Due to the rage found over at the Zynga vs. Infinity Ward thread right now, you've got to wonder about this. Echo Bazaar is little more than bar filling, Farmville is the worst kind of persistence (the useless, lazy, pull-lever kind) and Rhythm games are just Simon-says with a beat.
But they're all "games". People might argue about the particulars, but Echo Bazaar won an Escapist Award, and few people will question the rush of 5-starring a Guitar Hero Track. Fewer people will want to recognize that Zynga's re-skinned abominations count, but they have rules and goals... sorta. So what is the minimum requirement to be a game? Is it just the definition of the word? Is it anything that we can have fun with? If a 5 year old turns a box upside down and pretends its a spaceship, he's playing, but is it a game?
But they're all "games". People might argue about the particulars, but Echo Bazaar won an Escapist Award, and few people will question the rush of 5-starring a Guitar Hero Track. Fewer people will want to recognize that Zynga's re-skinned abominations count, but they have rules and goals... sorta. So what is the minimum requirement to be a game? Is it just the definition of the word? Is it anything that we can have fun with? If a 5 year old turns a box upside down and pretends its a spaceship, he's playing, but is it a game?