Speaking at the annual Hollywood and Games summit, horror writer and director Clive Barker has dismissed recent proclamations on the subject, affirming that games can be art. Movie critic Roger Ebert had stated previously that videogames cannot move beyond craftmanship into the realms of art, Barker describing Ebert as having a "prejudiced vision".

"We can debate what art is, we can debate it forever. If the experience moves you in some way or another... Even if it moves your bowels... I think it is worthy of some serious study," Barker affirmed in an address to the summit.

The novelist drew comparisons with his own books, stating that it used to worry him that horror novels weren't seriously regarded, that the New York Times wouldn't review his creations, but he affirms that "the point is that people like the books."

"Games aren't about reviewers. They are about players."

"I think that Roger Ebert's problem is that he thinks you can't have art if there is that amount of malleability in the narrative. In other words, Shakespeare could not have written Romeo and Juliet as a game because it could have had a happy ending, you know?"

Barker adds that art doesn't have to be under the artist's control, and that a world of possibilities doesn't diminish artistic value.

"We should be stretching the imaginations of our players and ourselves. Let's invent a world where the player gets to go through every emotional journey available. That is art. Offering that to people is art."

More on the games as art debate soon.

By Luke Guttridge