Video game art is a specialized form of computer art employing video games as the artistic medium. Video game art often involves the use of patched or modified video games or the repurposing of existing games or game structures, however it relies on a broader range of artistic techniques and outcomes than artistic modification and it may also include painting, sculpture, appropriation, in-game intervention and performance, sampling, etc.^{[citation needed]} For this reason it may also includes creating art games from scratch, rather than by modifying existing games.

Artistic modifications are frequently made possible through the use of level editors, though other techniques exist. Some artists make use of machinima applications to produce non-interactive animated artworks, however artistic modification is not synonymous with machinima as these form only a small proportion of artistic modifications.^{[citation needed]} Machinima is distinct from art mods as it relies on different tools, though there are many similarities with some art mods.^{[citation needed]}

A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of display device. The electronic systems used to play video games are known as platforms; examples of these are personal computers and video game consoles. These platforms range from large mainframe computers to small handheld devices. Specialized video games such as arcade games, while previously common, have gradually declined in use. Video games have gone on to become an art form and industry.

The input device used to manipulate video games is called a game controller, and varies across platforms. For example, a controller might consist of only a button and a joystick, while another may feature a dozen buttons and one or more joysticks. Early personal computer games often needed a keyboard for gameplay, or more commonly, required the user to buy a separate joystick with at least one button. Many modern computer games allow or require the player to use a keyboard and a mouse simultaneously. A few of the most common game controllers are gamepads, mice, keyboards, and joysticks.

Tommy Tallarico (born on February 18, 1968) is an American video game music composer and musician. He is best known as the co-creator of the concert series Video Games Live. He is also well known for being the co-host of Reviews on the Run (formerly known as Judgment Day in the US).

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, Tallarico entered the video game industry in 1991 and has worked on more than 250 games, including the Earthworm Jim series, Color a Dinosaur, Treasures of the Deep, Messiah, MDK, Flip's Twisted World, Wild 9, Unreal, Cool Spot, Spot Goes to Hollywood, RoboCop versus The Terminator, Maximo, Pac-Man World, Another World, Prince of Persia, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Advent Rising. Tallarico has won over 25 industry awards for best video game audio.

He founded Tommy Tallarico Studios in 1994 and the Game Audio Network Guild (G.A.N.G.), of which he is also the president, in 2002. He wrote, co-hosted, and co-produced The Electric Playground and Reviews on the Run (formerly Judgment Day on the G4 network), and co-hosted alongside Victor Lucas in both television programs until he left to focus on Video Games Live. He is also an advisory board member for the Game Developers Conference, a governor for the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS/Grammy) and a nominating peer panel leader for the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences. He released a CD with his music on it, entitled Virgin Games: Greatest Hits, Vol. 1 in 1994. A subsequent volume in the series was released in 1997. His work can also be found on additional releases in official game soundtrack albums with his music featured on them. Tallarico is the co-creator, executive producer, and host of Video Games Live.

Kellee Santiago is a video game designer and producer, and the co-founder and president of Thatgamecompany. Santiago was born in Caracas, Venezuela and was raised in Richmond, Virginia, where she played video games from a young age and was encouraged by her software engineer father to experiment with computers. During college at the Tisch School of the Arts of New York University, she became active in experimental theater, and intended to pursue it after earning a master's degree in the Interactive Media Program of the School of Cinematic Arts at the University of Southern California. While there, however, she became involved in video game design, and produced Cloud, developed by Jenova Chen and a student team. Its success sparked her and Chen to found Thatgamecompany upon graduating, and she became the president.

Santiago produced the studio's first two games, Flow and Flower, moving more into her president role during the development of the company's latest game, Journey. In addition to her work at Thatgamecompany, Santiago is one of the backers of the Indie Fund, a group which invests in the development of independent video games, and is a TED fellow. She married fellow University of Southern California graduate Mike Stein in 2010.