Design vs. Art

       It was interesting to hear that "design is not art, and art is not design." This feels like those abstractly deep phrases that have "multiple meanings." Art, usually associates esthestic or beautiful. Fine art, as an example, would be the first one coming out of mind. What is really considered as art and what considered as design? 
       To focus on beauty and expression is usually considered as "artistic thinking." If that is true, art can means to please others. Like painting, artists apply their skills on paintings. Also, paiting is like "visual literacy," which is often meant to tell a story, or express an idea. The only area that design comes into play would be the "elements of design" and "principle of design." Artists often use the two principles when deciding composition, use of colors, etc. Really, when looking at the nature of "Art," it is an form of expression. I would not say that art is design, but which design might get involved in art. 
       On the contrary, "design" can refer to a lot of areas. "Design thinking," "Product design," or "game design," etc. New ideas derived from creative thinking can be called "Design." New ways to make people's lives easier can be called "design." Design is a combination of thinking and doing. What I mean is that "design" is more toward "thinking." Art can be applied to design in order to enhance something's esthetic. 
       Now, I cannot, or might not be able to explain all of the differences between "art" and "design." But, I certainly notice there are some differences. Maybe, if an artist is capable of ONLY thinking about "design," he might be able to create something really different than what we usually "expect." Same method can be applied to art, I might call that "pure art."

Game Concept

       Often times, we play a game but really do not notice what is the purpose of the game. Nowadays, games are categorized, such as Role-Playing-Game, Action, Strategy, or Recreation etc. Those are methods of games but game concept is created based on the methods. 
       For example, one of my favorite video game, named "Metal Gear Solid," might seem like a simple "shooting game" or "Action-Role-Playing-Game." The story of the game can help people to understand the concept behind this game. Originally,  Hideo Kojima, the director of this game, wants to express his thoughts about U.S. government so that he created this "fictional hero" code-named "Snake," who are involved in many missions of U.S. government. Eventually, he seeks to retaliate the government that he used to love. Usually people may just ignore the "concept" but compliment on the coolness of the game as "Snake" always equips with "THE BEST" weapons.
       Another example would be the Chinese Chess, which was originally designed to re-tell the story about the War between Chu Dynasty and Han Dynasty. It incorporates the reality as Leader (King) can only move within the headquarter but camion can attack great distance. Now the game becomes a "competitive sport."
       After all, games have concept that we, as designers, have to be able to recognize them.