R P G A M E R . C O M   -   E D I T O R I A L S

Museum Display

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Mike "JuMeSyn" Moehnke
FAN EDITORIALIST

The ongoing debate as to whether video games are art cannot be definitively answered. Does it really matter, however? The subjective nature of what qualifies to an individual as 'art' makes an all-inclusive definition all-but insuperable to acquire. Is The Far Side art? Is South Park art? Certainly War and Peace seems to be regarded as art; does this necessarily mean a Timecop novel is art? A case could be made for Timecop products being art, but only by stretching the definition of 'art' to a loose level.

Thus the criteria for allowing video games into consideration as being worthy of artistic labeling is narrowed: a video game is not inherently art any more than a book or a movie or an album is art. And given that any universal definition of 'art' will involve subjective adjectives that demand personal deliberation, agreeing upon a universally acclaimed list of video games (even the more narrowly defined category of RPGs) that can be lauded for artistic worthiness requires a most unlikely level of subjective preferences matching.

Roger Ebert comes under fire from video gamers for declaiming the inadmissibility of video games into the 'art' category. Ebert is not a gamer, however, and thus his commentary upon the subject is jaundiced by the films he has reviewed originating in the video game world. With only this source upon which to base detailed commentary, is it any wonder that Ebert is reluctant to laud the positive attributes of a video game?

Certainly there is no inherent disqualification to render video games forever barred from consideration as art. The top titles, while garnering naysayers along with legions of adherents, could and would attain enough support to be lauded as art should the opportunity arise. Whether this issue should dominate discussion when many other topics prevail upon the electronic entertainment medium is open to question, since experiencing 'art' has never been the most important reason for me to engage in a title. If it has been the primary reason for any others to begin play of a title, such a person's mindset would be best poised to debate the merits of art in the video gaming world, not mine.