Okay, you've all heard about the "Are games art?" debate and you're probably getting sick of it like I am. If you are then that's great because this isn't a thread to debate whether games can be art or not.

This is more of a "Let's admire some of the best looking games available today" thread. I've put together a few albums of screenshots and artwork from video games (most, if not all stolen from http://deadendthrills.com/, an amazing site you should check out)

I should warn you that the albums are extremely large and you're probably going to want to avoid them if you're on a slow connection.

I should also warn you that while none of the screenshots are NSFW, some are provocative enough to make people give you funny looks if you're viewing them in a public place.


So, without further ado, I present to you my personal collection of artistic video game screenshots and artwork!

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http://imgur.com/a/7D7NM#0

http://imgur.com/a/AIXEC#0

http://imgur.com/a/AAkIu#0

http://imgur.com/a/vnfrO#0

http://imgur.com/a/eLeB5#0

http://imgur.com/a/NmUVI#0

http://imgur.com/a/XmmI3#0

http://imgur.com/a/QPh2d#0

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Feel free to share screenshots and artwork from games here, even videos. But don't turn this into an argument about whether games are art or not

I cant be bothered to link it, but I wish the journey was on xbox. Just for those visuals.

Other games visuals I love.

Okami
Bastion
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5TQDeoump4

How can I forget Metro 2033.
http://images2.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20100617054806/metro2033/images/4/48/Moscow.jpg

So this is more of a "visual arts" focus to gaming? I am always more partial to concept art than the actual in game art. But if we are gonna talk about the visual art style of games, I don't like the realism trend happening, I much prefer Borderlands to.. well anything else.

I like http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/File:Dagger.jpg http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/File:Untitled.png, http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/File:Untitled4.png, http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/File:636040_120312_640screen012.jpg http://dishonored.wikia.com/wiki/File:Pendleton_twin.jpg. It's not as silly as Bioshock's; rather, it's iconic.

There are other games, but I won't bother at the moment. ( Maybe later. ) Dishonored's style is what has my attention most, right now, anyway.

It depends on the game imo. Allthough cell shading looks great years later. Which reminds me, JSRF also looked great.

http://mixnmojo.com/media/galleries/Monkey-Island-2-LeChucks-Revenge-Concept-Art I'm not sure many people understand just how beautiful the background artwork for this game was. It was all digitized from marker artwork and reduced to 320x200, but even then I've always felt the game has had this wonderfully romantic, surreal feeling like the painted backgrounds of an old cartoon or the landscapes of Cezanne.

I mostly started playing games because of the visuals, i collect art books and concept art, and have way to many gig of art. I looked at the site some nice stuff, i do like the skyrim images.

I don't think in game screenshots can be art, but rather the game itself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3o0HFXPfco brought tears to my eyes when I saw it. Whoever made this is awesome.

I dont see games as art...

I just sometimes see certain things, and think what I see at that moment is art (I always loved seeing the strip at night in fallout new vegas, at a distance. Just the open wasteland. Then vegas with its lights, like a beacon calling you to it). But the game as a whole nope.

Personally I have a few screenshots from "Bulletstorm" that I absolutely adore. Here are two of them:

http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/3043/shippingpcstormgame2012.png
http://img820.imageshack.us/img820/3043/shippingpcstormgame2012.png

The graphics settings are all the highest they can be set to in-game, besides anti-aliasing which is a combination of 2:2 SuperSampling (game rendered in 3840 x 2160, scaled to 1920 x 1080), FXAA injector aswell as a minor sharpen filter.

This video of http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1CUNNyNK-4w speaks louder than any images I'd be able to find (http://imgur.com/a/f1NC4#0 are two anyway), and even that doesn't do this game's beauty any justice. Yes, it's a Wii game, but a Wii game that has one of the nicest looking game worlds, period.

Plenty of other games that I'll post later.

Journey is gorgeous, such amazing visuals.

this may be the first time I will watch a lets play. Its the closest I will get.
Damn exclusives.

I love Dead End Thrills, it always has fantastic shots.


For Skyrim there's also Skyrimphotographer who makes some great shots: http://skyrimphotographer.deviantart.com/gallery/

Those are very impressive Skyrim shots. Even more so because their focus is a female who isn't half-nvde.

Skyrim really brought the TES series to a new level visual wise. The world of Skyrim is truly gorgeous. They could've focused more on the story and guilds, but it's a good enough game for me.

Kingdom come looks amazing. I've never heard of it.

Speaking of Journey does anyone have some good screenshots that can be used as a desktop background?

I just purchased Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning and the art style of this game is different. I like it because it's cartoonish but believable. The creatures and enemies are fantastic.

The brink map founders tower has a beautiful view from the securities original spawn. If you turn around you've got a view of a beautiful blue ocean and if you keep looking forward you can see the amazing founders tower.

Anyone heard of / "played" Dear Esther? Definitely a controversial "video game" as far as category-blurring, but I think it's undeniably beautiful.

Pretty much everything made by Thatgamecompany, Quantic Dream, Irrational Games, Team Ico, Bethesda, and Nintendo can be considered art. http://images.wikia.com/wii/images/8/85/Spring_mario-1-.jpg one never fails to crack me up.


Hmm... I don't know your dimensions, but I have http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y-QOIton3mU/TeouxPhQkaI/AAAAAAAACL0/Bc3nzYDgwR4/s1600/Journey_2011_06-03-11_008.jpg as my desktop background atm.

Yea that works pretty well, thanks.

It's a mod for Crysis