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By Akram Taghavi-Burris | Copyright 2023 |
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ACTIVITY: Define Game
Activity Time: 10 Minutes
This activity is designed to help students identify the words and emotions most commonly associated with the term “Game. After completing this activity students will have a larger sense of what the term represents to others.
Students are to work in groups of 2 to 4 to complete step 1 and then share their list with the rest of the class. Through group discussion, students will complete step 2.
Students will complete step 1 individually by posting in a discussion form. Students will reply to 3 or more posts by their peer to complete step 2.
What comes to mind when you think of the word game? How would you describe a game? Thinking about how people perceive games is helpful to game designers who seek to develop games people want to play.
- Think about the word "Game"
- Create a list of words that help to define the word game"
- Create a list of emotions that come to mind when you think about games
- Discuss and Reflect on your peer's answers
- Were there any similarities?
- Did someone think of something you never thought about?
There are different ways in which to define the word game and here are just a few:
- An activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context.
- A form of art in which participants, called players, make decisions to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.
- A system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.
- A type of play (activity) that takes place in a pretend reality, in which the participants(s) follow a set of rules to achieve at least one goal.
Noticing any similarities? Games require a goal or objective, rules that limit what you can and cannot do, and finally an outcome resolving into a winner and loser.
Play can easily be defined as taking part in an enjoyable activity for the sake of amusement. Simply playing around is not the same as playing a game unless the requirements for a game exist, which are goals, rules, and outcomes.
Another aspect of play is to pretend. To pretend is to create a fictional reality in the mind. A certain amount of buy-in by the participants i.e. players in this fictional reality is required to adhere to the rules of the game.
Take the game of soccer, for example, one of the main rules is that all players, save for the goalie, are not allowed to pick up the ball with their hands. In reality, anyone who is physically capable would be able to pick up the ball with their hands, but in this fictional reality, this act is forbidden.
This factional reality that players buy into the rules of the game, is called the Magic Circle. The term magic circle was first cited by Dutch historian Johan Huizinga, in his 1938 book Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. This is one of the most noteworthy texts in-game psychology as it discusses the importance of play in culture and society.
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IMMERSIVE REALITIES
One way to ensure players buy into the fictional reality of the game is to further immersive them through storytelling and graphics. Therefore, video games can appear somewhat more addictive than physical games, because it is so easy to get caught up in the fictional world of the game.
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{% embed url="https://youtu.be/qZ-EY9gTsgU" %} Magic Circle: How Games Transport Us {% endembed %}
ACTIVITY: Are Puzzles Games?
Activity Time: 10 Minutes
This activity is designed to help students identify puzzles and whether they qualify as a game.
Students are to complete the Masyu puzzle and then answer and the questions below. As a class, they will share and discuss their answers.
Students are to complete the Masyu puzzle and then answer and the questions below. Students will share their answers in the online discussion forum.
Puzzles are designed to make us think. The challenge is to solve the right answer. Puzzles are rule-based systems similar to games, there are also some key differences.
- Complete the Masyu Puzzle Activity (See the puzzle key)
- Once you have completed one or more of the puzzles answer the following questions:
- Was this fun?
- Is there a goal?
- Is there conflict?
- Would (can) you play again?
- Would you call these puzzles a game? Why?
As we mentioned earlier playing does not always relate to playing a game. It depends on how we relate to the item we are playing with.
Game Designer and author of the 1982 book Art of Computer Games, Chris Crawford explored the idea that games are creative expressions and emphasized that interactivity is one of the main differences between games and other play activities.
Jacob Habgood and Mark Overmars authors of The Game Maker's Apprentice summarized Crawford's ideas by explaining that if there is interaction but no challenge, then it is just a toy. If there is a challenge but no interaction, then this is considered a puzzle. It is the combination of both interaction and challenge that distinguishes something as a game, and because of this, games can be referred to as interactive challenges.
Games are a creative expression that has both interaction and challenge.
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GAMES THOUGHOUT HISTORY
Throughout the recorded history of the human species, we find evidence of both games and music. Interestingly enough, when taking part in both these activities we refer to it as playing a game or playing music.
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Now that we have a better understanding of how to define a game, let us ask ourselves why do we play games?
In the following video Michael Stevens educator and host of Vsauce, a YouTube channel focusing on science, psychology, mathematics, philosophy and related pop culture topics, shares some insight as to why do humans play games.
{% embed url="https://youtu.be/e5jDspIC4hY" %} Why do we play games {% endembed %}
So far, we have been examining the word game as it applies to all games in general, but what about video games?
No one knows exactly where the term “video game” first originated from, however, it is speculated that it was probably introduced by the media and took off from there. Before this these games were referred to by their creators as electronic games, arcades, and computer games.
Today the term video game is synonymous with any game that is played on a “video” screen and requires some sort of input device.
Video games as we know them have constantly evolved from early arcade machines to simple text-based computer games to the graphically rich games played on fully dedicated gaming systems that we enjoy today.
However, video games are currently going through another phase of evolution with the following types of games:
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Augmented Reality or simply AR games are a real-world view of one’s environment in which certain elements have been "augmented”. Players typically interact with these elements.
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Virtual Reality or VR games are a three-dimensional environment in which the player can interact similarly to that of their environment, allowing for a fully immersive effect.
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XR games refer to any virtual reality, augmented reality, or combination of the two, often called mixed reality games. Think of the “X” in XR simply as a placeholder for any reality-manipulating game.
ACTIVITY: Game Industry Stats
Activity Time: 5 minutes
This activity is designed to negate any popular beliefs and or myths about video game players.
Students are to write down their answers to each of the questions in the activity. After which they can review their answer with other students and then write their final answers. During class review the ESA annual report and write the correct answer for each question.
Students will complete the activity survey. After submitting the activity student will review the correct answers and will further explore the data from the ESA annual report.
The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) serves as the voice and advocate for the video game industry. The ESA’s mission is to expand and protect the dynamic worldwide marketplace for video games.
Each year the ESA complies with the Essential Facts About the Video Game Industry report, which provides current statics about the game industry and game players.
Read each question carefully and then write your answer.
- What percentage of Americans have at least one video game player in their household?
- What percentage of players are older than 18 years old?
- What percentage of Americans view games as beneficial?
- What percentage of players identify as female?
- What percentage of games released in 2021receivedd an E rating?
- What percentages of parents play games with their children at least weekly?
- What is the most popular device for playing video games?
- What was the most popular game genre in 2021?
Review the correct answers from the ESA annual report (https://www.theesa.com)
Earlier we said that history has shown that humans have always played games, and nothing seems to be changing that. According to the 2021 data complied in 2022 by the Entertainment Software Association (ESA), the organization dedicated to serving the business and public affairs of the video game industry, 65% of all American adults play video games and 69% of all American households have at least one game in their home.
It also might surprise you to know that the average age of a gamer is 33 years old and that 48% of all gamers are women. Furthermore, there are more adult women who play games than boys under 18. The increase in female gamers can somewhat be attributed to the rise of smartphones and the abundance of casual games available on that platform.
Now think about your gaming background. Would you consider yourself a gamer?