MS3 Media Research

ASA | American Society for Aesthetics

Aaron Smuts | Video Games and the Philosophy of Art

The article written by Aaron Smuts; on behalf of the ASA (American Society for Aesthetics), is a scholarly article regarding video games of a philosophical nature and how video games can ultimately be considered an art form. I chose this article because, as previously mentioned, it's a scholarly article; written with the intention of providing fact and sturdy ground to debate on. In other words, the article is a trustworthy source of information.

The point Aaron attempts to drive across, is the fact that video games have recently (as of the time this article was written (2005)) have peaked the interest of many sectors in Academia. Aaron further talks about how "a few MFA programs exist to train artists in the technology used in game development" and that even "Ph.D. programs devoted to the study of video games and interactive media" are beginning to pop up.

As Aaron states; "The primary question for philosophical aesthetics is whether some video games should be considered as art." Aaron talks about how video games have progressed past their "primitive" era, referencing an icon in video gaming history; 'Pong'. Later, Aaron references modern games relative to '2005', i.e: 'Halo' and Max Payne'.