There are some games from major publishers that I consider as art, but not many.
this is how I feel about all mediums tho, not just games
Could argue that drawing/painting are more often art than otherways but that's likely because the workforce required to create them is more often than not way smaller when compared to creating a game or movie. Music would come second to it. Both are mediums were artists can take more risks I'd say. Then again, they are also mediums where artists rarely have teams behind them so there's more on the line.
Destiny 2? Ghost of Tsushima? God of War? Uncharted? Assassin's Creed Odyssey?
These are like the last games that'd come to mind when thinking of the medium as art
Especially Assassins creed. Those games seem to be more of a product of market research than a work with some kind of soul. Literal definition of product.
Im guessing you mention Ghost because of the high fidelity visuals and the nice landscape compositions we saw in the trailers. I mean those are not something unique to the medium but I can understand why some would see them as art. Would the entire game classify as art for having those few pretty moments? Or would those few moments classify as art while the game remains its own thing? What if the rest of the game is just uninspired trash? It's hard to say, art is a vague term, yes.
Feels off because its a title we've yet to play and Im not even sure if what we've seen will reflect the final product
As you said "Art is in the eyes of the beholder". I could see some specific bits from those titles can be considered as art, but as a whole I'll never see them as such. In my eyes they are more in line with marvel movies. Just some good silly entertainment.
Why is, for example, Undertale Art but Anthem not?
Havent read that much on undertale but that game seems to the the work of a passionate person that had a unique vision for the game, one that was achieved without compromising.
On the other hand, Anthem is pure product that was shaped first by Andrew Wilson (isnt that the ceo from EA that saw the iron man flying and said - "make the whole game be about that"), a dude whose only interest in the IP was for it to make money. The entire team were constantly shifting their focus because they didnt have a clear goal. They wanted to make something beautiful, art if you will, (I think thats the focus of most developers) but they also had to answer to their higher up who were interested in a title that chased industry trends.
Despite all of this I could see some seeing the now probably desolate digital world of anthem as art. And I would totally understand. But this is more of a case of people shaping the product to their liking as opposed to the product itself being artful.(?) if that makes any sense
The truth is, AAA games are mostly compromised arts. Some of them are barely even art at all.
Most AAA games are really just products made to appeal the mainstream audience. Even if they're art, they're compromised.
This is a good way to put it. Money needs to come first or else there wont be games in the first place.
Having said that, I still feel like there are few selected AAA games that manage to strike gold and make profit while still being artful for the most part. I consider bloodborne among those
People seems to mix nice visuals or cinematic experience with art. I tend to disagree. Interactivity is the core of the videogame experience and where its art should stand.
Also this