Art Games Have Always Existed

While "art games" and the idea that games have artistic value have become more popular in recent years, it isn't a new concept. For as long as video games have existed, there have been outliers and oddities that aimed to be artistic, literary, political, or just outside of the usual expectations of what games are. Some are good, some are bad, all are interesting artifacts of the medium's history. The list specifically uses 2010 as a cut-off date, as by that point the concept of "art games" was well established.

Suggestions/recommendations are appreciated, so long as they are from 2010 or earlier.

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Some notes:
This is adapted from a YouTube playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRmMOveppLGPAZZdzY5zCZab5fqj1v_tl

However, there are a few games on the playlist that are not yet listed on Backloggd. I will add them to the list once they're in the database. These include:
LOST SHEEP 4月~6月の物語 (1996) [Dante 98 RPG Maker game]
Lorna (1979-1983)
Zenn (1998, Galaxy Games)

Additionally, here are some games not included either in the playlist or this list:
Deep Contact (1984, Lynn Hershman Leeson)
Uncle Roger (1986)
P.R.E.S.T.A.V.B.A. (1988)
Ginga no Uo: Ursa Minor Blue (1994, Macintosh)
Font Asteroids (1999, Esc to Begin)
Lullaby for a Dead Fly (2000)
Screen (2002)
Average Shoveler (2004, Carlo Zanni)
Alison Mealey's art made in the Unreal Engine

Games not on the YouTube playlist:
The Fire Tower (2004)

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Games I've considered adding to the main list:
I’m Sorry (1985) / Pu Li Ru La / D / Germs / Shenmue / The Silver Case / deSpiria / Jellyfish: The Healing Friend / Flower, Sun, and Rain / Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest / N.U.D.E.@ Natural Ultimate Digital Experiment / Katamari Damacy / Rule of Rose / Contact / Odama / bit Generations series / Endless Ocean / A Blurred Line (2000) [RPG Maker 2000] / The Line Narrows (2001) [RPG Maker 2000] / Anchorhead / Evocation: La Sfida (Evocation: The Challenge) (1993) / Heatseeker [C64] / Higurashi / Live a Live / Rags to Riches [C64] / Ace Combat 3 / Echoshift (2009) / Progress Quest (2002) / Sword of Kumdor / Funny Pizza Land / Anyworld by Acord games (1992) / La La Land series by Biggt (2006) / Quite Soulless by Vasily Zotov (2008) / Space Spy by Vasily Zotov (2009) / Refugee the Second Hearing by Vasily Zotov (2010) / Vanitas by Tale of Tales (2010) / The Terrible Whiteness of Appalachian Nights (2010) / Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors / Dwarf Fortress / Terranigma / Drakengard / Umineko / Abenteuer Europa / Silent Hill 2 / XenoSaga / NationStates / Shattered Union / The Fourth Protocol / Active Worlds (1995) / Subete ga F ni Naru (2002) / Can Your Pet (2009) / Alice Is Dead series (2009-2010) / Ever17: The Out of Infinity (2002)/ Feel the Magic: XY/XX (2004) / Notpron (2004) / Penumbra (2006) / Drawn to Life series (2007-2009) / Super Chick Sisters & New Super Chick Sisters (2007-2009) / Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals (2008) / You Have to Burn the Rope (2008) / Lit (2009) / Little Wheel (2009) / Scribblenauts & Super Scribblenauts (2009-2010) / Super Press Space To Win Action RPG 2009 (2009) / You Only Live Once (2009) / Ad Verbum / Basho's Frogger / Achievement Unlocked / Game, Game, Game, and again Game / Everybody Dies / Syberia / Real Lives (2001) / The Desolate Room / Iffermoon / :the game: / QWOP / raitendo's games (?) / You Find Yourself In A Room / depict1 / SOUP (2007, listed as TBA here)

a LOT of doujin games on FreeM

https://www.backloggd.com/u/MendelPalace/list/50-years-of-text-games-from-oregon-trail-to-ai-dungeon/
https://www.backloggd.com/u/jakobvongunten/list/xyzzy-award-winners/

38 Man Kilo no Kokuu File 1: A Day in the Life of 2049
38 Man Kilo no Kokuu File 1: A Day in the Life of 2049
Afternoon, a story
Afternoon, a story
A Slow Year
A Slow Year
Beyond the Tesseract
Beyond the Tesseract
Big Bang
Big Bang
Blackout
Blackout
Casablanca ni Ai wo: Satsujinsha wa Jikuu o Koete
Casablanca ni Ai wo: Satsujinsha wa Jikuu o Koete
Darfur is Dying
Darfur is Dying
Dragons of Hong Kong
Dragons of Hong Kong
Escape From Woomera
Escape From Woomera
Everything I Do is Art, But Nothing I Do Makes Any Difference, Part II Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Gallery
Everything I Do is Art, But Nothing I Do Makes Any Difference, Part II Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Gallery
Global Conflicts: Latin America
Global Conflicts: Latin America
Guru Meditation
Guru Meditation
Harpooned
Harpooned
Hush
Hush
iD
iD
Incarnatia
Incarnatia
Kult: The Temple of Flying Saucers
Kult: The Temple of Flying Saucers
Local Call for Death
Local Call for Death
MazeBrew
MazeBrew
Méwilo
Méwilo
Necrobius
Necrobius
Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy
Of Light and Darkness: The Prophecy
Pac-Mondrian
Pac-Mondrian
Patchwork Girl
Patchwork Girl
Pink Gear 2
Pink Gear 2
Prisoner 2
Prisoner 2
Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom
Qin: Tomb of the Middle Kingdom
Queue
Queue
Stephen Lavelle/increpare
RenderOrgan
RenderOrgan
SimHealth
SimHealth
Six Micro Stories
Six Micro Stories
Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector I
Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector I
Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector II
Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector II
Super Press Space To Win Adventure RPG 2009
Super Press Space To Win Adventure RPG 2009
The Dolphin's Pearl
The Dolphin's Pearl
The Fire Tower
The Fire Tower
Trigger Happy
Trigger Happy
Tropical America
Tropical America
Two Heads of the Coin
Two Heads of the Coin
Warpitout
Warpitout
Zaum Gadget
Zaum Gadget
Mike Builds a Shelter
Mike Builds a Shelter
Kamikuishiki-mura Monogatari
Kamikuishiki-mura Monogatari
Calamity Annie
Calamity Annie
Global Conflicts: Palestine
Global Conflicts: Palestine
Web Dimension
Web Dimension
Devo Presents: Adventures of the Smart Patrol
Devo Presents: Adventures of the Smart Patrol
Emmanuelle
Emmanuelle
The Graveyard
The Graveyard
Hong Kong 97
Hong Kong 97
Desert Bus
Desert Bus
The Marriage
The Marriage
Against All Odds
Against All Odds
Between
Between
Lifespan
Lifespan
The Night Journey
The Night Journey
Sentinel Returns
Sentinel Returns
Super Columbine Massacre RPG!
Super Columbine Massacre RPG!
A.V.G.M.
A.V.G.M.
Robotfindskitten
Robotfindskitten
Brainpipe: A Plunge to Unhumanity
Brainpipe: A Plunge to Unhumanity
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Cow Clicker
Cow Clicker
Top Banana
Top Banana
Blueberry Garden
Blueberry Garden
Foobar Versus the DEA
Foobar Versus the DEA
Wordimagesoundplay
Wordimagesoundplay
Coil
Coil
Again
Again
His Majesty's Ship Impetuous
His Majesty's Ship Impetuous
Prince Interactive
Prince Interactive
Tuboflex
Tuboflex
Judith
Judith
McDonald's Video Game
McDonald's Video Game
Passage
Passage
The Quest for the Rest
The Quest for the Rest
Every Day the Same Dream
Every Day the Same Dream
And Yet It Moves
And Yet It Moves
One Chance
One Chance
9: The Last Resort
9: The Last Resort
Movie
Movie
Take a Walk
Take a Walk
Façade
Façade
Aisle
Aisle
L-Zone
L-Zone
MindGym
MindGym
flOw
flOw
Today I Die
Today I Die
Timothy Leary's Mind Mirror
Timothy Leary's Mind Mirror
Fatale
Fatale
Gaball Screen
Gaball Screen
The Company of Myself
The Company of Myself
Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo
Spelunx and the Caves of Mr. Seudo
Cloud
Cloud
Moonmist
Moonmist
The Endless Forest
The Endless Forest
I, Robot
I, Robot
An early example of polygonal gaming. Mainly here due to "Doodle City" mode, "... a self-styled “ungame” where the player is tasked with doing nothing more than drawing things on the screen using the objects from the videogame as brushes, for when you’re burned out with mass destruction."
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness
4 Minutes and 33 Seconds of Uniqueness
Echochrome II
Echochrome II

38 Comments


2 years ago

Do good art games exist yet

2 years ago

yeah, takeshis challenge
I added Web Dimension,iD,The Madness of Roland,Shining Flower,Uncle Buddy's Phantom Funhouse,Ultra Resort Keroncuel,MindGym,Incarnatia,Escape From Woomera,Darfur Is Dying and September 12th to database.
And The Saboten Man is arleady in database.
Added Warpitout, Laurie Anderson's Puppet Motel, ScruTiny in the Great Round, Pink Gear Collection and Mission Sunlight to database
Added Lifespan, Mike Builds a Shelter, Trigger Happy, The Intruder, Tropical America, Pac-Mondrian and Rendition to database.
I suggest adding The Marriage, Coil, Aether and Gravity Bone to the list.
And also Passage
Here are some more games that I think would fit this list.
Kamikuishiki-mura Monogatari (Not sure about this), Connections (Not sure about this), Aisle , McDonald's Video Game, Against all odds (Not sure about this), Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector I, Super Columbine Massacre RPG!, Yume 2kki, Mondo Agency, Hush (2008), Soviet Unterzoegersdorf: Sector II, Gravitation, Between, The Graveyard, OFF (Not sure about this), Akrasia, Braid, BRAINPIPE: A Plunge to Unhumanity, The Void, Every Day the Same Dream, Fatale, .flow, Flower
Here are a few more
Seaman 2, The Museum of Anything Goes (Not sure about this),Full Pipe, Outcry
Here are few more. Again.
Amusement Planet Phantasmagoria, Worlds.com, The Quest For The Rest, flOw, PixelJunk Eden, Machinarium
Added "Afternoon, a story", Necrobius, Popol Maya, Wordimagesoundplay, The Warden Game and Foobar Versus the DEA
And Six Micro Stories is arleady in database.
Recommend adding :
PainStation (2001)
Horde of Directors (2004)
Okami (2006)
The Night Journey (2007)
Echochrome (2008)
This comment was deleted
Recommendations (Chronologically only by year, not by month & day):
J.J. Squawkers (1993)
robotfindskitten (1997)
Xenogears (1998)
Bad Milk (2000)
Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty (2001)
Mother 3 (2006)
Global Conflicts: Palestine (2007)
Revenge Of the Sunfish (2007)
Global Conflicts: Latin America (2008)
The Majesty of Colors (2008)
I wish I were the Moon (2008)
A.V.G.M. (2009)
And Yet It Moves (2009)
Don't Look Back (2009)
Guru Meditation (2009)
Blueberry Garden (2009)
Judith (2009)
Windosill (2009)
Air Pressure (2009)
The Path (2009)
Deadly Premonition (2010)
Limbo (2010)
Take a Walk (2010)
Norrland (2010)
Coma (2010)
Cow Clicker (2010)
Thomas Was Alone (2010)
The Infinite Ocean (2010)
One Chance (2010)
Added: Patchwork Girl, left to my own devices, SOD (by JODI), Untitled Game (by JODI), Everything I Do is Art, But Nothing I Do Makes Any Difference, Part II, Queue, The Nerve Game
Recommendations: ArsDoom (1995), Loved (2010), Hummingbird Mind (2010), A House in California (2010)

1 year ago

Amazing list! Thank you for making this!

1 year ago

Scorn should be here

1 year ago

Scorn would probably be included if I was including games from the present day, but I have a cut-off date of 2010 for this list since the main point was to highlight "art games" that came before the term was widely accepted and indie games had a wider audience.

1 year ago

What about Live a Live and Higurashi? I think they would be good in this list.

I would say Hotline Miami too but it came out in 2012.

1 year ago

Hotline Miami is definitely too late to be included, but I'll give the other two some thought. Thanks for the suggestions!

1 year ago

I am going to suggest a list of games, I think they would be good in this listing

Terranigma
Drakengard
Umineko
ActRaiser
Abenteuer Europa
Silent Hill 2
XenoSaga
NationStates
Shattered Union

1 year ago

maybe ace combat 3?

1 year ago

@tarnkappe why ace combat 3? no offense the question just makes me curious

1 year ago

i believe the game's art style and atmosphere has artistic value

1 year ago

Hong Kong 97 is truly the pinnacle of the medium as an artistic expression

11 months ago

woahhhhb :oo thank u so much for this !!!

11 months ago

This comment was deleted

11 months ago

A few suggestions:
Active Worlds (1995)
Real Lives (2001)
Subete ga F ni Naru (2002)
Bars of Black and White (2009) - Not on IGDB
Can Your Pet (2009)
Alice Is Dead series (2009-2010)

11 months ago

Some more game suggestions in my head:
Ever17: The Out of Infinity (2002)
Feel the Magic: XY/XX (2004)
Notpron (2004)
Penumbra (2006)
Drawn to Life series (2007-2009)
Super Chick Sisters & New Super Chick Sisters (2007-2009)
Cooking Mama: Mama Kills Animals (2008)
You Have to Burn the Rope (2008)
Lit (2009)
Little Wheel (2009)
Scribblenauts & Super Scribblenauts (2009-2010)
Super Press Space To Win Action RPG 2009 (2009) - Not on IGDB
You Only Live Once (2009)
Art Academy (2010)

11 months ago

Thanks for the recommendations @meowthed25! I'm gonna be doing some updates to this list soon and I'll definitely consider adding these. Some of them definitely fit the bill!

9 months ago

amazing list!!!


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