Roger Ebert recently brought down quite a controversy on his head by stating his belief that videogames can never be art. It’s a surprisingly Grumpy Old Man position for someone who’s usually as reasonable as Ebert, but given his age, reputation and so forth, I guess he’s allowed a few of those.

If I were to attempt to refute his argument, though, I think the first exhibit I’d offer would be Bioshock. Created by 2K (formerly and now once again Irrational) Games and published in 2007, Bioshock is a first-person shooter that bursts the conventions of the genre by offering not just a great story (gamers had seen that before, i.e., Half-Life & Half-Life 2) and the usual great graphics, but by having an incredible, cohesive artistic vision and even introducing players to a little bit of philosophy. As I watched the opening intro to that game, and the bathysphere came up over the ridge to reveal the underwater city of Rapture, I knew Bioshock was going to be–ahem–a game-changer.

One of the game’s moral quandaries is whether to “harvest” or “rescue” the Little Sisters–corrupted little girls who have been transformed by mad scientists into living generators of ADAM, a sort of genetic mana that allows you to gain all sorts of superpowers. Protected by the iconic Big Daddies (cyborgs in giant diving suits), Little Sisters haunt the dying city of Rapture, harvesting ADAM from corpses and chattering mindlessly to their Big Daddy escorts. (more…)