Video Games Are Officially Recognized As Art Now

We did it gang. We made it to the big time. Since the very first video game Tennis for Two was released in 1958, gamers world wide have struggled for recognition as legitimate hobbyists and game developers have scrounged for the respect they deserve. Now, a new day has dawned and nerds have inherited the Earth. The prominent arts organization Tribeca Film Festival has, in its recent history, shown a selection of video games, marking a significant cultural milestone. video games are officially art now.

The Tribeca Film Festival was founded in 2002 by none other than the King of Movies: Robert DeNiro and a few of his artsy pals. Since its inception, originally intended to celebrate New York City as an epicenter of cinema and stimulate film production in the wake of September 11th, the festival has grown to become an international sensation. And it celebrates only the finest Art with a capital ‘A’. 

They now have an entire section of the festival devoted to games. It’s been running for a few years, and every turn of the seasons garners those games more respect. Rightfully so. We know this is a Spicy Take, but video games are better than movies. Why would you watch the story when you could be in the story? Isn’t the point of art to wrap the viewer in its emotional tapestry? What if that art could also make you feel like you were very good at jumping?

The first game shown at the festival was L.A. Noire all the way back in 2011. The program has grown to include a slew of new, fantastic pieces of art that are so ‘Art’, they would make the David put some pants on. This year’s offerings included gorgeous, haunting, undeniably artful games like Oxenfree II: Lost Signals, A Plague Tale: Requiem, and As Dusk Falls. It also included gorgeous, playful, undeniably artful games like Venba and the DLC Cuphead: The Delicious Last Course. 

Such a venerated and highbrow festival having a whole presentation dedicated to games is validating to those of us who have known for years what the world is only now coming to realize: that video games are fine art.