The Art Of Gaming: Gazing Into The Land Of Skyrim

How do you define a work of art?

It's a pointless discussion that might not go anywhere. Plus, if you engage in it, and if you're passionate, you have a high chance of getting into a rage. Many people use the word art as a diminishing insult, almost considering it a definition for pretentiousness and intellectualism. Others seem obsessed with the idea that "art" is only some specific forms of art. It will be a form of elitist egomania that you'll find in the desperate beings that roam the corridors of "art schools". Wanna be movie-makers, writers, painters, musicians.....
For all of them, probably because they dont have any sort of real drive towards art, the defnition of it will be horribly academic. Art will be a series of style, measures and numbers. You either do some specific things or you're doing garbage.

To me, art is anything that comes from the soul of people and expresses their emotions and ideas through a creative output. And in doing so allows people to communicate feelings directly, through that art.

Games, or digital entertainment can be art. As ive written here before, a perfect game uses sounds, music, visuals and storytelling in order to engage you and cause an emotional response in your "player"., You can use those tools to obtain experiences similar to movie. But if done correctly, you can take a person and allow them to gaze into a world you created. A world that they can interact with. Change. A world that feels as real as anythign else. Painted and weaved with the tools of your creativity.

The "Elder Scrolls" saga has gained a good reputation in the gaming scene. By creating Role Playing Games that thrive on a completely open woprld that allows you to live in it, they managed to create a loving community of fans.

To be honest, ive never been a fan in the past. I liked them, but i never particularly enjoyed Fantasy. Or the idea of RPG's. Wizards, Spells, ancient ruins.... All felt silly, boring and completely univolving to me.

But the powerful visuals i saw in the trailers for their new game, Skyrim, hit home with me. The look of it, clearly inspired by norse mythology and the visuals tied to it, fascinated me.

So i got it. And i tried it. And i lost myself in it.

It's easy for people who havent experienced what it means to be into Skyrim, to dismiss it as some nerdy silliness that can be lauyghed at. I understand, people tend to dismiss everything, especially when its enytertainment. Belittling things without trying them is the new way.
Still i coulkd bet without any doubt, that almost anyone who tried to be a part of this world would love it.

The story draws you in, yyou create your character, exactly as you wish it to be. And youre free to explore this land. Which is real and alive.

Its a land that seems a crossing between the cold, gorgeous landscapes of the nord, cut through by castles and cities that are filled with dizzying vistas. people with their own lives and personalities. And enough stories, fiction, hiostory and details to fill up a million books.

Every place has a logic. Things evolve and live. Everyone si a part of this world and has something to tell, to ask. Books are full of information. Cities filled to the brim with adventures, emotional moments and quests are everywhere.

And what's incredible is how you could loose hours simply roaming the land and constantly be part of heartcrushingly beautiful moment. From seeing giants herding a flock of mammoths, to witnessing a dragon come to life and fight against other creatures or entering an underground cave filled with a lush forest that lives out of some rays of light and waterfalls. You can walk trhough a dungeon, find the exit and because its the right moment, witness a stunning aurora.

Everything is beautiful. A painting. And it lives and moves and you're in it. If that isnt art at its highest peak, i dont know what is.