Re:Video Games Can Never Be Art
by hugh3 on Saturday April 17, 2010 @03:30PM
(#1273569)
Yes, I think it's a matter of demarcation.
A chess set can be art, but a chess set isn't a game, it's just a tool used to play a game. Chess is the game, but it's just a set of rules; it may be a great game but it's not "art" in any useful sense.
A computer game is both the set of rules and the tool you use to play it, which I think is where Ebert might be getting confused. There are a few exceptions; Nethack could be considered a game which is just a set of rules independent of the particular implementation you use to play it.
A chess set can be art, but a chess set isn't a game, it's just a tool used to play a game. Chess is the game, but it's just a set of rules; it may be a great game but it's not "art" in any useful sense.
A computer game is both the set of rules and the tool you use to play it, which I think is where Ebert might be getting confused. There are a few exceptions; Nethack could be considered a game which is just a set of rules independent of the particular implementation you use to play it.