Exploring the influence of art on video games

Video games have experienced a critical renaissance in recent years, wooing gamers and non-gamers by pushing the boundaries of the medium, cementing it as an art form worthy of the same respect as music or literature.

Meanwhile, TV shows like Prime Video’s Fallout and The Last of Us brilliantly showcase the narrative power of video games, whose creators dare explore complex themes in a compelling fashion that sometimes puts to shame their cinematic counterparts.

There would be no sense in opposing different forms of art, however, as they are inter-connected. Many games draw from classic paintings and cult movies to devise a unique design and perspective. So, let’s explore this ever-stronger connection between art and gaming.

How paintings inspire video games

Photorealism is trending in gaming, but not all studios believe in hyper-realistic graphics to sell players on their immersive worlds. Many developers go for imaginative aesthetics grounded in the works of real-life artists. Influenced by Japanese ukiyo-e artists like Utagawa Hiroshige and Katsushika Hokusai, and steeped in Japanese folklore, the vintage action-adventure Ōkami makes clever use of its traditional vibe with an in-game mechanic inspired by the Sumi-e style of brush painting.

Other visionary designers have looked at a more recent past for inspiration, such as Fumito Ueda emulating the style of Italian surrealist painter Giorgio de Chirico to give a unique flavour to his minimalist puzzle-platformer, Ico. The impact of Austrian symbolist painter Gustav Klimt is just as plain to see in the sci-fi RPG Transistor, whose main protagonist seems to jump straight out of an art nouveau portrait.

How cinema inspires video games

The movie industry has been trying to capitalise on the popularity of gaming’s most iconic franchises, with varying success. However, this creative relationship goes both ways. The influence of legendary filmmaker Hayao Miyazaki is evident in games ranging from the Final Fantasy series to Ni No Kuni.

Studio Ghibli fans may spot a few references to warm their hearts in indie gems like Ori and the Blind Forest, whose Valley of the Wind invokes the dreamlike world of Nausicaä. Evoking the golden age of Hollywood animation, the indie run-and-game Cuphead channels just as beautifully the imperfect hand-drawn charm of early Disney cartoons of the 1930s.

How music inspires video games

While most games boast a unique score to set the right tone for their story, others incorporate works of classical composers. Indie adventure Aviary Attorney complements its soundtrack with Camille Saint-Saëns’ playful Carnival of the Animals – a fitting musical suite for its anthropomorphic characters inspired by the public domain works of French caricaturist J.J. Grandville. In Card Shark, the remastered compositions of classical musicians like Claude Debussy and Johann Sebastian Bach enrich the game’s historical tapestry.

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How poetry inspires video games

Associating poetry with gaming might sound counter-intuitive, but many video games have paid vibrant homage to this artistic form of expression – sometimes in a deliberate manner, sometimes in ways more subtle. Hailed as a masterpiece of psychological horror storytelling, the visual novel Doki Doki Literature Club! uses poems as one of its narrative drives. Exploration-based games like Elegy For a Dead World are entirely centred around writing stories.

Though much more action-oriented, just as many RPGs implement poetry as a gameplay mechanic. In Ghost of Tsushima, players seeking respite from the horrors of war can find shelter in a secluded area, where they may compose a haiku to reflect on the mysteries of death and honour. Other games are even more straightforward in their approach, such as Dante’s Inferno translating the first segment of the Divine Comedy penned by Dante Alighieri into a gripping quest for vengeance and redemption across the nine circles of hell.

Despite media like Forbes pushing for more recognition of the artistic merits of video games, the debate over whether gaming qualifies as high art hasn’t been settled. Still, there is no denying that game developers continually extend the limits of artistic expression.

The editorial unit