Workshop Series „Rethinking Games”
Session 3: Video Games as Art?
Organisation: Österreichisches Kulturforum Warschau
Partner: Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology

"To my knowledge, no one in or out of the field has ever been able to cite a game worthy of comparison with the great dramatists, poets, filmmakers, novelists and composers. That a game can aspire to artistic importance as a visual experience, I accept. But for most people, video games represent a loss of those precious hours we have available to make ourselves more cultured, civilized and empathetic."

- Roger Ebert, Art Critic 

We know that the Mona Lisa is art. But what makes it art? How do we know that games are not art as well? And if so, how can we determine that? The discussion on video games as art is a well-known topic among game advocates and those who remain unimpressed by the medium. In our third session on Rethinking Games, we will engage in a debate on games as art and try to figure out which artistic status games hold, if they hold any at all. For some, games are just mass-produced stupefying consumer goods, for others, games are their portal to another, more aesthetic world. On which side do you stand? Do you consider video games as (no) art?

Benjamin Hanussek is an educator and researcher in the field of game studies & development. He received his formal education at the University of Klagenfurt in Austria. In early 2022 he became an Austrian Marshall Plan Fellow enabling him to visit Teachers College at Columbia University in New York to conduct a research project on game-based learning. After completing his project, he founded PJAIT Game Lab with the help of New Media Arts Dean Prof. Ewa Satalecka at the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technology in Warsaw to conduct exploratory research on methods of teaching game development and to support students in their careers as future game developers and designers. Moreover, Benjamin Hanussek works at Lionbridge Games in Warsaw where he reviews video games and their localizations before they are published.

PJAIT Game Lab: https://bhanussek.com/pjait_game_lab/

25.04.2023 (Tu.), 18:15
Austriackie Forum Kultury 
ul. Próżna 7/9, Warszawa
In English
Free admission