An
art game (or
arthouse game or less commonly
auteur game) is a work of
interactive new media digital software art as well as a member of the "art game" subgenre of the
serious video game. The term "art game" was first used academically in 2002 and it has come to be understood as describing a
video game designed to emphasize
art or whose structure is intended to produce some kind of reaction in its audience. Art games are
interactive (usually
competitive against the computer, self, or other players), and they are the result of
artistic intent by the party offering the piece for consideration. They also typically go out of their way to have a unique, unconventional look, often standing out for aesthetic beauty or complexity in design. The concept has been extended by some art theorists to the realm of modified ("
modded") gaming when modifications have been made to existing non-art-games to produce graphic results intended to be viewed as an artistic display, as opposed to modifications intended to change game play scenarios or for storytelling. Modified games created for artistic purposes are sometimes referred to as "
video game art." Art games are often considered a means of demonstrating
video games as works of art.