Toward Broader Definitions of “Video Games”: Shifts in Narrative, Player Goals, Subject Matter, and Digital Play Environments
Document Type
Contribution to Book
Publication Date
2016
Publication Title
Examining the Evolution of Gaming and Its Impact on Social, Cultural, and Political Perspectives
DOI
10.4018/978-1-5225-0261-6.ch001
Abstract
As video games grow in popularity, ambition, scope, and technological prowess, they also mature as an art form, shedding old definitions tethered to video games as simple, competitive exercises. Greater technological capabilities, in addition to years of experimentation and maturation, have expanded the ability of games to tell different kinds of stories, offering branching paths. The question of “what makes a game a game?” looms larger than ever in this era of video game storytelling. As plots and characters grow, branch, and develop, so, too, do the boundaries of what a game actually is. In traditional definitions of gaming, a set of rules and a victory condition were essential elements to a game. As game narratives and game mechanics grow in increasingly complex and experimental directions, new player goals have emerged. Now, gamers socialize, customize, nurture, kill, build, destroy, break, glitch, and explore as much as they work to win and accrue points. This chapter surveys the current landscape of video games, highlighting examples and trends that challenge more traditional notions and definitions of what it means to be a “video game.” The broader definition presented here takes into account play, narrative, digital environments, and more, acknowledging the expanse of the video game experience.
Recommended Citation
Jensen, Lucas J., Daisyane Barreto, Keri Valentine.
2016.
"Toward Broader Definitions of “Video Games”: Shifts in Narrative, Player Goals, Subject Matter, and Digital Play Environments."
Examining the Evolution of Gaming and Its Impact on Social, Cultural, and Political Perspectives: 1-37: IGI Global.
doi: 10.4018/978-1-5225-0261-6.ch001
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/leadership-facpubs/273
Copyright
Copyright 2016, IGI Global - All Rights Reserved
Comments
Georgia Southern University faculty member, Lucas J. Jensen co-authored Toward Broader Definitions of “Video Games”: Shifts in Narrative, Player Goals, Subject Matter, and Digital Play Environments.