What makes a game a game?
This essay will attempt to define what elements are required to make a game a game. I will begin by looking at the historical context of games and draw upon existing definitions. This will lead into a comparison of toys, puzzles and games. Finally, I shall put forward three crucial elements any game must have, rules, play and pretence.
Games have been played since historical records began, one of the earliest being a game called Senet which was played in ancient Egypt from 3500BC. Another ancient game is the Royal Game of Ur which dates to 2600BC, which along with Senet was discovered in the 1920’s by Sir Leonard Woolley during his investigation of Ur. Ancient games still hold relevance today as they demonstrate that throughout history mankind has been making, developing and playing games.
Clearly games have been played since recorded history began, but what exactly is a game? This has been a question that has been attempted many times by people in fields as diverse as anthropology, philosophy, history and game design. The problem lies in the fact that defining any term which refers to a broad class of human activity is difficult, as anybody who can find a single counterexample renders the definition inaccurate. Therefore many definitions of the word are so vague as to be of no real use, for example the Chambers Dictionary definition is: “An amusement or pastime. A competitive activity with rules, involving some form of skill.”
A better, but still incomplete, definition was made in 1938 by Huizinga in his seminal work “Homo Ludens” in which he defines play and the playing of games as:
“A voluntary activity or occupation executed within a certain fixed limits of time and place, according to rules freely accepted but absolutely binding, having its aim in itself and accompanied by a feeling of tension, joy, and the consciousness that it is “different” from “ordinary” life.” (Huizinga in Thompson, 2007, pg: 12). With these definitions unacceptable, the very structure of games and what makes a game different form other activities must be examined. Once these can be identified a suitable definition can be constructed.
A good starting point is to compare toys, puzzles and games and work out what separates them. In English we use the word play to describe the activity of entertaining ourselves with toys, puzzles and games although we tend to say that we solve a puzzle rather than playing with them. However we don’t play with all of them in the same way. A toy comes with no rules or goals that a player should stick to, or try to achieve. A toy may suggest an appropriate way to play with it but there is nothing to stop you playing with it in an unintended way, for example a doll might be used as a spaceship. In fact many children enjoy playing with toys in these unintended ways using their imagination.
By adding a distinct goal to playing then the toy becomes a puzzle. Puzzles have one rule that defines the goal you are trying to achieve but there are very rarely any rules about how you can solve that puzzle. If you then add rules and a goal you end up with a game. Playing with a game usually involves some sort of imagination and is much more structured than a toy or puzzle due to the set way it must be played. So the first essential element, a game must have is play.
Playing a game is a participatory form of entertainment as opposed to reading a book where you are entertained by the author as you cannot edit the text and it stays the same no matter how many times you read it. Some academics would argue that reading is a conscious active process and so the audience is participatory but it is not interactive which makes a game distinct. Each time you play a game you never get exactly the same experience or result, due to the fact a game is changed by the user’s choices whilst playing. Of course a game has rules which limit your choices but you still have options which will have very different outcomes on the game being played.
Rules are the next key element of a game. Rules are the instructions of which all players agree to and adhere to throughout playing. Rules help players by establishing an objective and the framework which helps players to make decisions which will best help them attain their goal. Among things that rules define are:
- The semiotics of the game. - The meanings behind the relationships behind the various symbols of the game.
- The gameplay.
- The sequence of play - What should happen and when.
- The goals of the game.
- Termination condition - The condition which ends the game
- Metarules. – The rules about the rules, these indicate under what circumstances rules can be changed or when exceptions to them may be allowed.
In conclusion, the work of Adams and Rollings is extremely suitable: “A game is a type of play activity, conducted in the context of a pretended reality, in which the participant(s) try to achieve at least one arbitrary, nontrivial goal by acting in accordance with rules.” (Adams & Rollings, 2007, pg:5). They illustrate that a game must contain the four vital elements of play, pretence, rules and a goal. Whilst the authors acknowledge that there might be exceptions, this is by far the most practical definition of the word game and clearly summarises the essence of a game.
Bibliography
Adams, A & Rollings, A, 2007, Game Design and Development, Pearson Prentice Hall, New Jersey
Rollings, A & Morris, D, 2003, Game Architecture and Design, New Riders, USA
Thompson, J, Berbank-Green, B & Cusworth, N, 2007, The Computer Game Design Course, Thames & Hudson, China
Scholder, A, Zimmerman, E, 2003, re: play Game Design & Game Culture, Eyebeam, USA
This is an essay written by myself for my Game Design Course at University.I just wanted to share this as it might interest some of you, any feedback or discussion is welcome.
Last edited:
