The Cake is a Lie!

Gaming is one of the, if not the biggest forms of entertainment in the world today. You can now literally play a video game anywhere and any time that suits you. Gaming on mobile phones has grown in popularity in the past several years. At one point Angry Birds was one of the worlds best know video games and it originated as a casual game to play on your smart phone. It was not one of the 'blockbuster' games that major game developers spend a fortune on making and advertising. Gaming has evolved.

Gaming is such a massive part of our society now. You can almost play a game on any device you are given now. No longer do you need a TV and the latest console or even a computer to play a video game. You are able to do so in the palm of your hand. We enjoy when we are victorious at beating the game, but there are games we enjoy that we will lose at. "If you play Tetris, you are guaranteed to lose." (McGonigal, 2011, p. 24).

We still enjoy the failure as we progressed to a harder stage than before. Gaming is joyful largely as we are in control and know what is expected of use from within the game. It is the mirror opposite of our lives as we as a race have so many unanswered questions, such as what will the future hold, are we alone in the universe and is there life after death. These thoughts can easily sadden us and so therefore we play games as we are in control and know what we must do to exceed within the game's world, unlike our own real world. Also within the game's world we can be whatever we wish and aspire to be.

Vsauce- Why do we play games?

Bibliography:

McGonigal, Jane, (2011) Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, (The Penguin Press; New York)

Webliography:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5jDspIC4hY 

Video belongs to Vsauce youtube channel

The quest for a suitable defintion

In her first chapter of “Reality is broken”, Jane McGonigal provides us a wide ranging definition of games by defining four traits of this concept: a goal, rules, a feedback system and voluntary participation (McGonigal, 2011, pp. 20-21). This definition is a very useful starting point, but one might be able to add various other characteristics.
          To start with, McGonigal rejects ‘winning’ as a specific trait. She argues that there are games you simply cannot win, such as Tetris, as therefore it is not a universal characteristic (McGonigal, 2011, p. 24). However, this could be contradicted. In her terms, ‘winning’ would be defined as ‘ending the game and reaching the goal as intended by the game itself’. But winning could also be regarded otherwise, namely by reaching a goal you set up for yourself, for example breaking your own record, or breaking your friend’s record. There is always some sort of ‘winning’ in each game: you would, for instance, mainly replay Tetris to get further than you got last time. In that way, winning becomes a universal aspect of every game.
          Furthermore, ‘level of skills’ could be added to the list. A game always sets up a specific level of particular skills a player is required to have to be able to play it. This too is a universal characteristics of games. You might think of a cognitive skill (when the game demands some sort of thinking) or a mobile skill (when the game demands you to be maneuverable) and so on. You cannot play a game of Monopoly without the ability to move your hands, or without thinking about the strategies you’re applying.
          Grasping all the aspects of an abstract concept such as games is a difficult task. Although McGonigal’s definition of games is very extensive, narrowing down the concept to four traits might be too ambitious. This list is to be further complemented.


Bibliography
McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, Penguin Press HC, (pp. 19-34).

Reality is Broken four defining traits

In culture it is associated that games are a form of pastime entertainment, although society is against them. The indications of games are often connected with players how are immovable form the playing screen until they get to the next level, highest score or complete the mission, therefore manufacturing the player to become a competitive person, doing the best of their ability on achieving whatever it requires on prevailing goals.

"the stereotype that gamers are highly competitive people who care more about winning than anything else."( McGonigal, 2011, p.24)

 McGonigal's four traits of the definition of a game are a goal, a rule, the feedback system and the voluntary participation. Here the author's first trait is a goal, which gives the plaer a sense of purpose. The goal provides motivation for the player to achieve specific missions within the game. This indication creates the sense to players sending more time on games that in real life.

She continues with rules which are set of instructions that player most obeyed by to succeed goal. Challenging the player to reflect their options on overcoming the hurdles of the contest, illustrating as a player accepting the way in which the game should be played fairly. However players will try finding ways of breaking the rules.

"They unleash creativity and foster strategic thinking" (McGonigal, 2011, p.21)

Fallow by feedback system which encourage players to keep on playing, this is attained by rewarding the players with passage to the next levels, points or a scores. In turn keep the player inspired on succeeding completion. These possess motivation for players on striving for accomplishment, although inhabiting personal strengths and weaknesses not knowing when to stop.

These in concludes voluntary participation that all players accept that the game will contain challenges to overcome, along with independence consent of staying or leaving the game at any time.

As many features that are related with games complement the four defining traits are the mean selection found in every game.

"Everything else is an effort to reinforce and enhance these four core elements "(McGonigal, 2011, p.21)

Bibliography
McGonigal, J.(2011). Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Penguin Press HC.

Reality May Be Broken, But 'Other Reality' Is Coming To An End

Jane McGonigal opens the first chapter of her 'Reality is Broken' book with a quote from Bernard Suits about the definition of a game.

Playing a game is the voluntary attempt to overcome unnecessary obstacles

(Suits, B. 2005: 54-55)

In his book, entitled 'The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia' Suits offers up the concept of the Lusory Attitude, which is a psychological mindset where the player will be willing to accept the rules of the game, in order the reach the goal.

"To play a game is to attempt to achieve a specific state of affairs, using only means permitted by rules, where the rules prohibit use of more efficient in favour of less efficient means, and where the rules are accepted just because they make possible such activity" (Suits, B. 2005: 54-55)

McGonigal sets out the four main aspects of a game; goal, rules, feedback and voluntary participation. The rules make the goal hard to reach, this is what challenges the player and ultimately sets out the game as a whole. Without rules, the goal would be a one move completion. Feedback is a way for a player to know how far they are through the game. 

However, feedback, in certain instances is not necessarily important, especially for the "infinite" games which James P. Carse talks about in 'Finite and Infinite Games' (1986). These games are ones which the player does not want to finish. A loose example of this is Rockstar's 'GTA V' The player wants the story to continue and want it to be very long, because once its over, their 'other reality' is gone.

Games are being seen to form the same structure, but what has been so successful about the industry is how differently this structure can be interpreted. 

Bibliography

McGonigal, J. (2011). Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World. Penguin Press HC.

Suits, B. (2005, The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia, Broadview Press.
Carse, J.P. (1986), Finite and Infinite Games. New York: Ballantine Books.