Tuesday, April 29, 2014

How Video Games Helped Art

By Robert Sutter


On the surface, one would imagine that gaming - in and of itself - is actually a form of art. It's not hard to see why, as there is a sense of creative direction put into place and I am sure that many would be able to agree with such a point. However, is it possible that video games can actually help those who want to get into certain types of art, drawing and painting included? As past experiences have shown us, I have to believe that this is very much the case.

It's clear that there have been a number of video games that incorporated artistic elements into them and one of the earliest examples, in my view, was "Mario Paint." For those who do not know, "Mario Paint" was a Super Nintendo title from the early 90's and it included an actual mouse, which was cutting-edge at the time. The game itself included a number of smaller programs that included, but were not limited to, animation and music. It was less functional, yes, but it provided entertainment and educational value alike.

Nintendo would not end its artistic pursuits there, though, as the more recent series entitled "Art Academy" indicated. Basically, this series was not so much a collection of mini-games as it was a number of applications for those who had the desire to cut their teeth as far as art was concerned. Each game possessed lessons for users to follow but they were presented in an easy fashion. Nintendo was able to make sure that the game was approachable for anyone, which is vital when given the broad nature of gaming today.

If you think that Nintendo was the only company to set its sights on art, though, you would be mistaken. While this particular entity is not exactly as prominent as Nintendo, the uDraw gaming tablet is still a recent addition that deserves to have attention brought to it. It is clear that this was made to be more of an educational device, especially when given the fact that SpongeBob SquarePants and Marvel, to name a couple of entities, have had games of their own released with it. Nonetheless, it can potentially provide budding artists with a strong starting point.

As one can see, the incorporation of art into video games is not exactly as far-fetched as one might expect. In fact, there have been quite a few examples of this being done in the right way - as was the case with "Art Academy" - and this deserves high praise. If you are someone who has an interest in both of these fields, perhaps you have taken part in these examples of assistance in gaming. If you have not checked out these games, maybe your interest has been, at the very least, elevated.




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