What is a game?

In 1994, in British role-playing magazine 'Interactive Fantasy', and article titled 'I Have No Words & I Must Design' was published. It asked what made a game a game, and pointed out how the idea can be misconstrued.

It starts with what a game is not; a puzzle, a toy, or a story. A puzzle is a set obsticle that, once overcome the first time, presents no challenge. A toy is an object, and can be used in games, but is not a game unto itself. A ball was used as an example; it can be used for soccer or bowling, but by itself is not a game. Finally, a game is not a story in that a game is interactive. It shouldn't play out with the same cresendos each time, nor should there be a set direction. These three 'nots' boil down to the first thing that a game needs; participation. Players need to interact and have control in a game. They need to have defined goals, not abstract ones like in Sim City where there is no goal but what you make. There needs to be opposition. People crave challenges, and while cooperative play is nice sometimes, there is no greater challenge than another human mind.

More elements of what a game is are resources, an attachment to the tokens, and information. Resources make people think strategicly as they do not want to be caught short handed, nor do they wish to lose. They will think, 'Do I use this now, or wait for a more opportune moment?'. As for the tokens, if players feel a bond with them, they will be more protective about losing them. This can make for dramatic moments where sacrificing a few can save most of your tokens, or you can risk big to keep everything. Finally, information about everything thats going on in the game must be streamlined and simplified, yet still get across everything that is important to the player. In an RTS you can't be wasting time scouring through dropdown menus looking for statistics on your tank units.

The main point that the article comes back to is that people need to be able to participate and make the game their own in order for something to be called a game. This isn't excluded to the tokens and dice, but interactions with the other players is just as vital. Without them, your just playing alone. Sure you can feel good about getting that hi-score, but who were you playing with? Who cheered you as you teamed up on the head player, or who set up that crucial decision that cost you those hit points? When a game has it's elements then fun can be had.