As both a video game fan and a student of art, I have always considered games an art form in some cases to a dramatic degree. I hold Okami up as one dramatic example of bringing art and culture into a game, and working it in through visuals, story, and even the gameplay itself. It also brings in quite a bit about traditional Japanese culture during a time when the pop culture surrounding "anime" is growing. I could list many more examples, but I don't have time for that. Holding the opinion that games represent a form of art, it is extremely gratifying for me to discover that there will be an art of video games exhibit documenting the history and evolution of games at the Smithsonian Museum of American Art.
Art of Video Games240 games have been selected spanning several consoles from all over the video game timeline. Of those, 80 will be chosen, and they have given the audience an opportunity to choose which ones will be included in an online poll. The voting lasts until next Sunday. I've gone through this, only voted in a few because I can't make an informed choice on a lot of these. I would like to campaign on Okami's behalf. Watch some videos of it, it deserves to be recognized as a work of art despite being less mainstream than its opponents (Kingdom Hearts 2 and Final Fantasy X). Portal vs Half Life 2 is far more difficult, I'm spending some time on that one. Starcraft II vs Minecraft wasn't really difficult, but its hard to make that choice when I've been a fan of Starcraft for so long.
Some of you may have more knowledge about the other genres, which is great because I have a feeling a lot of people pulling votes for this were only around for the last two sections. I recall flashback did some innovative stuff with its animation, rotoscoping or something like that, but I know nothing about its competitors. I wish I could see the response to the Earthbound vs Chrono Trigger vs A Link to the Past poll though, I've not played any of those, but I know all three have their supporters.
