Games that you think of as art?

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[H]ard|Gawd
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Is there a video game out there that you think qualifies as art ( in whatever fashion you see art, but mainly in the philosophical sense)?
 
Shadow of the Colossus, moral ambiguity. Killing these majestic leviathans that seem to have done no harm. And just the amount the game makes you feel when you're playing it. More importantly, it uses no dialogue in doing so, it's so expressive as a game it's self, it doesn't require it.
 
Flower
Limbo
Machinarium
Bioshock
Xenogears
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
notpron
Amnesia: The Dark Descent
Grand Theft Auto 4
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2
Metal Gear Solid 4
Chrono Trigger
Deus Ex
Legend of Mana
Vagrant Story
lots more but these stand out.
 
There's quite a few but in recent memory Trine 2 really stands out. Limbo is another one that is a dark but artsy way.
 
All the older Final Fantasy games. Mostly because they embodied the art of storytelling with is quickly becoming a lost art these days.
 
For me, I would say the older Silent Hill games. The gameplay is fairly straightforward, its a horror adventure game with puzzle elements. But the story behind the game is very well crafted. Not only the present story was well told, but from the journals and conversation, it have a very detailed background story especially in Silent Hill 1, which tells about a cult ran by that evil woman and this doctor, and how nurse Lisa was unwillingly dragged into the whole thing.

At the same time, it doesn't explicitly tells everything. The complex story, notes and conversations in the game does leave some rooms for the player to guess certain thing depending on how one interprets the clues. As in that example with Lisa, it never explicitly say why Alessa choose to keep Lisa in that form she is in the dark world after Lisa's death, but many players interpret the care Lisa gave to Alessa when she was tortured by the cult as a possibly reason why Alessa may felt an affection from Lisa and she choose to kept Lisa in her dark world after Lisa's death.
 
Myst/Riven
Grim Fandango

Great stylized adventure/puzzle games that really stood out for me.
 
Have you all forgotten about Braid? I never finished the game because it was too frustrating and couldn't solve some of the puzzles but the whole game and especially the music was amazing.

I would also say Limbo even though i've only played the demo.

I know this is the PC section, but Shadow of the Colossus is by far the most memorable game i've played that is more like art than any other game. I have the original for PS2, but I also bought the Ico/Shadow of the Colossus collection and Ico is also pretty artsy even though I haven't played it much. I don't like it's combat system, but both of those games are incredibly unique in art direction.

I know there are others I will think of and will add more later.
 
Bastion, Mirrors edge, ICO, hawken.. There's loads, ff games etc

all games have a bunch of awesome artists behind them.
 
Prince of Persia 08

The ending of the game was amazing IMO atmosphere wise.
 
Silent Hill 2. Storytelling is just so good. Art direction creepy and suggestive. Music spot on.
 
Portal, the way it used minimalism in storytelling, gameplay and level design. (It even used minimalism in its length lol)
 
Both Shadow of the Colossus and Ico stand out whenever I think of things like this. That being said, I hope The Last Guardian (directed by Fumito Ueda, same guy who did Ico and Shadow of the Colossus) will also turn out the same way.
 
None, I've never thought of games as art. That said what many people call art I don't think of as art either, so maybe its just me :p
 
I like (from an artistic standpoint) what they did in SFIV if you compare it to SF2.

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664133-picture_6_super.png
 
Depends on if a game can move you emotionally. Art I believe is about triggering memory , philosophy and emotion.

If a game triggers those than how could it be any different than art as its widely accepted? Art is always in the eye of the beholder , we all have differences of opinion when it comes to the very definition of what "art" truly means.

I personally have had some (not many) experiences in game that I felt like they were art. Certainly more moved than I was going to art galleries and acting as if I understood each artists "attempt" with my girlfriend of the time who was an art major (major for boring...).
 
Definitely Ikaruga. At first glance it looks like another standard shmup, but there's something unique that it brings to the table: all the ships and the bullets in the game (including your own) have two polarities, black and white. You can switch the polarity of your ship at any time on the fly, and you can absorb enemy bullets of the same polarity as your ship. Shooting an enemy ship of the opposite polarity also does extra damage. It's a game that requires not only the sharp reflexes and excellent vision that most shmups demand, but also another layer of depth and strategy.

On top of that, the art direction and the soundtrack are also amazing.

Videos of said greatness:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPwcjjgYKEA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exw8DE7o-h4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjI6-cPOURM
 
TheOneKnownAsMe said:
Both Shadow of the Colossus and Ico stand out whenever I think of things like this. That being said, I hope The Last Guardian (directed by Fumito Ueda, same guy who did Ico and Shadow of the Colossus) will also turn out the same way.
Click to expand...

Agreed.

Speaking of which, when is that supposed to come out, anyway? I saw like one trailer and then nothing else since.
 
Mojo3k70 said:
Myst/Riven
Grim Fandango

Great stylized adventure/puzzle games that really stood out for me.
Click to expand...

Definitely Myst/Riven, totally agree. I would also add Monkey Island to this list.

Krenum said:
All the older Final Fantasy games. Mostly because they embodied the art of storytelling with is quickly becoming a lost art these days.
Click to expand...

Yup. Final Fantasy III (or VI, whatever) nailed it. Great storytelling - amazing how they could get you so involved into a story using what looks like simple graphics these days.

I'd also add Zelda: Ocarina of Time. That game deserves its own hall in the Smithsonian.
 
Lighting wise, Mirror's Edge is fucking ridiculous

it's so god damn vibrant and colorful when it wants to be, a nice clash against the otherwise sterile look.
 
To me, the game's that show that games ARE an art form are usually classic adventure games, one of my personal favorite adventure series of all time is a game I would classify as art, it would fit well in any museum right beside any famous painting.

A video review of it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uiyVUxd-yMY

It's just a great example of gaming as an art, both from visually speaking as well as story telling.

Also would say:

The Path:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q53V32Uj3_o

Grim Fandango:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=70sfctgRuZs

Heavy Rain:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YxTVjcjYNg&ob=av3e

Zeno Clash
Ico
Shadow of the Colossus
 
STALKER:SoC. No other game I'd played was so immersive. The atmosphere,especially the X-labs,was truly creepy,and the multiple endings based on your choices were a nice touch.
 
Rez always comes to mind when I think of art games. You play rez as a visual audial experience not as a game.

Shenmue is the same. A lot of the games on the dc experimental art.
I never got to try seaman I want to but cant afford it right now
 
Hornet said:
For me, I would say the older Silent Hill games. The gameplay is fairly straightforward, its a horror adventure game with puzzle elements. But the story behind the game is very well crafted. Not only the present story was well told, but from the journals and conversation, it have a very detailed background story especially in Silent Hill 1, which tells about a cult ran by that evil woman and this doctor, and how nurse Lisa was unwillingly dragged into the whole thing.

At the same time, it doesn't explicitly tells everything. The complex story, notes and conversations in the game does leave some rooms for the player to guess certain thing depending on how one interprets the clues. As in that example with Lisa, it never explicitly say why Alessa choose to keep Lisa in that form she is in the dark world after Lisa's death, but many players interpret the care Lisa gave to Alessa when she was tortured by the cult as a possibly reason why Alessa may felt an affection from Lisa and she choose to kept Lisa in her dark world after Lisa's death.
Click to expand...



In my silent hill 2 ending my character commits suicide and you completely accept his reasoning. It takes balls to write something that deep.
 
Man, why do these topics come up in the PC Gaming subforum? :D Most that come to mind are from the SNES:

FFVI
Chrono Trigger
Super Metroid
The Legend of Zelda: ALttP
Super Mario RPG

All of these games have filled my senses with the most immersion.

As for PC games, its harder to come up with any. Starcraft/BW comes to mind, but that's about it. FFVII too, but it was natively on the PSX.
 
NOw that I think of it, Heavenly Sword was a BEAUTIFUL game which was very artful.
 
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