Computer gaming as art?

Arts Hub UK -- Are the very popular role play computer games (MMORPG) just escapist fantasy play for geeks and weirdos or an exciting art form that’s actually under-represented by the mainstream arts media? Hannah Forbes Black takes the French approach to gaming as art.
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Arts Hub UK — Pixellated pixies have joined Gerard Depardieu as one of France’s cultural exports. In November 2006, the French government announced plans to have video games recognised as a cultural industry alongside French cinema, with the same tax breaks and hopefully, eventually, the same global status. French blockbusters include Top Spin, Dead to Rights, Act of War, and Cold Fear. Unlike many Hollywood hits – you could probably list three Steven Spielberg pictures without having seen any of them – you’re unlikely to have heard of these unless you own some kind of gaming console or live with someone who does. Yet in 2005 the gaming industry made 7 billion US dollars.

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Hannah Forbes Black
About the Author
Hannah Forbes Black is a freelance writer based in London.