One of my classes this semester is Intro to Computer Gaming. Now the specifics of this class aren't important just wanted to share with you an interesting discussion that took up a good hour and a half of our class time and that is, how do you define a game? You would think this would be a simple question with an obvious answer but upon being asked it is actually fairly difficult to come up with a statement that accurately encompasses all that a game is without there being counter examples and situations that refute that definition. So, basically how this discussion went in class and how you can mimic it here in this thread is someone would come up with the best definition of "Game" as they could and other people discuss why that is not the best definition or there own take on what there definition is. The usual idea is to come up with as vague a statement as possible but then maybe if a statement is too vague than it doesn't accurately define the concept of what a "Game" is. Anyway I'll start it off with the definition that I wrote down when I was asked the question and that is, "A game is an interactive experience with a specific set of rules and a desired objective, (winning, getting a high score, education, entertainment whatever). The purpose of which is to have fun or to entertain oneself."
Let's examine that dictionary definition then. Assuming we're talking about game as a noun we can toss out the adjective part. 1. As amusement or pastime. So anything and everything that is amusing is a game? I'm a construction worker working on building a house. I am having a fun time while doing that, guess it is a game by this definition. 2. The material or equipment used in playing certain games: Not quite sure I get this, the equipment used in a game is what defines a game? Again, so literally anything can be a game as long as it has equipment and people have fun with it. 3 A competitive activity involving skill, chance, or endurance on the part of two or more persons who play according to a set of rules, usually for their own amusement or that of spectators: Assuming this is the definition that people want to most accept as what a game is, so solitaire is not a game or really any sandbox game where there is no direct competition? 4 and 5 make no sense within the definition and I'm assuming this definition came from dictionary.com which allows user input.
Drexel and not all classes are that class. "Driving can be a game" If we start using the words can be than literally anything is a game as long as someone had fun doing it. Murder is a game in the eyes of serial killers. Whatever any activity you name is a game if someone had fun doing it. I think that definition is a case of way to vague to be considered an accurate definition of something.
"The game's afoot!" Personally, I would say your definition has been the closest one that's been written. The 'interactive experience' part is what sets it aside from say a movie or other entertaining things. Like you said, the user input is what separates it from other things in life. It's that variable of chance, the possibility of different outcomes based on different user or even different inputs from a same user that makes it 'a game'.
In the context of this thread, a "game" is, obviously, a videogame. I would define a game in that term, then, thusly; An interactive experience, largely molded by the person controlling the game, played either for fun, competition, stress relief, time-passing, or purely out of boredom or impulse. They are intended for the enjoyment of the participant, however, they can also become the source of great frustration. They are also a source of many a controversy, many of them unfounded, but they have become such an accepted part of social interaction regardless of the many attempts to stop them. I see videogames as an ever-evolving media that will pave the way for limitless possibilities in future applications.
The context of this thread is to define game. Labeling it as only meaning videogame would then mean you are not including sports, boardgames, card games, any other game. You've also described how it is like for a person to play a game, but haven't described what a game is. By that definition all videogames are fun, competitive, time passing, stress relieving, and frustrating (which goes against stress relieving). This isn't a discussion of how people feel while playing a game or the controversies involved in the "what is art" debate.
This... ...is pretty much the same as this... ...just with more words and a slightly different explanation. I don't see how it's wrong as it basically the same thing you said. And considering the name of your class is "Introduction to Computer Gaming," one would assume that the context of this thread is about videogames, not games in general like sports or board-games. :\ Besides, there can't really be any right or wrong when you're asking someone to define a game in their own mind, because it's what they would define it as. Presenting a counter-argument to someones definition isn't necessarily right or wrong either, it's just what you think. Honestly, I think the teacher who came up with this idea is an idiot, because it's just going to keep going around and around, as no one would agree 100% about someone elses definition and there would always be a counter-argument. Just my opinion, though.
You're not really good with philosophical discussions are you? I said mine was the answer I wrote down, I didn't say that was the right answer or best one. The idea was to discuss why it could be or why its not and to list other possible definitions. Also if you read both responses they are certainly not the same. When you define a term the words you use are everything. What you had was a description of what it is like to play a video game. I used that as a reference to know where this question came about, not to be part of the question itself. This was not a homework question for that class just a philosophical question to spur discussion. Right, but you misunderstood the question, and gave more of a general description of what it is like to play a video game than a definition of a game. Your first line was more like it but everything after that was just describing, not defining. Again...PHILOSOPHICAL discussion. There is no one answer, that's the point. You still have to try to answer the question at hand and not make up a variation of it.
I answered it as I saw fit. I have no time for philosophy. And I didn't say your answer and my answer were the same, I said pretty much the same. There's a difference in meaning, there.