Here at Not Your Mama’s Gamer we’ve talked a lot about the debate over whether or not video games can be considered art. Some haters still say they aren’t, but I’m pretty sure the rest of the world has come to conclude that, yes video games are their own brand of art.
Recently, it seems like video game developers are trying to show us how much they believe in the artistic visions of their peers by involving the gaming community through a much different methodology than ever before. Companies like Crystal Dynamics and Bioware are offering up prizes to fans who submit their artwork that features either new characters or recreations of current characters.
Crystal Dynamics has teamed up with DeviantArt (as you may have heard Meagan Marie mention on Episode 50 of our podcast) to allow fans to submit their art and the winner will have their submission featured on official Tomb Raider merchandise, a Tomb Raider XBOX 360 Console, $6,000 USD, 8,000 deviantART Points, DeviantART Hoodie of Winner’s Choice, A PRO Digital Artist Backpack, and a 1-Year Premium Membership to deviantART. That’s an amazing package of stuff to win! Second and third place receives some pretty awesome swag and 22 semi-finalists receive prizes, as well.
Not only is this an amazing opportunity for artists who are considered “unknowns” to get their artwork noticed, but it’s also a great partnership for the two companies. DeviantArt has always been known as a great hub for the artistic community and the fact that they have been recognized by a development studio for their ability to allow artists to feature their work is a phenomenal accomplishment.
Bioware also just ended a competition held via CGHub that allowed users to submit their character designs for the Mass Effect and/or Dragon Age universes. The winners get some awesome gaming swag (first place is a limited N7 watch and Bioware memorabilia) for their efforts plus the overall recognition by the amazing panel of judges from Bioware.
Submissions are no longer being accepted, but Kotaku put together a nice page highlighting some of the best entries and you can watch as the competition winds down and winners are selected. While CGHub isn’t as open as DeviantArt to the general public, it’s still an awesome connection between two companies to acheive amazing results. If you have some time to spare, take a thorough look through CGHub’s user galleries; the modeling and character design that these people accomplish is just absolutely stunning.
These competitions are why video games are (or even should be, for some people) recognized as art. The amount of time, care, craftsmanship, and personal influence/ability that goes into video games is nothing short of what any painter or director puts into their own crafts. This is a really nice example of how video games are in tune visually with artwork, but that’s not to ignore the many reasons why video games also peak our artistic side because of the amazing story-writing that they accomplish as well.
I’m sure we have some artists out there reading this who should really consider submitting their work to the Tomb Raider competition, the recognition alone would be amazing, so get out there and submit!
