A little over a week ago, Roger Ebert reaffirmed his belief that video games are not now and never will be art. To many in the gaming community, Ebert’s comments have been seen as a slap in the face, a condemnation that video games aren’t good enough to stand alongside other forms of entertainment that can be considered art. To them, it’s just another indication that video games and the people who play them will never be accepted as part of higher culture.

The problem with this line of thinking is that it is predicated on the belief that video games should be or need to be part of this higher culture. Many of us gamers have been toiling in relative obscurity for the better part of 30 years since Atari’s bubble burst in the early 1980s, and the notion that gaming is or could be art has probably never crossed the mind of most people who have picked up the controller. So why does it matter now? Ask any two people whether a certain number of movies, albums, etc., should be considered art, and you’ll almost inevitably get a disagreement, so to my mind it’s no different that some people will consider games art and others will not.

I simply fail to see what benefit there is for gaming to be considered art. The histories of literature, painting and music and are filled with controversy and censorship, and video games would fare no better. Also, the last few years have seen a boom in creative game engines and art design, so there’s no void to be filled by would-be artists entering the gaming industry. Finally, the bar to entry in the gaming industry would not likely be lowered in any real way, which is a good thing. I don’t want the "American Idol" of video game design.

But the truth is that regardless of differing opinions on the matter, video games will not be magically reborn with or without the label of "art." Great game companies and designers will continue to make unique, interesting and fun games that cover a broad base of genres and styles. The gaming industry will continue to face attacks by people who believe games to be "murder simulators." We will still get a new "Madden" next year.

If a game’s fans and/or its designers want to consider a game art, then perhaps it is art to them; it doesn’t have to be art to you.

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