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[KaelGotDwarves]

Video Games Now Legally Considered an Art Form (in the USA)

I never took this debate too seriously, as in, I figured games could be artistic and didn't bother flaming Roger Ebert after that debacle.

That being said, discuss the topic and share games you consider "art".

I'll link some of the best up top here.

Some agreed-upon artistic games worth playing according to Bay12:

PC:
Octodad
Blueberry Garden
Machinarium
Today I Die

PS2:
Shadow of the Colossus

[Crazy Cow]

One of the leading examples of video games that were also art.
Shadow of the Colossus.

[x2yzh9]

Amnesia:The Dark Descent

It is literally the scariest game I have ever played. Few people are not scared by this game.

[Astral]

Obvious:
The Path
Braid
Dwarf Fortress (There is no better art than a siege put to rest by exploding kittens and magma)

Personal:
Metro 2033 (Yes, I realize it was meant as a game, but the endings left much to be imagined. If you saved the neohumans, then what became of you and your people?)
Portal/Portal 2 (The atmosphere and storyline meant much more to me than the gameplay; being stuck as the only person in a facility, likely the only person alive after the events of Half Life et al, had a profound sense of darkness to the bits of humor injected into it. Also, taking the first person shooter and making it so you can't actually shoot anything)

Also, add in a couple miscellaneous flash games which I cannot remember the names of. Specifically, the one where you go through the day trying (or not trying) to find a cure for the death you visited upon the world. And another where you are an octopus that helps or harms the strange creatures you encounter.

[Empty]

Octodad is the best art like game ever!

[FuzzyZergling]

Shadow of the Colossus.

Agreed, so much.

[Halfman]

Just told my Dad about this. He does not approve of government funds going to the advancement of my favorite medium... Fucking old people...

[Vainemoinen]

One of the leading examples of video games that were also art.
Shadow of the Colossus.

Octodad is the best art like game ever!

Both of these. I'll also put forward The Polynomial, Blueberry Garden, Machinarium, and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time and Warrior Within (perhaps a little bit more trite, but the atmosphere of these games just grabs me every time, and I normally don't like puzzle/platformers at all.) I also think Minecraft falls into the category of "a video game that is art because its mechanics are married to its graphics and gameplay so well."

This raises an interesting question: What aspect of the game are we talking about that makes it art? The most obvious things that come to mind are visuals, but I think storytelling can also make a game art. Then of course, there's the thing above about a video game being its own kind of special art purely because it succeeds in its function as an interactive medium.

I'll shut up now.

WAIT! Sleep is Death is art for many of the reasons listed above.

[Jreengus]

Today I die is the game I always think of as the best example of a game as art, although it's more like an interactive poem.

[Tilla]

Just told my Dad about this. He does not approve of government funds going to the advancement of my favorite medium... Fucking old people...

The best part about being a museum is not giving a shit what close-minded old people think

[Max White]

Well we could go into those that were meant to be art (See: Today I die) and list those that are noticeably artistic, but how will this affect other, less artistically inclined gamed? I mean I like knowing that games are now thought to be an art, like they should be, but is there a specific legal reason that I care in regards to how this affects the industry?

[warhammer651]

Does this mean old people will stop saying games cause violence or that  other old people will stop trying to get them banned?

[Darion]

In fact Shadow of the Colossus comes into my mind.

[Max White]

It's also a bit hard to decide, "Do I really think this game is art, or do I just like it a lot?" as I mentally skim through some favorites.

Defining question: Did this game bring forth an emotional response, so lasting that fifteen minutes or more after turning off the console you still had such feelings, or was it just really fun?

Final fantasy X: Hell yes emotional response, to be matched with beautiful graphics and music just to prove a point, although these things aren't required, they help. Art.
Super Crate Box: ZOMG this is awesome fun! Freaking monsters!!! Not art.

[1freeman]

I'd say that BioShock would count as art, but thats just my opinion.