But you're changing it in the way it was MEANT to be changed by the artist.

Actually, I don't even like the word "change", Dorkman use your powers of literariness to help me.

Also, there's an important distinction to be made between artist and craftsman, I think. Clearly someone is the artist in the creation of a movie or painting, or symphony (presuming each of these team operations are "art").

Is the composer an artist? The fourth violinist? Is the director the artist? Is the best boy?

I will never understand you, therefor, I must destroy you.

Okay, how about this.

Photoshop is, in all the ways that matter to this discussion, a video game.

Discuss.

In that case, a musician at his instrument is similar to a user at his video game.

So then is the person who built the instrument an artist?

Also, I'm not even quite sure we should be comparing books/movies/paintings/music like they're interchangeable, even though I know it's easy to use examples with, but when it comes down to it they're all really different.

I have played Mass Effect. I love Mass Effect. I haven't played the second one yet, because I'm poor. But I would love to, if anyone out there is feeling generous.

I do think video games on the whole are starting to get to that point of maturity. I don't know how much of a conscious effort it is on the part of any particular game developers (going back to the "intent" question again). But somebody's going to come along specifically to set out to make a game with contradictory themes at some point, if they haven't already.

And then we'll really be in new territory.