Video games are art now and everybody has something to say about it.
Ever since 2010, when acclaimed late film critic Roger Ebert asserted video games are not art, the games industry rose up to the contrary. From Gamasutra to the Guardian, dozens of video game critics have weighed in on the topic. The Smithsonian American Art Museum established a traveling exhibit on the Art of Video Games. And all the while, video games themselves have been improving their graphics and music and color palettes for stunning immersive experiences.
Just when I thought this topic had been done to death, I received a review copy of Game Art by Matt Sainsbury. Since Ebert’s words were heard around the world, I’ve read several reactionary video game art books, though it would be more accurate to say I “looked at” them. Game Art is a welcome change of pace. A picture may be worth a thousand words, but Sainsbury’s interviews with dozens of game creators give them context.
Game Art includes art from 40 games and 21 different interviews with their creators. Sainsbury’s reporting spans the major studios—like Bioware, Square Enix, and Ubisoft—but devotes just as much time to independent creators. The games featured range from the recognizable, like Final Fantasy, to lesser-known but no less beautiful indie favorites. There are games designed for children, games designed strictly for adult audiences, and everything in between.
The result is a thorough cross-section of the games industry today. Sainsbury doesn’t pull away from some of gaming’s most controversial topics. His interview with Gouchi Suda of Lollipop Chainsaw fame doesn’t just acknowledge the studio’s penchant for gratuitous violent and sexual content—Sainsbury makes that boundary pushing the focus of his interview.

from Forbes – Tech http://ift.tt/1KsqUIX
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