic, procedural, mimetic, collaborative, input-driven, and so on.

I believe you can play games artfully, as well as skillfully, and that these two attributes are not necessarily correlated.

If anyone wants to read a senior thesis on Dwarf Fortress and narrative in video games, which is relevant to this discussing of art, PM me. It's not my thesis but its interesting.

[Iduno]

The Painters Playground is a wonderful, albeit underpopulated, painting simulator. You can buy and sell various paintings, and create your own to display or sell on a player-driven market. It is simple, plain, and not really trying to be much more than what it sounds like. My favorite part of the game is the strange art seen in the public gallery. This game is not for the hyper-critical art consumer, I wouldn't say the art you browse is super impressive, but it provides a platform for creating and perceiving weird ideas. I'm all for it!

I'm taking your question too literally. You could ask the question, "Can video games only contain art, or is it possible for a game to be art?". I'm of the belief that most games contain art from many different mediums, making the game into a composited art object where in the process of playing you consume the art. But for me to call a game art would require me to see it attempt something interesting that is exclusively possible within a video game. Something systemic, procedural, mimetic, collaborative, input-driven, and so on.

I believe you can play games artfully, as well as skillfully, and that these two attributes are not necessarily correlated.

If anyone wants to read a senior thesis on Dwarf Fortress and narrative in video games, which is relevant to this discussing of art, PM me. It's not my thesis but its interesting.

Sounds interesting, and also reminds me of this news story.

[TamerVirus]

I say Katamari Damacy
Art is subjective!

[CABL]

I'd say This War of Mine fits quite neatly in the three categories that Scoop brought up: Visually, it's a bleak game with "pencil-drawn" broody and dark filter, fitting the horrors of war nothing short of perfectly. The people's models, in addition, are realistic, and the game also uses realistic photos as portraits for its characters. You'd think it'd create an unwelcome contrast, but it doesn't, and only reinforces the mood of the game.

Both the narrative and the gameplay help each other to the point where the two categories merge: There are a-plenty of games with anti-war messages, but their message tends to be muddled by being power fantasies, where you play as a generic military uber-badass hero. This War of Mine takes a different path and gives you the control over three civilian survivors of the occupation, each with their quirks, but ultimately mundane and human as the game can portrait them. You'll be sneaking around abandoned places to find things vital to your survival (frequently inhabited by bandits or military), whenever it is some wood planks to keep your filter working, food to not die from the empty stomachs, and medical supplies to stave off sickness and patch the wounds up. The materials required for your survival will get scarcer through the game, and going to the new places will always carry a risk of bandits, military, or simply other desperate survivors that want to take that canned food for themselves to not starve. That's where you'll be forced to commit acts of violence and/or stealing from those who are just as unfortunate as you are (and in some cases, are helpless to stop you), which will leave your survivors demoralized and depressed from the realization of what terrible deed they've committed.

Controls are very simple point-and click; click once to walk/sneak/loot/craft/whatev, click twice to hurry up (and probably alert the bandits in the building with the noise you'll make). They really can't go simpler than that, but they don't need the complexity, anyway.

In any case, This War of Mine was a very welcome break from the constant power fantasies and literally the best anti-war game that has been made so far. I consider it a work of art, very bleak and depressing, but also very meaningful and human. Sure, "war is hell" was never a new message in any form of media, but This War of Mine succeeds on the front of delivering and presenting the message by simply taking a different path from "a game about an uber-badass soldier that also has PTSD or some shit", and being all about the human experiences of living under a blockade of a city. It'll be very interesting to see how anyone can do a better anti-war game than this, if it'll be possible.

[Arbinire]

There are many good games which are also artistic, but honestly there really aren't any good "artistic games".  They all tend to be sophistic and vapid, confusing the same adolescent trends such as Nihilism and "politics" as deep and profound original themes.

"The problem isn't that Johnny can't read.  The problem isn't even that Johnny can't think.  The problem is that Johnny doesn't know what thinking is; he confuses it with feeling."  - Thomas Sowell

[Iduno]

New Answer.


Edit: Although I am disappointed the years were in order.

[TamerVirus]

New Answer.

Scored 4:22. but goddamn

[thegoatgod_pan]

Lucas Pope's games--Papers, Please and the Return of the Obra Dinn.

Davey Wreden's Stanley Parable

Disco Elysium by Za/um

Obviously DF and Liberal Crime Squad

[Jimmy]

The Long Dark.

The creative director Raphael van Lierop credits the artistic direction as wanting to make each frame of gameplay look like an oil painting. The art style is certainly unique, and the story, such that it is, takes a far more gentle approach to the survival genre compared to most titles in the market, which are mostly zombie shooter games.

[se5a]

Universal Paperclips.

[Egan_BW]

I consider anything that I enjoy which was created by humans for the purpose of enjoyment to be a work of art. So, what videogame have I enjoyed the most?

The answer for me will tend to be whatever story based game I've played most recently, so Disco Elysium for now~