The question of whether or not video games could be considered as an art form has been the subject of much debate and controversy over the years, even going so far as to give rise to the sub-genre of "art games" in the early 2000s, which are specifically designed to emphasize an artistic style or point. Whilst many video games have been identified by critics as works of art due to their cultural impact, the question of whether or not video games could be considered as an art form is still one that is often debated. Do you believe video games could be considered a form of art, or that this could only be applied to select video games? Are there are any games that you would consider as works of art, if you do not believe that video games are in and of themselves a form of art?
Video games deserve to be called "art" as much as movies do. They're a thing made by a person or a group of people not for a directly useful mechanical purpose, but as something that represents ideas and generates responses and thought. Not all games are high art, just like not all movies are. We have Citizen Kane and we have Transformers Thing Of The Whatever; just as we have Bastion and also Prototype. I could write a whole essay on it, but I'll spare you the TL;DR. Going back in history, the same thing happened with animation and film and with the written word and with make believe play, and it will happen again when the next thing is invented. I can think of a lot of games that I consider art. Echo, Pony Island, NieR Automata; even some sillier things like Borderlands and Cuphead and Shovel Knight. All of these are different kinds of art but are art nonetheless. For a specific, lately I'm playing Hyper Light Drifter, and it visually beautiful pixel abstract, musically simple and haunting, and gameplay desperate and sharp. Highly recommended for someone who loves simple and intricate play combined with emotional storytelling that somehow involves no reading, listening, or remembering characters or story; almost like a silent film with a soundtrack and high heart-rate action and emotional investment.
