The Art of Video Games

Lights flashed in brilliant colors while awestruck gamers wandered into the small corner of the American Art Museum observing the evolution of one of their greatest passions: video games.

Most gamers saw coming here as their Call of Duty, and although the display seemed to be something about of a Fable, many gamers saw the consoles and controllers as their Gears of War.

From the most experienced gamer to the youngsters of the newest generation, every gamer at the display seemed to have a GoldenEye for each game and console. One boy pointed out to his mother, "See that game, Mom? That's Super Mario Galaxy 2, not 1. I want that game.”

The display was more fun than Mario Party and had gamer's adrenaline pumping faster than the final level on Contra.

Gamers realized they were not in Donkey Kong Country anymore when a collage of the most popular games of all time was observed when entering the display. From fighting Deathclaws in "Fallout 3" to traversing the Tower of the Gods in "The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker" gamers could marvel at the spectacle while whispering to their friends "Yeah, I beat that level."

More than just observations were in the display. At one station, gamers could play some of the most famous early video games of all time, two of which were Super Mario Bros. and Pac-Man. Many people were showing off their skills while competing with their friends to see who could get farther.

The display summary stated, "…Imaginative artists and designers use this medium (video games) to create new worlds and tell their stories. This conversation among the game, the artist, and the player is critical to understanding video games as art." Gamers now saw that the world had finally realized what they had known for decades. These are not mere games, this is art in its purest form. 

The Art of Video Games will be on display at the American Art Museum, at 8th and F Streets NW in Washington, until Sept. 30.