This website is part of a PhD research project conducted by Ignacio Zamora Sanz at the Ionian University in Corfu, Greece, within the Museology Laboratory, under the supervision of Dr. Georgios Papaioannou. The project examines the role of artists in shaping the aesthetic, visual, and experiential dimensions of video games across different historical periods.

 

We are studying how artistic authorship operates within video game development. In particular, the project focuses on artists who bring a distinct creative vision to a game, individuals whose personal artistic language leaves a visible and lasting imprint. In many cases, these collaborations transform a game from a conventional production into an iconic cultural work recognised for its artistic identity and influence.

 

The project is structured around five broad historical and thematic stages: early video games and proto-artistic authorship; stylistic identity in the 1990s; artistic ambition within industrial production in the 2000s; hybridity and cross-media circulation in the 2010s; and future directions, with particular attention to automation and artificial intelligence.

 

We aim to contribute to a more historically grounded and artist-centred understanding of video games as cultural and artistic practices by showing how distinctive artistic voices have helped shape iconic titles that moved beyond gaming into broader culture, influencing other creative fields and inspiring new generations. As the video game industry continues to expand in scale, reach, and economic impact, this research is especially timely for understanding how artistic authorship operates within one of the most influential cultural industries of the present and near future.