How do you define what a videogame is?

[Mitjer]

So coming off of reviews of 'Dear Esther' there's some discussion of whether it's acutally a videogame or not and I was curious as to what everyone else believes the definition of a videogame is.

 

[WoW Killer]

There's been a few attempts at defining games before. The most notable is from Chris Crawford, defining via exclusion: (copy paste from wikipedia)

1. Creative expression is art if made for its own beauty, and entertainment if made for money.

2. A piece of entertainment is a plaything if it is interactive. Movies and books are cited as examples of non-interactive entertainment.

3. If no goals are associated with a plaything, it is a toy. (Crawford notes that by his definition, (a) a toy can become a game element if the player makes up rules, and (b) The Sims and SimCity are toys, not games.) If it has goals, a plaything is a challenge.

4. If a challenge has no "active agent against whom you compete," it is a puzzle; if there is one, it is a conflict. (Crawford admits that this is a subjective test. Video games with noticeably algorithmic artificial intelligence can be played as puzzles; these include the patterns used to evade ghosts in Pac-Man.)

5. Finally, if the player can only outperform the opponent, but not attack them to interfere with their performance, the conflict is a competition. (Competitions include racing and figure skating.) However, if attacks are allowed, then the conflict qualifies as a game.

I don't particularly like this breakdown (1. is both wrong and superfluous IMO, as art is often made for money and there's no reason not to lump art and entertainment together to make "artertainment" and procede from there - 2 could simply read "A piece of art or entertainment is a plaything if it is interactive.", and also I find the exclusion of sandbox games by 3 objectionable), but it's interesting nonetheless. By this, Dear Esther would probably be considered a puzzle; it passes 2 as it is still interactive, even if there is no crucial decision making, and there is still a goal in just "reaching the end".

 

[GigaHz]

So coming off of reviews of 'Dear Esther' there's some discussion of whether it's acutally a videogame or not and I was curious as to what everyone else believes the definition of a videogame is.

Alright, lets Occam this razor.

Video: There is a visual element in a controlled, virtual space.
Game: There are interactive elements for the intention of entertainment.

A video game would imply the combination of the two. If you can see and interact with it in a virtual space while extracting some semblance of entertainment value, it is a video game.

 

[Kahunaburger]

I like the "interactive creative work" definition, myself. And as a rule of thumb, if anyone says "my product isn't a game, it's interactive art," it's a game with lazy design.

 

[bojackx]

For me it's as simple as "a game on a screen". Something that happens on a screen that you interact with, I suppose there's always a goal to it too, even if it's just to eat little yellow balls.