Is It a Game?
I could not (but I really wanted) play Heavy Rain. The core feature is the very flexible story. Players can end up with a very different experience. It’s focused in the storytelling and reviews say that the lack of game over� the story always progresses.
_Lack of game over? Where is the challenge?__ ;Ok, here we go: Heavy Rain is a game? A more profound question: what is a game? This is the difference between a game and a puzzle? Or a simple challenge?
So let me define:
- Movies and books are not games. Games are interactive
- Jigsaws and puzzles are not games. Games must have multiple players;(even if they have different role). Not that we could assume that an AI could be considered a player as well
- Racing and swimming are not games. Gamers must interfere in the performance;of the other players
- Toys and sandboxes are not games. Games must have rules and objectives
So, games should be interactive, multiplayer, competitive, defined by rules and they have a goal. Clark Abt defines _“A game is an activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context”.
The curious thing is that if we take this concept to actual games, mane famous video games are not� games. Sim City, The Sims, Monkey Island, City Ville, Portal, World of Goo and Heavy Rain and several others fail in at least one aspect that makes a game.
Knowing this is a good way to correct position products against each other.
