Those of you who are (like me) fans of both Roger Ebert and videogames no doubt followed the debate ( part I; part II) that Ebert set off when he declared that videogames are not art.
My own take on it was–and is–that the video game is an artform, but it is one in its infancy. Yes, there is not yet a game as sublime as Bach’s English Suites, but, then, it’s only been 34 years since Pong. 35 years after the invention of music, I’m guessing we were still banging rocks against our cave walls. Videogames are evolving a lot faster, and I suspect the Bach of this art form will come along a lot more quickly than he did to music.
I’m revisiting this debate right now partly because of my recent PS2 purchase, of course, but mainly because Roger Ebert’s colleague at the Chicago Sun-Times Jim Emmerson recently featured a quote from Japanese videogame designer Hideo Kojima, creator of the “Metal Gear Solid” series, which some of Ebert’s readers cited as proof that videogames can indeed be art. Perhaps surprisingly, Kojima says he agrees with Ebert:

“I don’t think they’re art either, videogames,” he said, referring to Roger Ebert’s recent commentary on the same subject. “The thing is, art is something that radiates the artist, the person who creates that piece of art. If 100 people walk by and a single person is captivated by whatever that piece radiates, it’s art. But videogames aren’t trying to capture one person. A videogame should make sure that all 100 people that play that game should enjoy the service provided by that videogame. It’s something of a service. It’s not art. But I guess the way of providing service with that videogame is an artistic style, a form of art.”

The funny thing is, even though Kojima seems to think he’s agreeing with Ebert, he really isn’t; under Kojima’s definition, movies don’t qualify as art, either. And Emerson doesn’t quote one particularly significant paragraph from the interview (although he does provide a link to it):

While Kojima said that games as a whole aren’t art, he did say that games do incorporate art. “Art is the stuff you find in the museum, whether it be a painting or a statue. What I’m doing, what videogame creators are doing, is running the museum–how do we light up things, where do we place things, how do we sell tickets? It’s basically running the museum for those who come to the museum to look at the art. For better or worse, what I do, Hideo Kojima, myself, is run the museum and also create the art that’s displayed in the museum.”

My US address seems to have gotten on some sort of odd mailing list. I received the following letter in the mail:

Dear Jacob,
This is a personal letter just to you. Notice: this is not a mass mailing; this letter came to you by first-class mail, not by third-class bulk mail. This is not a solicitation for money. In fact, you will get something of immense value from us absolutely free with no strings attached… Jacob, please keep what I tell you a secret, because this information is confidential. These words are meant for you only

This is Jacob again. I hope you’re paying attention. The letter was sent by first class mail. That means that everything it says is true. And if that’s not convincing enough, the letter actually addresses me by name at multiple points. If this weren’t a personal letter, how could they possibly do that?

There has existed for many years an exclusive association, a secret society, of the world’s most famous and powerful people. These include renowned actors and musicians, leading scientists and intellectuals, self-made entrepreneurs and artists, millionaires, professional gamblers, Casanovas, statesmen. Many of these people you would instantly recognize. Before I go on, let me state that everything you read here is absolutely and verifiably true.
This association has uncovered some shockingly powerful secrets. And they share these secrets only amongst themselves. In fact, these secrets are the reason these well-known individuals have achieved great prosperity.
Jacob, I have some incredibly exciting news to share with you. Members of this association ahve analyzed your profile (you’d be unbelievably flatterred if you knew who tehse individuals were). Please forgive them, but they’ve discovered something special about you.
It seems you, Jacob, possess several rare traits they are searching for. Because of these traits, which we’ll talk about later, the have chosen you to become part of their exclusive club and to share their secrets, too, absolutely free! By the way, as you read this, you may be saynig to yourself that this is all a bunch of hooey. But I swear on a stack of Bible [sic] this is all true!

At this point, I was convinced. Anybody could put together a stack of Bibles. But somebody who could make a stack consisting of a single Bible must have uncanny powers indeed! And if that’s not convincing enough, it includes a testimonial from “a TV celebrity and copywriter” who won’t reveal his name, so we can’t know which of the millions of famous, erm, copywriters he is. But he has lost weight, become irresistible to beautiful women, and made millions of dollars using the secrets of the “Nouveau Tech Society,” which could be mine absolutely free.
So, obviously, this letter is entirely true and accurate. But why does everybody else on the web seem to think Nouveau Tech is a total scam? Stop being so cynical, people. When has a world famous copywriter ever lied to you?