Thanks for writing this article. I'm always interested in hearing about this topic, and I like hearing other peoples' insight to influence my perspective.

For me, I think of an ideal mix of art and entertainment, as far as what I'd like the most successful video games to accomplish, would be like Steven Spielberg at top form. The Indiana Jones movies, this last one notwithstanding, were epic blockbuster entertainment, but you can tell Spielberg has a genuine interest in the material. It's what separates his movies from the Mummy series. He's passionate about mythology and adventure, and I think that kind of intellectual curiosity and creative brilliance is too often missing from blockbuster video games. Or other movies, for that matter.

That's what makes the Dark Knight so successful to me. Christopher Nolan is both an artist and entertainer. He gives audiences what they want, but not without indulging his curiosity in human psychology. I don't feel like video games have accomplished that kind of balance so successfully yet -- they're still finding their footing in many ways.

Either they are pure entertainment, which they do very well, or they aim for something higher but ultimately fall short. I don't mean to sound condescending towards video games, because that's not my intent. Most movies and books end up the same way, but in the end, I think games are artistically limited by one thing: they have to be fun. A great movie doesn't necessarily have to be fun to accomplish what it's reaching for.

Maybe it's unfair to make the comparison in the first place. If fun were a form of art, personally, I would say Super Mario Bros. 3 and Final Fantasy 6 are Titian paintings, and the SNES was the Renaissance. I just wonder, why are we so compelled to think of games in terms of art? Clearly they are artistic and made with genuine talent, but are they really trying to express something? In some cases they are, and that should always be considered, but in the end I'm not looking to satisfy my intellectual desires when I play a game. If a game can be both entertaining and intellectually crafted, but not necessarily made for intellectuals, I think that's where it should be.

But what do I know? I like Caddyshack 2.