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Grand Theft Auto V

Prostitute Killing Simulator 2013

GTA V

Papers, Please

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Bioshock

Bioshock Infinite

Journey

The Last of Us

Thomas was Alone

Fallout: New Vegas

Pac-Man

GTA V

Call of Duty

was always going to be controversial. Focusing on the usual content, media outlets might as well have referred to it as. However, if you've actually played the game and have even a slight ability to detect satire, it is clear thathas more to say about our society than half of the press does. From our growing addiction to instant gratification, to our idolisation of mediocre celebrities, countless themes are explored in the game's caricature of Los Angeles, a spectacular playground for the privileged, desperate and sociopathic.Video games have certainly grown up over the past decade. For instance, the recent indie titlealso sheds light on themes of class and power structures as the player, controlling a passport officer, determines the fate of countless character's lives according to unquestionable immigration quotas.Deeper philosophical themes are explored in, where the augmented protagonist is used to challenge the player's ideas of what constitutes humanity and consciousness. Similarly,interrogates the notion of free will as the player struggles to survive in the remnants of a society ruptured by Randian objectivism.Because of their interactivity, philosophical exploration in games can be mirrored by the player's ability to explore the game's environment. Take the colourful, Romantic architecture running through the streets of, where player interaction draws back the curtain of jingoism to reveal the horrific racial oppression of this seemingly utopian cloud city.Or perhaps take the rolling landscapes of, a game with no dialogue whatsoever. Here, a unique blend of sound and visual design is relied upon to forge a bond between two randomly matched players. And what a bond this creates. Stripped of the ability to express individuality, the two players must cooperate to achieve a common goal, and in doing so form a relationship that reveals something reassuring about the human condition.Such an experience could not be created through any medium other than games. Why is film widely respected as an art form, while games can paint just as vivid characters, and yet the latter are sneered at so often? Labelled "The Citizen Kane of gaming", the action-adventure titlebrought many players to tears within the first 15 minutes and went on to become one of the most mature narratives ever conveyed by the medium.Important creative experimentation is also taking place within the undervalued art that is the video game. For instance,revolves around the player navigating different shapes into pre-determined destinations. However, the triviality of the task is easily forgotten due to the charming narrative that overlays the game, characterising the shapes with more personality than is conveyed by many narratives within film and literature.Video games are also unique as a method of storytelling because of their potential for non-linear narratives. The impression left by a work of art is always dependent on how the perceiver cognitively approaches it, but this subjective experience is enhanced by games such as, where the player's cognitive and behavioural approach to the game shapes the game world, causing the narrative to change path, deconstructing the morality of the player's decisions.It is this kind of interactivity which causes many people to reject the idea of video games as art. If we say video games are art then what's to stop us saying that chess is an art form? However, when you look at gameplay mechanics, the degree to which the player can interact with the structures imposed by a game, you quickly notice how thin the line is between player interactivity and passivity. Culture and ideology are both expressed by a game's structural confinements. Takehurtling down dark corridors filled with repetitive electro music, consuming pills that cause temporary visual distortions and delusions of grandeur. You have to wonder whether such a game could have arisen from a culture other than that of the 80s, even if the technology was available to other periods throughout history.Too often video games are portrayed as an expression of technology rather than culture and other phenomena that characterise art. This can be seen in everything from how the press categorises video game-related content under technology sections, all the way down to the language we use to discuss games. The term 'video game' itself defines the form by the mere convention of the player being prescribed a goal they must achieve and ignores the complex visual, auditory and ideological environment in which they must achieve this goal, along with the meaning conveyed by the goal itself and how they can achieve it. Focusing on such a specific and often trivial aspect of the medium is like calling theatre 'let's pretend' or sculpting 'smash-a-stone'.Regardless of whether you see video games as art, it's important that we approach them as such, especially when it comes to gaming criticism. We need to discuss the misogyny ofand the utilitarianism of's "No Russian" chapter. Doing so will both improve the medium and the content it conveys, as well as revealing the latent values contained within our culture.