Many games are not artistic at all, they do not attempt to be anything more than mindless entertainment, in the same way that many films, like American Pie or Road Trip, don't attempt to be anything more than a load of boobs and trashy jokes. It's fun, it's for the sake of entertainment and little else.

But never before has gaming as a whole been so close to art, frankly. From the user-created forms of expression like Littlebigplanet and Flipnote Studio, to the sprawling masterpieces of artistic beauty like Okami and Heavy Rain, games and art are often intrinsically linked.

I discuss this and retaliate to Roger Ebert's assertion that 'games can't be art' in my latest blog post;

http://www.alexevansgames.blogspot.com

Thoughts?

The Webster dictionary definition of art:

Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin art-, ars — more at arm
Date: 13th century
1 : skill acquired by experience, study, or observation
2 a : a branch of learning: (1) : one of the humanities (2) plural : liberal arts b archaic : learning, scholarship
3 : an occupation requiring knowledge or skill
4 a : the conscious use of skill and creative imagination especially in the production of aesthetic objects; also : works so produced b (1) : fine arts (2) : one of the fine arts (3) : a graphic art
5 a archaic : a skillful plan b : the quality or state of being artful
6 : decorative or illustrative elements in printed matter

To me Video Games falls into many of the categories in the definition... The biggest stumbling block in the definition is that video games aren't formally trained as a "fine art" in university... Typically people require "science" training to build video games. Which requires supplemental training afterwards in tools associated to the artistic side. Making video games much more then just art.

Video games require the use of skill and creative imagination to create their "interactive experiences" rather then just "asthetic objects". To me, games are art+.

If video games aren't art. Then nothing is.

By that definition many things that aren't art can be considered art, basically anything requiring any amount of skill therefore going by the literal definition is flawed. 

it an art in many forms to be exact

Well like I mean, Shadow Hearts 2. You die at the end or become a mindless vessell so that =/= win

Like I mean certain games aren't good art. But they're art. Just like theirs bad drawings

You experience games like mass effect whatever.... its just instead of going from start to finish. You can die in between, and continue the story.

i guess people people can call jrpg's and rpg's like mass effect 1/2 movie /  1/2 game,

and the game part isn't art. and the movie part is. but, that's just changing around facts to win an argument.

I like to do that though too sometimes :)

But yesa