1. What is a game?
Play and Games
Session 1

2. Learning objectives
• Critically discuss current definitions of
games

4. • Think of a game, any game

5. • Think of a game, any game
• Now think of a completely different game

6. • Think of a game, any game
• Now think of a completely different game
• What things are the same?

7. What is a game?

8. David Parlett
• Games historian
• Formal game versus informal play
• Game has two components
1. Ends - A goal
2. Means - A way to achieve that goal

9. Clark C. Abt
• Serious Games
• Activity
• Decision Makers
• Objectives
• Limiting context

10. Johann Huizinga
• Homo Ludens
• The Magic Circle
• Is outside ordinary life
• not serious
• utterly absorbing
• not associated with gain or profit
• space and time boundaries
• has rules
• creates separate social groups

11. Roger Callois
• Man, Play and Games
• Play
• Free
• Separate
• Uncertain
• Unproductive
• Rules
• Make-believe

12. Bernard Suits
• Philosopher
• Grasshopper: Games, Life, and Utopia
• Activity
• Voluntary
• Changes state
• Rules
• Inefficiency
• Rules are accepted

13. Chris Crawford
• The Art of Computer Game Design
• Representation
• Interaction
• Conflict
• Safety

14. Greg Costikyan
• quot;I Have No Words and I Must Designquot;
• Art or a form of culture
• Decision-making players
• Resource management
• Game tokens
• Goal

15. Brian Sutton-Smith
• The Study of Games
• Exercise of control systems
• Voluntary
• Contest between powers
• Confined by rules
• Disequilibrial outcome

16. Salen and Zimmerman
• Rules of Play
• System
• Players
• Artificial
• Conflict
• Rules
• Quantifiable outcome

17. Tracy Fullerton
• Closed, formal system that
• Engages players in structured conflict and
• Resolves its uncertainty in an unequal
outcome

18. Sutton-
Parlett Abt Huizinga Caillois Suits Crawford Costikyan S & Z Fullerton
Smith
Has rules √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √
Conflict or contest √ √ √ √ √
Goal oriented/outcome
√ √ √ √ √ √ √
oriented
Acitivity, process or
√ √ √ √
event
Involves descision
√ √ √
making
Not serious and
√
Absorbing
Never associated with
√ √
material gain
Artificial/Safe/Outside
√ √ √ √ √
ordinary life/Boundaries
Creates special social
√
groups
Voluntary √ √ √
Uncertain √
Make believe/
√ √
Representational
Inefficient √
Systems of parts/
√ √ √ √
Resources and Tokens
A form of art √
Has players √ √ √ √

19. The player perspective
• Flip the definition on its head
• Who is playing
• Are they playing
• Michael Apter & Paratelic states

20. Telic state Paratelic state
pleasant awareness
detachment
(relaxed) (fun)
tone
anxiety
repression
unpleasant (stress)
(tense)
low high
withdrawn arousal interested
From Michael Apter

21. Is it a game?
• Look at these online
• Darfur is Dying
• Alarmingly These Are Not Lovesick Zombies
• Chorewars

22. Summary
• What are games?
• Problems for definitions.
• Does taking a player approach solve this?

23. Werewolf