Man!…ifesto Games is scheduling an IRC chat to discuss that most horrible of questions, are games art? Well, we all know what Roger Ebert thinks… what do you NHP–TIGS readers think?
Personally, yeah, I think you could consider video games an artform. Why not? How is it hurting anybody to call games art? The fact that it’s a commercial business, that games are mass-produced products, makes no difference to me. Why should it? Every other artform is commercialized – packaged and repackaged for a mass market.
Video games have altered the way we interact and the way we think. They are an inexorable part of our every day lives, even if you don’t play them. They can be socially conscious, poignant, visually beautiful… hell, even Grand Theft Auto is social commentary if you see it as a reflection of an urban culture obsessed with sex and violence. They make people talk.
And in response to Ebert’s quote that video games “represent a loss of those precious hours we have available to make ourselves more cultured, civilized and empathetic…” I would say tell that to the young Chinese kid who bonded with his dad through Zelda, who understood the power of visuals and music by watching the snowy intro of Final Fantasy VI, who felt genuine despair when Nei battled Neifirst in Phantasy Star II… and who basically became inspired to create himself because of the games he played as a kid.