"Video Games": why is this primitive term still used?

[Full]

Question: Do you think video games should get an alternate or even new name? And if so, what? And/Or, what classifies a "game" to you?

After reading the "The Walking dead is a bad game but a good story" thread, and replies in it, it got me thinking even more than I usually do about this medium.

Should we just segregate "interactive stories" and "games" into different categories? Do "games" just have more layers than other entertainment forms, and we should take all of those into account? Or should we be forced to take all "games" for what they are, to avoid an industry standard?

I think it boils down to just opinions, and what people personally classify things as, but still, they can all be entertaining in the same way, and as a superficial representation as to what this medium is, it's hard to even put a finger on one.


EDIT: I just kinda realized this is what they were talking about over there. Shit.

 

[Daystar Clarion]

Because they're games we play on a video display?

I can't imagine any other name that wouldn't sound pretentious as fuck.

 

[Generalissimo]

because it works.

and we can't be assed to come up with a new term, we'd just be reinventing the wheel.

in short, we don't need to. don't fix what isn't broken.

 

[Zhukov]

For the same reason we still call movies "movies". 'Cause the picture, y'know... moves.

It's what they got called way back when the world was young and nobody bothered to come up with anything new before it stuck.

Do we need something new? Not really. Besides, at this point it would just sound pretentious.

"Excuse me? I'm not playing some "video game" for babies here, I'm partaking in interactive entertainment multimedia thank you very much."

 

[Fappy]

For the same reason we still call movies "movies". 'Cause the picture, y'know... moves.

It's what they got called way back when the world was young and nobody bothered to come up with anything new before it stuck.

Do we need something new? Not really. Besides, at this point it would just sound pretentious.

"Excuse me? I'm not playing some "video game" for babies here, I'm partaking in interactive entertainment multimedia thank you very much."

This reminds me of the whole, "It's not a comic book, it's a graphic novel" thing.

*Shudders*

 

[Jandau]

Because in a semantic sense, the phrase "Video game" has taken a meaning greater than simply a sum of its parts, as evidenced by the fact that the "gameplay" component isn't always a primary focus (as seen in the Walking Dead games). The phrase has broadened and now covers an entire paradigm of interactive content. It doesn't need a new name. It's kinda like people arguing about the term RPG (Role Playing Game) and what it's supposed to mean, how almost every game is technically an RPG since you play a role. That's beside the point, the term "RPG" denotes certain mechanics and approaches to game design and the name itself is a throwback to the genre's origins in tabletop gaming, that's all.

If you were to suddenly decide to "modernize" all phrases and words that are "outdated", you'd be throwing over half the existing language out the window...

 

[scorptatious]

Daystar pretty much summed up my feelings on this subject. So I can't think of anything to add here...

For the same reason we still call movies "movies". 'Cause the picture, y'know... moves.

Huh, I never really thought of it that way, but that does make a lot of sense. :/

 

[Soviet Heavy]

This sounds like something season 1 TNG Picard would say, talking about "Ancient" France.

 

[Erttheking]

Because the term works. I don't get why someone would be apposed to it, it's like those people that say that we shouldn't call ourselves "gamers", I just don't get it.

 

[GamingAwesome1]

The name has kinda stuck at this point, you can't really invent a new one without sounding really pretentious.

 

[Atrocious Joystick]

A game is a type of activity meant for enjoyment and friendly competition and serve no direct productive purpose. An example of a game is chess or poker.

There is a "sub-genre" of games that are typically played on a computer or a special console, these games have no physical presence and instead give feedback through a video display, typically a computer screen or a TV. This type of game is therefore called a "video game" to distinguish it from traditional games.

The name still works.

 

[Owyn_Merrilin]

This sounds like something season 1 TNG Picard would say, talking about "Ancient" France.

"Can you believe people in the twentieth century actually called them /video/ games? How quaint. We've advanced so far since those primitive days."

Season 1 was pretty lulzy.

 

[Full]

This sounds like something season 1 TNG Picard would say, talking about "Ancient" France.

I'm glad someone picked up on that.

Also no one has said spunk-gargle wee-wee yet. I'm super disappointed right now.

 

[OldDirtyCrusty]

It isn`t just videogames. It`s ART everyone knows this. ART is the right description for the hobby. Videogames pah, such an ancient word.

 

[Nomanslander]

Because they're games we play on a video display?

I can't imagine any other name that wouldn't sound pretentious as fuck.

Pretty much this.

 

[Padwolf]

Because what else would you call it? It just stuck, calling it anything else would be strange now. It just works. Don't go fixing what isn't broken now!

 

[Evil Smurf]

To distinguish it from "card games", "board games" and "table top" games.

 

[Glaber]

I think video games should get their own new word.

 

[Fluffythepoo]

manually updating a language instead of letting it organically change.. how very german of you