What Is Game Studies?
A game is a form of play characterized by rules and goals. It is played by people for fun, entertainment or as a tool for learning. It can be competitive, skill based or narrative driven and can be as simple as rolling dice, throwing darts or playing a jigsaw puzzle. It can also be complex, engaging and immersive. It is a mix of toy, art and entertainment that is interactive and enables players to experience different feelings as they progress through a fictional context. This is what defines games as an activity that can be both playful and serious and that evokes various emotions such as excitement, frustration, anticipation and achievement.
The question of what constitutes a game has been debated and varied over time. Bernard Suits has defined it as the “voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles” and this is a useful interpretation that addresses both the freedom of choice for players in choosing to play a game and their consent to abide by its rules and expectations. The definition of a game as an activity that allows for the voluntary and intentional overcoming of inefficient means is also consistent with the ludological agreement that games are governed by a set of rules that constrict the ways that players may surmount their challenges within the game.
In addition to the ludological perspective, game studies seeks to make connections between games and other activities, such as play, work and art. This is done by considering how the design of a game creates specific structures and frameworks for interaction that can be seen as either playful or serious and how these contribute to the experience of a player and shape their sense of accomplishment, success, failure and reward. Games are often seen as an artistic valve, a way to express creativity and meaning beyond the winning or losing of the competition.
Game studies has been criticized for focusing too much on digital games and for failing to take into account other forms of play. This is a valid concern, but it must be kept in mind that game studies is a new field of research and, like any other research discipline, it is bound to be biased toward what we already know and what we currently understand.
When it comes to making games, the process starts with concept and then moves into production. This is the longest stage of the development cycle, and it’s where everything really takes shape. Assets (characters, props and environments) are created, story is written and then tested. This testing phase can be very stressful and requires a lot of creativity as developers have to come up with ways to keep the player engaged while at the same time staying within the boundaries of the constraints that the game has been built under. This can be challenging, but it’s important to remember that a good game has an artistic value that goes beyond the wins and losses of the gameplay.