Among the hustle and bustle of the Electronic Entertainment Expo – more commonly known as E3 – in the Los Angeles Convention Center last week, there was an art exhibit of digitally epic proportions. The exhibit marked the public unveiling of 16 pieces of video game art that were recently selected by a panel of jurors to join the Into the Pixel art exhibit. Into the Pixel is the only exhibit in the world that brings together the best of the best in video game art, and the panel responsible for picking the winning artists includes the curators of world-renowned museums and galleries, and several game art veterans.

This year, Into the Pixel’s jurors received more than 150 submissions from around the world. The completed show contained styles of art from both existing games and games that are still in development, such as God of War, Metal Gear Solid, Turok, Assassin’s Creed, Guild Wars and John Woo’s Stranglehold. The art itself ranged from traditional Japanese brushwork to contemporary 3-D renderings of conceptual art, character design and abstract game worlds.

It is easy to dismiss video game art as merely entertainment and nothing more. However, Los Angeles County Museum of Art Curator of Prints and Drawings Kevin Salatino, who was a judge for Into the Pixel, said he thinks video game art is incredibly important.

“There is simply too much talent in the video game world to dismiss so cavalierly the seriousness of the work its many gifted artists produce,” Salatino said. “In fact, the constant cross-pollination between the entertainment world and the art world cannot be ignored.”