What Is a Game? (2018)
<i>&gt; A game is a thing with a goal (or goals), restrictions, agency, and a lack of real-world relevance.</i><p>I think there is a simpler definition that subsumes the first three points. When I clicked to this definition, I think it gave me a better understanding of not just games, but many of the pursuits humans choose to sink time into:<p>A game is a thing with <i>bounded consequences</i>.<p>&quot;Consequences&quot; means you can make choices and those choices matter. Relatively good and bad things can happen in response to them. Good things subsumes Mark&#x27;s &quot;goals&quot;, bad things covers the &quot;restrictions&quot;, and &quot;agency&quot; is implicit that in order to have consequences, you must have actions.<p>But the part that makes games <i>games</i> is that the scope of those consequences has an upper. Bad things can happen, but they can only be <i>so</i> bad. And, importantly, you have a good understanding of how bad they can be <i>before</i> you make the choice.<p>The reason we actively seek out and play games is because we know the average result of our choices in the game is significantly better than the worst possible result. Therefore, it&#x27;s a safe experience to opt into. This is what makes games <i>feel</i> like games. It&#x27;s the sensation of a free lottery ticket.<p>Looking at games in these terms raises some interesting questions around the fringes. A stock trading simulation where you invest and win fake money is clearly a game. Trading your actual retirement savings on the stock market is clearly not a game. What about a &quot;game&quot; that trades using virtual money but lets you convert that to real money afterwards? What if you have to buy in with real money to play that game? What about trading on the real market but starting with a small enough fixed pool that you can safely afford to lose?<p>What if you are a professional poker player who needs to win in order to pay your bills? Conversely, what does it mean to hold a regular job with performance reviews if you happen to already be independently wealthy? Is your job now a game? What if you sink thousands of hours into an MMO in order to gain some powerful item only if you beat a dragon. Given the large opportunity cost of that time, is that boss fight still a game?<p>My claim is that the structure of the activity itself doesn&#x27;t tell you whether or not it&#x27;s a game. You need to know the context of the player because that&#x27;s what determines the severity of the consequences. Chutes and ladders is a game. Chutes and ladders with a mob boss who will murder your family if you lose is not.<p>Something I&#x27;ve observed in my own life is that when it feels like too many things are not fun, it&#x27;s often because I&#x27;m in a place where the negative consequences of them are too severe, or at least I perceive them to be. In particular, when I&#x27;m really pressed for time, then few recreational pursuits feel fun because the lost time itself is too high of a consequence.