Jonathan Jones, Video Games are Undoubtedly Art
Jonathan Jones is an art critic who writes for The Guardian. Jones has not shied away from
controversy in his career. Accusations of hypocrisy came about when he gave seemingly contradicting opinions on Soviet art and “far-right artworks.” Jones also found himself in controversy when claiming video games are not art. Despite these conflicts, Jones is knowledgeable about the arts and gives insightful perspectives. However, he does not understand video games and fails to recognize their artistry in his article, “Sorry MoMA, video games are not art.” Unlike chess, checkers, Life, or Monopoly video games provide a clear evolution of games into art and provide players with experiences rivaling other artistic forms.
An issue from the onset of Jones’s article is the set parameters for what constitutes art. Jones refers to an Oxford debate he attended and the distinct parameters given for what art is: “A work of art is one person’s reaction to life.” Having such a narrow definition of art creates several issues. Firstly, this definition fails to capture how art is commonly defined. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, art is “The expression or application of creative skill and imagination, typically in a visual form such as painting, drawing, or sculpture, producing works to be appreciated primarily for their beauty or emotional power(“Art,” def.1.82.).” Most important to this definition is the idea of creative skill and imagination. These are areas where video games thrive. Moreover, using the word “typically” before referring to visual art forms confirms that art expands beyond these creative endeavors. Jones’s definition of art begins to falter in comparison to that of the OED because not all art is someone’s reaction to life. Many of the most famous paintings are portraits and simply provide an image of someone. By Jones’s definition, these pieces may not count as art because they do not portray a single person’s reaction to life. This potentially discounts famous works such as Lucas Cranach’s portrait of Martin Luther. Though simple, this portrait gives future generations an idea of what Luther looked like. Another issue with Jones’s definition is how artistic creation must involve a singular person. His standard discounts several movies and television shows with multiple writers and directors. The Matrix, for example, was written and directed by the Wachowskis. By Jones’s definition, this movie cannot count as art because it had two people behind its creation. His narrow definition also delegitimizes the incredible collaborative painting of Cesar Santos and Elena Sheildlin. The standards provided by Jones, however, are met by certain video games. Like movies, video games have several people behind their development, but they usually reflect one person’s creative image.
It is well known that The Legend of Zelda games were inspired by Shigeru Miyamoto’s childhood and the adventures he took around Japan’s expansive forests. Playing a Zelda game involves a similar sense of exploration that leads to rewards and a deeper understanding of an expansive world the player currently inhabits. This is especially true of the franchise’s first game, The Legend of Zelda, where players are put into the middle of Hyrule with no direction of where to go. This leaves it to the player to explore the world and see what they can find. It also reflects the childish and innocent exploration of Miyamoto’s childhood, where like Miyamoto, players are left to their own devices on how to progress. Miyamoto and his team eventually tweaked progression in future games, but his childhood exploration was always reflected and incentivized in subsequent titles. In many cases, it was encouraged in new ways.
Few games reflect and incentivize exploration better than The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. The components of exploration in past games are amplified for a unique experience. Anyone playing Majora’s Mask could only fully experience it through finding and participating in the game’s many side quests. Completing these side quests usually leads to the player learning something about the NPC (non-playable character) they helped. A well-known example of this is when Link (this is who the player is in the game), heals Pamela’s father from turning into a gibdo: the mummy-like creatures that inhabit several Zelda games. Once Link heals him, Pamela gives a childlike but poignant response. While crying in the arms of her now-healed father, she states, “You had a bad dream. You were just having a little nightmare.” Though not part of the main storyline, this moment and others breathe life into Majora’s Mask and convey intense emotions typically conveyed in other art forms. Moreover, the poignancy of Majora’s Mask was inspired by a North Korean missile crisis. This inspired the game’s three-day cycle and the impending doom of a large moon crashing into Termina. In an interview, game director Eiji Aonuma confirmed this by stating:
We were attending a wedding of a staff member and were talking with Koizumi and the others: “Come to think of it, it’s somewhat strange to come to a wedding in a situation when missiles may fall down today.” The discussion progressed into noting how it would also fit the setting of a falling moon and whether to do a wedding in the game. Now that I think of it, no matter where we go, we always talk about work (laughs). However, I didn’t mind it at the time!”
Video games like Majora’s Mask reflect the reality of these developers while providing a deeper experience that gives gamers opportunities for reflection. They also show a clear evolution of games into a unique medium that can meet any true definition of art.
Jones’s article also discusses how no true ownership over a video game exists between the player and creator. He states, “The player cannot claim to impose a personal vision of life on the game, while the creator of the game has ceded that responsibility. No one “owns” the game, so there is no artist, and therefore no work of art.” Jones fails to realize that gamers are experiencing worlds and creative expressions of developers, which puts the artistic responsibility on creators. This is best expressed by the distinct and inescapable aesthetics of different video games. Even video games of the same franchise sometimes do not feel or play in the same way because of decisions made by developers. For example, Super Mario 64 and Super Mario Galaxy are both classified as three-dimensional Super Mario games, but they provide radically different experiences because of creative decisions made by developers. In Super Mario 64, the developers wanted players to feel free when exploring three-dimensional space, which led them to create expansive sandbox levels for players to wander through. This mixed with upbeat music and bright colors leads to a distinct aesthetic and experience inescapable for the player. In contrast, Mario Galaxy is a linear game with a clear sense of direction in almost every level. The game is also aesthetically more melancholy through the clear loneliness established after its opening sequence, where Mario finds himself chasing rabbits on a small and secluded planet. This gives an inescapable sense of isolation before Mario’s journey in outer space truly begins. Analogous to several other video games, Mario 64 and Mario Galaxy both show a clear progression of games into art through their distinct aesthetics and designs implemented by developers in ways that gamers cannot escape. This gives primary ownership of how a game is experienced to the game’s creator because it is ultimately their vision gamers interact with.
Video games are a unique medium that has elevated games into the realm of art. They provide distinct aesthetic experiences and stories with equal quality to other pieces of influential and timeless art. Without video games, the natural evolution of games into art may not be possible, but with so many incredible video games in circulation today, humanity can continue to experience art without having to leave their homes.
Works Cited
“Art, N. (1), Sense I.8.a.” Oxford English Dictionary, Oxford UP, December 2023, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/1198420385.
Jones, Jonathan. “Sorry MoMA, Video Games are not Art.” The Guardian. 30 Nov. 2012, https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/jonathanjonesblog/2012/nov/30/moma-video-games-art.
Lloyd, Rod. “Aonuma Explains the Origins of Majora’s Mask Characters, Anju and Kafei Inspired by Missile Crisis.” Zelda Dungeon. 17 Mar. 2015,
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