What is a Game?

 This week I read up on what a game really is. 

Well, in the first article I read, "What is a Game, Anyway?", I learned that there is an array of different ways to define what a game really is. There Is no one definition for a game, it's mostly what you want it to be! The article states that although games are what we want them to be, it's important to notice how intricate games actually are, and the "Critical Vocabulary" to learn when planning to create and analyze one. 

It was also interesting to learn how all games usually follow the same structure, they include elements such as activities, rules, conflict, goals, decision making, and more. 

Gaming Controller

In the next article, "The Organic Nature of Game Ideation", I was informed on all the different ways to draw inspiration from life for a game. 

One section I thought was interesting was when the writer explained how most people just drew inspiration from every day things, mostly "reading, watching television shows and movies, or, not that surprisingly, playing other games." I enjoyed reading this as it lead me to think about how I draw inspiration for my interests in life, such as photography and film. Like games, I usually draw inspiration from other photographs and films! So its interesting to know it's the same for gamers.

I enjoyed reading the different ways the interviewee's retained their inspiration, some were long showers, others were long walks. This article reminded me that the inspiration process is different for everyone, so it's important just to find your own process!

Lastly, I read an article on the "Four Basic Methods for Generating Ideas." This article claims that all books and articles talk about how games obviously start with an idea, but no book or article explains how to generate the idea. The four techniques I learned to use are Concentration, Brainstorming, Scamper, and Ramsey.

I found Concentration and Brainstorming funny to read about, because we're taught these methods of learning from such a young age, but I was new to Scamper and Ramsey. The Ramsey Method jumped out to me most, as it was the most difficult and complicated of methods. This method is used when asked to create a game on a very specific topic. It is very tedious and time-consuming creating a game on a specialised topic, which is why this method was introduced. 

Thanks for reading!

ources of inspiration were reading, watching television shows and movies, or, not that surprisingly, playing other games.ources of inspiration were reading, watching television shows and movies, or, not that surprisingly, playing other games.ources of inspiration were reading, watching television shows and movies, or, not that surprisingly, playing other games.