What makes a game a game?

Back again, and this time I'll be looking at what makes a game by analysing a BBC bite-size game for KS1, based on the definition of what makes a game by Greg Costikyan, in 'I have no words & I must design: toward a critical vocabulary for games.'

Here is a summary of the themes that Costikyan believes are needed to make a game;

Interaction
Puzzles and games will always be present together. The players choices/actions/interaction shape the gaming environment.

Goals
Gives the player incentive to play/to the struggle. The objective guides the players behaviour. Chance of failure is just as important as achieving goals.

Struggle
Without struggle or competition, the victory is unsatisfactory. The difficulty needs to be in keeping with the players abilities to make the game enjoyable.

Structure
Mutual player agreement that the game's rules and significance create structure. The games structure shapes player's behaviour, it doesn't determine it, therefore players have the freedom to choose what they do within the rules.

Endogenous Meaning
Within the structure of a game, endogenous meanings are created, these meanings are only relevant within the structure of the game.

My Examination of these definitions
I agree with Costikyan's definition/analysis of what makes a game a game. All of these elements do not necessarily make an enjoyable game.



My analysis of a KS1 game in reference to Costikyan's definition of a game

The KS1 game that I am analysing is a simple maths game where the player is presented with three shapes and has to pick the correct one five times to help a scientist build a robot.

Interaction-the player has almost complete control due to the fact that the only actions in the game are selecting different shapes, there is no other way to interact with the game or progress further. Player interaction doesn't change the state of play of the game.

Goals-the goal of the game is to select the correct shapes every time to help the scientist finish his robot.

Struggle-the game has different difficulty settings so the player can play to the best of their abilities without struggling to much or progressing to fast. It is satisfying to overcome the struggle, picking the right shapes and achieving the goals.

Structure-loosely structured around the player's interaction. The player has choices that they can make, get the right shape and progress further or get the wrong shape and have to retry. The rules pre-determine player behaviour.

Endogenous Meaning-There is no endogenous meaning within the game, although, the feeling of victory can be debated as an endogenous meaning. the game has a lot more relevance in the real world as it benefits the player's education.

Overall Evaluation of Game
The game needs to have a bigger endogenous reward and needs to be more challenging, giving the player a bigger struggle but bigger reward in return. the choices given to the player are very limited and so the game can become extremely repetitive and under challenging. the game doesn't give enough feedback to the player after each choice, this could be improved drastically to make the game a lot more educational and to benefit the player more.