For what it’s worth, I think both parties are missing each others point.
Art is a tricky thing. Some people believe that art is any production of creation while others believe that “art” and “entertainment” should be separated because there’s something distinctly different between the two. While I’m firmly in the second camp, I get what both parties are saying so let’s try to bridge the gap. Ebert is speaking from ignorance — that’s pretty obvious — but he still has a point. If we separate the two concepts games cannot be art. However, separating the two makes no sense unless we separate “game” from “narrative.”
