bhrigu: Q: Do you consider video games to be a form of art? If yes then why?
Cavalary: They can be. Those that just focus on gameplay, not really,
I would argue that gameplay-focused games can be art. In particular, the choice of mechanics does matter here.
For example, making certain gameplay choices viable or not can be used as a way of self-expression. For example, if a game lets you play both male and female characters, there are many decisions one can make, like whether they're identical gameplay-wise, different but (at least on paper) balanced (see Elder Scrolls for the most part), or unequal with one clearly better than the others. Also, a developer might decide that two choices aren't enough.
Another interesting example would be a game called Balance of the Planet (I believe it is a Mac OS Classic game). In that game, to my understanding, it is not possible to do well unless you place a greater value on wealthy first world kids then an poor third world kids (or something to that effect). That is saying something right there.
So, I would argue that gameplay-focused games can indeed be art, as they allow the authors to express themselves.
Cavalary: Q: What was the longest amount of time that passed between starting a game and finishing it, and what game was it? Of course, talking of games that can be finished, and can answer with multiple titles if the time may be similar as far as you recall, or if it's long enough to be worth mentioning either way.
Perhaps me with Paladin's Quest, as that game's final boss was so difficult that I believe I didn't beat it until near the end of the SNES's lifecycle, and I believe I cheated some items in on that playthrough. The final boss is far harder than the rest of the game, and there's no nearby place to save.
Perhaps Mega Man 4 and 5 could also qualify, largely because there's no password that will take you past the first stage of the first castle (my biggest complaint about classic Mega Man). They allow you to continue after a game over, so why not allow saving of progress so one can beat the game in a reasonable length playing session (without having to speedrun it, which is not a viable option if you aren't yet familiar with the game)? (Note that I never had Mega Man 6 as a kid, but that game has the same problem.)
Do you ever start playing a game, get up to the final dungeon or boss (or equivalent), but then stop without beating the game and start playing a different game instead?
Edit: For the first part of the post, I thought of a non-political example of gameplay as art. See Syoban Action, which is clearly a parody of a certain well-known game. See also Not Tetris 2, which is clearly a parody of a *different* well-known game.