RSSWhat's a Game?
Ever have one of those same conversations again and again? I have. With co-workers, with friends. And like many of these conversation-goblins, they have a way of showing up again and again in new, interesting forms. The conversation I've had umpteen times is "what's a game?" in the guise of "why football is a sport and darts is not" and "how do you win D&D?"
And to help me along is a classic article entitled "I Have No Words and I Must Design" (catchy title, eh? sort of sums up my feelings on the topic.... except for the having no words part). The author's approach is to define a game by distinguishing it from what it is not. It's not a puzzle, not a toy, and not a story. To that list I would add that it's also not a sport (sports are physical), and it's not a race or contest (winning is often subjective or a simple measure of who is faster or stronger). A game is a competitive activity governed by rules in which your decisions affect the outcome.
This will become a longer, more interesting blog post at a later date when I'm not blurry-eyed from being at work for twelve hours. I hate release cycles.
