This dissertation analyses the idea that videogames can be considered art in order
to argue that wide ranging benefits could be seen if the institution recognised them
as such. I have explored the idea that the institution is the key to progress the
notion of videogames as art and both art museums and universities alike must be
behind the progression of what is considered the artistic canon in order to create
new opportunities in the field of making art.
I have reviewed popular arguments for and against the inclusion of videogames in
the institutional artistic canon and then considered videogames in the light of
several theorist's ideas of what art is. Primarily I have looked at the ideas behind
cluster theory and the theory of mass art as a way of justifying videogames as art. I
have followed this with case studies of This War of Mine (2014) and the developer
Sam Barlow who has produced many videogames including Aisle (1999), Silent Hill:
Shattered Memories (2009), and Her Story (2015).
Lastly I have considered what might be the long-term benefits of classifying
videogames as art within the institution, primarily the enfranchisement of young
women artists. I do this by reviewing the new National Curriculum in computer
programming and considering how, in the light of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's
Own, this new education area will empower young women to be able to create art
despite pressures that still persist with regards to the "proper" role of a woman in
our society. It is my suggestion that all you need to create a work of videogame art
is a basic computer, a standard UK education, and a room of your own - but only if
the art institution recognises videogames as a legitimate form of art
