Game Theory and Play Analysis

What is a Game? What is Play? Why Should You Care?

• Examination of game design, creativity, immersion, minigames, and walking simulators.
• Definitions influence game style and conventions (for better or worse).
• Limiting definitions can stifle innovation, while expanding definitions can broaden the scope.
• This applies to other art forms, such as music.
• Defining "game" impacts innovation and expectations.

Gone Home (2013): A Case Study

• Subtitled "A story exploration video game."
• Kicks off the whole "game/not a game/walking simulator" debate.
• Universally praised by major and minor gaming publications.
• Universally criticized by many gamers for not being a "true video game."

"Walking Simulators"

• Pejorative descriptor for games requiring little player interaction or with few mechanics.
• Popularized in 2013.
• A narrow-minded approach to video games and game design.

Play Defined (again)

• Play is an activity considered enjoyable or "fun."
• Play can be repetitive.
• It lacks a defined structure or end goal beyond simple enjoyment.
• Play must be voluntary. Players can't be forced to have fun.

George Herbert Mead (1863-1961)

• Social psychologist.
• Theorized that children develop self through stages: imitation, play, game, generalized other.
• Claimed play is essential to the development of self through make-believe and role-playing.

Johan Huizinga (1872-1945)

• Published a landmark book in 1938 examining play's importance.
• Concluded that play is intrinsic to many species (not just humans) and an essential element to culture.
• Play is free and untethered by material interests or profit.

Play is Instinctual: Innate

• Animals engage in crazy behaviors with no apparent purpose other than fun (e.g., otters).
• Sometimes, animal play mimics real-life actions like hunting. In other cases it's pure, spontaneous fun.

Roger Caillois (1913-1978)

• Theorist who categorized play and game on a spectrum.
• Play involves voluntary, enjoyable activity with no defined structure or end goal.
• Games are structured activities with defined rules and a set goal.

Examples of Game: SPORTS

• Any sport, by definition, includes rules, goals, and consequences.
• Pro sports are more akin to work because the goal is often profit.

Examples of Game: SPORTS Video Games

• Rich history of titles; remember EA's slogan "If it's in the game, it's in the game?"
• Madden NFL is a highly popular and consistent best-selling title.
• EA-FIFA used to be big, but there were rights issues that dissolved in 2022.

Examples of Game: TABLE-TOP GAMES

• Board games have rules, goals, and consequences.
• Board game to video game ports exist, but with variable quality.
• Some examples include famous games like Ticket to Ride and Gloomhaven.

Examples of Game: CARD GAMES

• Card games contain rules, goals, and consequences.
• Microsoft Solitaire is extremely popular.
• Examples of games in the Deck-Building genre are Hearthstone, Slay The Spire, Marvel Snap, Gwent. Balatro (a newer indie game from 2024) was nominated for game of the year.

Examples of Game: "SCHOOL YARD" GAMES

• These are casual games including Hide and Seek, Duck Duck Goose, Red Rover, Rock Paper Scissors, X's and O's, 7 Up, Hot Potato, Dodgeball, and Tag.

Examples of Game: Party, Bar, and Other

• Includes games like Bowling, Darts, Billiards, Laser Tag, Capture the Flag, The Floor is Lava, Ping Pong, Tabletop games, Pin the Tail on the Donkey, Spin the bottle, and drinking games.

The Point? Regarding GAME DESIGN

• Real-world games are often adapted into video games.
• The categories and games are not exclusive and often intersect.

The Mini-Game: A Definition

• A smaller game within the main video game.
• Can act as a digression (arcade machines) or world-building.
• Considered in games like GWENT, Chocobo Racing in FF7, shooting gallery in RE4, GTA V, Bioshock, and many others.

Stray (2022): Case Study

• Cat-as-player can interact with the environment and other characters (independently from game objectives)

Consider BREAKABLE ENVIRONMENTS

• The act of breaking objects is a form of pure play; it's not always about game goals. Common examples include Zelda, Dark Souls, Hollow Knight, and others.

Consider PROJECTILES

• Throwing projectiles (e.g., Kratos' axe, Cappy, Mario's items) provides pure play elements beyond the immediate game purpose.

CATEGORY 3: EXPLORATION

• Exploring is a pure enjoyment of the environment and is not usually related to side quests or game goals. Often involves avoiding fast travel for added immersion.

CATEGORY 4: CREATIVITY

• Examples include playing in a sandbox, with cardboard boxes, in the bathtub, in snow or with play-doh. Other examples that involve constructing a home, growing a garden, building forts or structures, using musical instruments, taking photos, or even taking selfies in various locations.

CATEGORY 5: Human/Animal INTERACTION

• Games based on interacting with animals and/or NPCs that are unrelated to game goals, like playing with pets/animals, playing with a baby, LARP, or any type of role play, without rules. Consider games that allow tormenting NPCs for pure fun.

Heck, consider House House's Untitled Goose Game (2019)

• Features a character meant purely to annoy other NPCs without gameplay goals.

Category 5: Human/Animal INTERACTION (continued)

• Examples include the ability to torment NPCs out of entertainment value; examples include Dragon Shout and even petting animals in Assassin's Creed.

The Last of Us 2

• Exploring the game world and pure play concepts are integrated, from space helmets to make-up and other features that enhance exploration.

Jesper Juul

• Professor at the University of Copenhagen.
• Developed the "Classic Game Model" to define games.
• Emphasizes the role of player effort and attachment in defining a game.

Juul's Model

• Explains how games and non-game elements can overlap in design and experience.

Conclusion One: Is Gone Home a Game?

• Yes, Gone Home is considered a game because it requires player effort, players need to actively participate and engage with the environment. There is also an outcome to discover and achieve.

Conclusion Two: Why Pure Play?

• Pure play categories focus on world-building, immersing the player in the game world; It's about activities that go beyond the immediate game objectives.

Epilogue: What Does The Developer Say?

• Developer perspective on the nature of Gone Home as a game, especially given it's a narrative-focused rather than traditional mechanics-based experience.

Additional Notes

• All games or activities could have elements of both game and pure play, not necessarily exclusive.