Video Games are Art?

There is a lot of hubbub about video games and art again, with Roger Ebert speaking his mind on how video games can NEVER be art. Penny Arcade has weighed in on the subject as well as everyone who has replied to Ebert's blog entry.

I'm very curious as to why this is even an argument... Frankly, art is something completely subjective. I'm sure that there are some people out there who feel that movies are not, or could ever be, art. Kellie Santiago, of thatgamecompany, gave a speech at USC making the argument that games already ARE art. So, who is correct?

As Kellie started her argument, the definition of art must first be explored. She looked at the definition on Wikipedia, which one could argue isn't the best place to get the definition. In fact, the top of the page states that "the article has multiple issues"! While Kellie uses the definition at the beginning of the Wikipedia article, further down is a definition from Britannica Online which says, "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others." With this definition, one could definitely say that video games are art. Arguments exist concerning the definition of art, however. I won't go into gross detail here, as one can easily research the fact that there is no definitive answer to the question, "What is art?"

With that being said, how can one say with any certainty at all that video games can NEVER be art? The idea of something being a "piece of art" is entirely in the eye of the beholder. Does the piece stir emotional feelings inside? Does it make you feel passionate, strong, heart-broken, or intense? If so, then what you are seeing/feeling/experiencing is probably art. At least, that piece is art to you, the beholder.

It is pretty funny to me that this topic has come up yet again at this moment in time. This past weekend, I finished the storyline for Final Fantasy XIII. As we watched the ending together as a family, my daughter begins to cry because of the tragedy (I'm avoiding spoilers here...) that occurs during those final moments. This was the first time that she cried during a video game. If the game could stir that sort of emotional response in my seven-year old daughter, and if she could hold such an emotional attachment to those characters, then I could argue that Final Fantasy XIII is a work of art to her, according to some of the definitions out there. I can't help but remember various moments in my own life of particular games that I was playing at the time and the feelings that I had while playing those games. Games like the Final Fantasy series, Chrono Trigger and Chrono Cross, the Metal Gear series, Xenogears, and others have affected me deeply and have potentially shaped the person that I am today. You can see Juri and I telling the folks at Penny Arcade about our emotional connection to Final Fantasy VI on Penny Arcade: The Series (around 1:48).

So are video game art? I happen to think they are. But then, something is only a "piece of art" if you feel that it is.