What Is a Game?
The word game has a broad definition and is used in many different contexts. From the wildly popular video games to the less formally recognized tug of war, the term game can refer to any type of activity that is designed for play. The overall purpose of these activities can vary from providing entertainment to educating people about the world around them, but all are played for some reason. The reasons for playing are most often driven by the overall goals, challenges, and outcomes of the experience.
The idea of games has been interpreted in many different ways by various scholars over the years. For example, Bernard Suits has defined game play as the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles in games and that through their choice to play a game players agree to abide by the rules of the game and its intended goals. This is in line with the magic circle of gaming and how the integrity of a game is determined by the inseparability between the rules of a game and the end goal of the player.
Another interpretation of a game has been to see it as an art piece that is developed for the sole purpose of expressing the ideas and intentions of the artist who created the work. This is akin to other forms of art, such as paintings or sculptures that are not used for any practical purposes. However, the problems with this interpretation are that it does not account for the ways in which games can be used by their users. For example, the use of video games can have positive effects on mental functioning and social relationships for people with poor psychological functioning by allowing them to escape from the stress of everyday life into a fantasy world (Kowert et al., 2017). Nevertheless, the potential for video gaming to cause psychological problems is also significant and requires further study.
In addition to the different interpretations of what a game is, it is important to note that there are also various overlapping categories for games. For example, some scholars have categorized certain types of sports as games by their requirements for equipment and the number of players involved. Other scholars have categorized games by the types of activities they inspire. For instance, the sport of wrestling can be considered to be a game for its ability to inspire a sense of competition among its participants. Other examples include competitive sports, board games, and video games. All of these categories are classified as games for the purposes of this article because they all feature the same elements that make them a game: a structured conflict between players that ends with unequal outcomes. The definition of a game is therefore a continually evolving concept as new artists and designers continue to push the boundaries of what defines a game.