SonicKoala said:
What a pointless question to ask a website like this. Of course they're art - first off, if we consider paintings art just because somebody takes the time to carefully draw and design that painting, then video games should automatically qualify, since there are huge numbers of people who take the time to carefully draw and design those landscapes, characters, and images we see in video games.
And that's just the beginning - video games tell stories, they convey meaning, they can challenge us intellectually, they can affect us emotionally...what more does one need before they realize that video games are a form of art?
Painting is not an art just because it took time and precision to draw, blueprints or technical drawings aren't art either. Reasons for this are pretty simple. You can generally divide the human productivity into two major groups. One is utility the other is actual art. Utility is everything that just serves a specific function in your life. Your picture from a holiday trip, dishwasher manual, news report, medical record or your secret diary.
Art on the other hand is built on layers. First layer is the most straight-forward image it presents, but there is also context, secondary meaning, metaphor/allegory, expression of emotion and so on. The more you focus on given piece of art the more details you are expected to notice, and how they ultimately relate to certain events or circumstances.
I still believe that great majority of games is nothing but utility entertainment. A form of journal that describes events as they were in a visual, semi-interactive way (i say semi because in the end you are always limited by the game mechanics in way way or another). While specific moments may contain winks and nudges in form of references or inside jokes, the experience as a whole is far from being art.
Now im pretty sure among less popular/indie games you could find examples of titles that are actually art but to say all games are art is like saying all movies are art, and i seriously don't consider 99.9% of modern action flicks to be anywhere close to be called art.
