Videogame art, an emerging form of new-media art, is perceived by many as an ambiguous, esoteric or even elitist art form. It has yet to gain the same popularity or recognition as its muse, the mainstream videogame industry, an industry that now outstrips all other media markets in terms of revenue and technological innovation. Although some game artists have become well known in the broader field of new-media art, videogame art is generally considered a marginal practice. Game art is also viewed with suspicion in the gaming community, whose vocal members are wary of the colonising effects of ‘highbrow’ artistic culture. However, a brief excursion into the field reveals that a common concern among game artists is simply to provide ordinary people with a moment to reflect on the humorous, monotonous and often enigmatic aspects of videogames and gaming culture. Interpreting the work of game artists always involves the body in a prominent way–either in the embodied practice of playing games programmed by others or in watching artists use their own bodies to intervene and perform in game space.

When we think of videogames, we tend to think of mass–produced entertainment commodities sold in shops or downloaded onto mobile phones. But game art has evolved in opposition to the mainstream gaming industry. Many of its practitioners have established reputations for working on the margins of gaming culture. For example, Cory Arcangel reworks familiar images from popular games into animation pieces; Joseph DeLappe stages virtual performances in conflict-based online multiplayer games; and JODI (Joan Heemskerk and Dirk Paesmans) modify old videogames and deconstruct their messages to present intervention-based video works. Many game artists also program games from the ground up, with the intention of creating an experience that impacts upon the viewer in the same way as an artwork. Much independent game design typifies this trend. A number of independent game designers are striving to imbue their work with a sense of meaning, often eschewing the traditional preoccupations of the mainstream industry in the process. The fact that artists are experimenting with videogames in this way indicates the social and cultural impact of the medium and the need for creative exploration of its strange and awkward properties.