Art of video games museum exhibit

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 01:42 AM

Apparently there was public voting about this and none of us heard about it.

Smithsonian 'Art of Video Games' winners announced | Joystiq

So, obviously this is a popularity contest because it was decided by votes but it's still pretty cool to see the results. Bear in mind that this was about the artistic value of the games, not how good they are or aren't. Let's keep that debate out of this please.

On to the list of winners!

1943: The Battle of Midway
Advanced Dungeons and Dragons
After Burner
Attack of the Mutant Camels
Bioshock
Boom Blox
Brütal Legend
ChuChu Rocket!
Combat
Desert Commander
Diablo II
Donkey Kong
DOOM II
Dune II: Battle for Arrakis
Earthworm Jim
Einhander
Fable
Fallout
Fallout 3
Final Fantasy Tactics
Final Fantasy VII
flOw
Flower
Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2
Goldeneye 007
Gradius V
Gunstar Heroes
Halo 2
Heavy Rain
Jumpman
Lord of the Rings: Battle for Middle Earth II
Marble Madness
MassEffect 2
Metal Gear Solid
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty
Metroid Prime 2: Echos
Minecraft
Okami
Pac-Man
Panzer Dragoon II: Zwei
Panzer Dragoon Orta
Panzer Dragoon Saga
Phantasy Star
Phantasy Star IV
Pikmin 2
Pitfall II: Lost Caverns
Pitfall!
Portal
Rez
Shadow of Colossus
Shenmue
Sid Meier's Pirates!
SimCity
SimCity 2000
Sonic Adventure
Space Invaders
Spy vs Spy
Star Fox
Star Fox: Assault
Star Strike
Star Trek: Strategic Operations Simulator
StarCraft
Super Mario 64
Super Mario Brothers 3
Super Mario Galaxy 2
Super Mario World
The Bard's Tale III: Thief of Fate
The Legend of Zelda
The Legend of Zelda: Link to the Past
The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Walker
The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell
Tomb Raider
TRON: Maze-Atron
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Utopia
Worms Armageddon
Zack & Wiki: Quest for Barbaros' Treasure
Zaxxon

**RU Joe** · 05-07-2011, 02:06 AM

So .. does this mean that video games are finally considered to be Art?

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 02:10 AM

I would say so if they're having an exhibit in the Smithsonian museum of art in DC. It may not be perfect but it's a good start.

**RU Joe** · 05-07-2011, 03:17 AM

Then this is a day to celebrate indeed!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GwjfUFyY6M]YouTube - Kool & The Gang - Celebration[/ame]

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 03:23 AM

For sure. I see this as a step towards legitimacy for video game culture. Things have already been getting better but this pretty notable imo. It's gonna be hard to question the artistic value of games when they've been featured in a museums art exhibit.

Btw I felt bad that I didn't even know all the games on the list. Also, the runners up are mostly pretty cool too. I saw Herzog Zwei in there,

**RU Joe** · 05-07-2011, 03:53 AM

I personally believe the whole issue of why certain people didn't {or wouldn't} consider video games Art was centered around the fact those people weren't Gamers themselves.
They're from the previous generation to mine and it seems to me that very few of them actually took to video games at all outside of the usual Solitaire on their desktop.
But having said that, I know of one lady in her 60's who loves RPG's.

I see Art in all kinds of games.
Call me crazy {that'd be a first!}, but I even like the {background, character} Art from the 8 - bit era and find it has an appeal all its own.

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 04:19 AM

Quote:

Call me crazy {that'd be a first!}, but I even like the {background, character} Art from the 8 - bit era and find it has an appeal all its own.

Around here you're crazy if you don't like 8 bit art.

**bearhawk72** · 05-07-2011, 11:39 AM

It's good to see they didn't screw up and not put Shadow of the Colossus on there. That game is awesome.

**Kong** · 05-07-2011, 11:59 AM

No Out of This World?

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 03:11 PM

Good point Kong but Flashback made the runners up, you liked that game too right?

Btw guys I'm kinda surprised there's not much interest in this. We should all be happy about this as gamers, this is validation. What gives?

**Kugyince** · 05-07-2011, 03:18 PM

Meh, I don't really care what others think of my hobby or if it's art or not.

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 03:26 PM

Yeah but don't you agree it's a good step for the hobby?

**Seahawk** · 05-07-2011, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudebro

Btw guys I'm kinda surprised there's not much interest in this. We should all be happy about this as gamers, this is validation. What gives?

Presonally I think gamers spend too much time thinking about what other people think about their hobby, or whether gaming is 'legitimate' in the eyes of other people, or comparing it to other types of entertainment media, etc.

If games make you happy, then you should play them and enjoy them without regard to what everyone else thinks.

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 03:31 PM

I gotta say I'm surprised by this. I don't think this is about worrying what people think of gaming. This is a museum exhibit to celebrate gaming, it's a positive thing. They had gamers vote because it's hard to have one person or a group pick out of all the games available. That and to gain interest with the people who play games. I dunno I just thought it was cool.

**Kong** · 05-07-2011, 03:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudebro

Good point Kong but Flashback made the runners up, you liked that game too right?

Flashback is a good game with a similar graphic style but it doesn't compare to Out of This World. IMO it is the most artistic 16 bit game. For it's day, it is more like an interactive movie than a game. I think any list of retro artistic games fails if it doesn't start with OoTW.

And Pac-Man for 2600 is on the list?

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 03:51 PM

Yeah I didn't think of it at the time but now that you mention it leaving OoTW out is a big oversight. If any retro games are artistic that one is. I guess it's a problem with the voters, most were probably younger than us and only voted with what they knew of.

But yeah I had to check twice when I saw that version of pac man included. Isn't that the one that was widely regarded as one of the worst ports ever?

**Slime Slayer** · 05-07-2011, 03:56 PM

The fact that Super Mario Bros. isnt on the list discredits it instantly.

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 04:01 PM

Yeah but SMB3 won for that category, I think that's justified since it was a better looking game. Metroid and MM2 were the runners up. I think both of those are better looking than SMB1.

**Slime Slayer** · 05-07-2011, 04:09 PM

It isnt about graphics, it's about the fact that SMB set a standard of gamplay that 99% of games released since still fall short of.

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 04:13 PM

It's not about gameplay at all.

Quote:

Bear in mind that this was about the artistic value of the games, not how good they are or aren't. Let's keep that debate out of this please.

**joz** · 05-07-2011, 06:26 PM

Nice.

**Slime Slayer** · 05-07-2011, 06:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dudebro

It's not about gameplay at all.

Okay so they are literally talking about hanging screenshots in frames? That to me isnt where the art in games lies.

---------- Post added at 11:32 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:30 PM ----------

I'll have to mull over weither or not I like the direction this whole thing is going.

**joz** · 05-07-2011, 06:32 PM

It should be broken down like they do in the Oscars. Best screen shot, best storyline, best gameplay, most influential, and so on.

**Slime Slayer** · 05-07-2011, 06:37 PM

What's with them refering to shmups as "target"?

**Dudebro** · 05-07-2011, 06:38 PM

If you look at the PDF it breaks them up in system and type of game.

@steven- I honestly don't know if they're really gonna put images in frames like normal art, I assume it was gonna be some display that shows examples in each game.

I don't know about the target thing, confused me at first.