Well? What do you guys/gals think?

I'm just going to chime in on this singular fragment of your post for a second: theater is definitely a form of art. It's also one of the best forms of art, in my opinion, since the portrayal of the characters by the actors can make the same play have a different feel to it. If you haven't read Hamlet by Shakespeare, please read that and then say that it isn't art; if you have read it, do it again, since you missed something if you don't think that theater is art.

On-topic: I think video games can be art. Not most of them, for sure. But when the artistry, story, and the gamer's experience come together just right, I think that it's possible to create an interactive piece of art. I couldn't think of a specific game off the top of my head that fits this combination of qualities, but there has to be at least one out there in the wild blue yonder...

Sprites, characters, voices, landscape, story, etc.
These are arts.
So yes, video game is art.

A good example is Final Fantasy series.

Video games...They are Art, if only a not yet truly recognized form of art imo...

To try to define art so rigidly is a fool's errand. Art comes in many forms. Do not be so quick to foist your narrow opinion or tastes on others and parade it as fact.

I know. Your (original) post clearly showed this. The "(for some reason)" aspect implied that you didn't think it deserved to be in the category of art as much as the other examples you posted. In return, I posted my reasoning against your implied argument. Additionally, you also attacked modern music for not "lacking in the art nowadays." This is the opinion of a layman, one who doesn't know just how much goes into making many different types of music. For instance, I used to deride screamo as something that wasn't music (the vocal aspects, at least) because it's screaming, not singing. Then a friend of mine pointed out that if I tried to do it, I'd realize that it's probably a lot harder than it appears. And modern music tends to be more heavy on emotion, imo, because a lot of it is based on people's personal experiences, as opposed to, say, 17th century music, which, although they have more of the technical aspects of playing an instrument bound up within them, I find harder to connect to.

So, as Frost said, the meanings we find within art are subjective. But whether or not WE value it as highly as others, that doesn't mean we should instantly decry a specific piece or genre simply because it isn't to our taste.

Yes. It combines four separate types of art:

- Graphic Design
- Music
- Writing
- Programming

If they anyone thinks they are not art, could you please explain why you think so? Because I can't fathom how anyone could believe that video games are not art.

EDIT/PS: I, for one, can find more artistic vision in a game than in one of my mom's oil paintings, which certainly qualify as traditional art.

...is programming really an art? I know that it takes skill to make an efficient, useful program, but I don't think that it qualifies in any sense of the word as art. But the others I can agree with.

I guess literature would be in the classic art?

Video games contain music, pictures, sometimes cut scenes (film), and sometimes voice acting (theater), so that's about 4 of your six arts. Lots of video games are better than the art that middle schoolers make, and a lot of that is just "I'm gonna draw a penguin" which really doesn't have any meaning. Some games are definitely art. If they have a style, such as games made with an 8-bit or retro feel yet are from within the last few years. That's definitely a component of art. Some games really affect people, make people cry, affect how the see the world, affect how they are as a person. For example, The World Ends With You is one of those games that I've seen people talk about a lot, and most of them say that it really had an impact on them. It has a message: enjoy the moment, appreciate other people, let your world expand by opening up to the worlds of other people. It speaks to people. Some games do that. Some games are art.

Programming and aesthetics go hand in hand in many cases...

I'm in a programming class right now. It's very difficult. The people that can do it easily are artists in my book.

I'm trying to think of a good example, but I'm sure you can program something that expresses something in someway.

That was as vague as hell.

This isn't the best example, but the system mechanics of Silent Hill. They're programed to make the player feel a sense of fear. Yeah, that isn't a emotion, quota-quote, but you're feeling something... yeah, that's a bad example. But you see what I mean? Hopefully?

Yeah, definitely. Fear is one of the most powerful emotions (I think it qualifies) that we can feel; it helps activate our survival instincts. I think the whole fear-based games (Amnesia, Slenderman) really take off just because that feeling is so intense. In Amnesia's case, it also has an interesting storyline.

As far as the programming being an art thing, here's my argument for it not being an art: the functionality of the program is all that matters. The steps taken do not matter. One very skilled programmer could take (and I don't know if this is realistic or not, but anyway) 100 lines of code to create a specific program. Another programmer could take 150 lines to do the same thing, but you might not be able to tell the difference between the two; the end result is the same. So, yes, it requires skill to do correctly, and it generates admiration for those able to do it well. But technique has no effect on the end result.

http://entertainment.time.com/2012/11/30/which-14-video-games-made-it-into-momas-permanent-collection/

^Video games are now art. End of story.

Art touches some people, never all people. I played a game where you played as dead people playing a long game to get their lives back, and I felt very empathetic, I don't think that aspect of the game really affected too many other people the same way, but since it was about a loner learning to enjoy life outside of his headphones, it had a lot of good lines about accepting people. "Only by allowing strangers in can we find new ways to be ourselves."

While I'm ecstatic that Pac-Man, Tetris, and Legend of Zelda are on the list, I can't help but think that Cave Story and Pokemon should be on there. Okay, maybe Pokemon doesn't fit the curator's parameters, but at least Cave Story is waaaaay more deserving of a spot than the museum getting a second Mario game. The first one of course should be there, but are two really necessary when there are so many more deserving games out there that could take its place? Whether it be FFI, Pokemon Red/Blue/Green, Cave Story, Kid Icarus, take your pick, really!

I am horribly disappointed that neither of the Team Ico games are on the list. They are truly artworks. Everything about them just screams art. If y'all haven't played Shadow of the Colossus or Ico, find a copy and play them. Two of the best games out there for PS2/PS3.

Aww I don't have PS2/PS3. But I think The World Ends With You or even Kingdom Hearts should be on the list. And I totally agree about not having 2 Mario games.