In the gaming subculture, there's an interesting debate that always rages on. Due to their popularity, people like to wonder: Are games art? And if they're art, when did they become art?

It's actually an argument that's fairly close to my own heart. After all, I spend... probably too much time playing games, all told. Last night I spent at least three hours playing Scott Pilgrim vs the World, a movie/comic tie in that has some of the best sprite work for a game I've ever seen. So, having games declared and accepted as art would offer me a sense of validation that wouldn't suck. After all, a part of me really doesn't want to accept just how much time was wasted. And in fact, I do feel that certain games speak to a certain humanity, which in my opinion is the very genesis of art. That spark needs to be there.

However, I have a friend who feels that the argument doesn't matter. What's more, he argues that even if he does have to argue, he would disagree with me. While he also plays games, he argues that it's a ridiculous goal to try for art, and that instead we should just shoot for more games with excellent systems to play around with. He argues that because games are predicated on violence, largely due to the fact that violence is far more fun to perpetrate than giving in a digital environment, they cannot reach the levels that previous art forms have. That's a strong argument, and he has some fairly influential proponents for his view. (For what it's worth and because I can't let this slip by without some argument, the very notion that Ebert, of all people, would so off handedly dismiss a medium without wanting to participate is extremely galling. It's like the Wired article says, you need to actually participate in a game to excel.)

For what it's worth, not all games are art, largely due to the violence. It is, as Jenkins put it, often times banal. What's worse, you'll often have games where you can (and will) rip digital images in half. Then, during cutscenes, the main character will lament his violence and try to find more non-violent means. There's a disconnect there, and it's fairly difficult to avoid. Why would someone with so much power act hypocritically?

Ah well. At least we have Shadow of the Colossus. Now that's art.