Absolutely! gaming is the purest form of art out there. It features visual, interactive , audio and storytelling art, and also top notch animation.

She's totally lost them. The first kind of art expression humans developed was painting, and we started because we wanted to keep register of primitive daily lifes. Some forms of art appeared from very functional needs, think of architecture. 

She isn't lost because it is an opinion.  Many would argue architecture isn't the same as art, which is demonstrated by being two completely programs at University.  

I do not consider myself an artist when playing a game. I'm not expressing anything. Just trying to win. Would also not consider athletes artists, generally speaking.

I view games more as a medium of storytelling, and a "interactive experiance",.... kinda like a movie but better (depends on type of game).
Or just sheer fun, like I wouldn't call Path of exile, fantastic story telling, or a thrilling interactive experiance.... but non the less I rather enjoy it.

Art? I guess, if you consider Movie's works of art, or Music.... theres something to be said for games as well.

It is a form of art and there is nothing to really be discussed about it.
Even simple games we may not like are still artistical representation, just as your niece drawing is also art even if not high art.

There are different programs for cinema and music as well, it doesn't mean they aren't art. Art was never supposed to be completely useless for practical purposes because entertainment is practical so to speak

I fail to see when exactly artists started to feel that way, but we have performing arts made for entertainment for literally millenia now.

If you’ve not mastered a play style than I wouldn’t call you an artist either. 

I’ll use Martial Arts to prove my point. The word Arts is in the name. In martial arts you first have to master the basic movements of the particular school you're studying, just like pianists have to master moving their fingers in special ways to play cords and scales, and painters have to master shadowing and perspective. 

Once you master the basic skills of your chosen art, then you can become more creative and do things freely while still staying true to the foundation. At this point I would consider one an 'artist.' 

Games often tell stories and convey emotions. Literature is art, and it doesn't really need to tell anything about the world around us, as there is fiction and fantasy genres. Any game with some kind of minimum storyline is a sort of literature I think

Games also have for quite some time developed enough visual identity to be placed somewhere along digital art. If animation movies and shows are art, I think games cam be defined as art too. I mean, there are tons of cutscenes that are basically a bunch of anime videos placed in the game, if animes are art so is games I'd say 

No idea and honestly don't much care.  If artists think it should be non functional, fair enough.  Opinions are nothing more than opinions.  

Some artists don't view pottery as art, because of function.