My girlfriend's art teacher said video games are not art. Do you agree?

[Rafux]

MDMAlliance said:

Rogerioandrade said:
Videogames are not essentially art. They are basically just games, challenges for the player, they´re closer to board games in their essence than to art itself. But videogames are a form of entertainment that uses art to be produced, be it visual arts, music or interpretation.

There's something I feel you're missing about this as well.  There are a lot of games out there that aren't simply about being "a game" or "challenging the player," but has those elements to them.  For example, Final Fantasy games tend to focus a lot of story while also presenting a challenge (especially to those who seek it).  But, most people do NOT play Final Fantasy for the challenge or the game itself, but rather the experience.  Now some say you can't "experience" art, but only observe it.  But that makes no sense, because then what is art?  Can the blind never experience or even create a piece of art then?  Since a blind person cannot observe what he/she is creating, would it not become null as art if that is what art is supposed to be?

Video games must be "fun" at its most basic but Art doesn't have to be fun, even if Final Fantasy wants to tell a beautiful story it still has to be a fun game first.

The story part of Final Fantasy (the writting) is art but the whole video game is not is just using that art. Games like Journey convey feelings and express emotions but they at its basic inception must be designed to be a fun challenging experience.