Week 8 (The Term "Game")

What is a game?

I've been thinking a lot lately about what a game actually is. I've done some reading online after a few quick searches and a lot of people disagree about what a game actually is. A lot of people argue that it is a hobby that people do for fun. Some argue that it is something to pass the time, others that it is a way to distract themselves from their real life. Sure, all of these things are 100% accurate, but they do not define what a game is.

In my opinion, a game is an expression. It is someone else's expression of something. Like art. Like a piece of art that someone poured something that was in their mind onto a moving portrait that is our pixelated screen. Game designers, programmers, animators. All of them are artists in their own right. They, you, we, me. We are all expressing ourselves through our choices, thoughts, and ability to put what we're thinking onto the screen.

No matter how much effort is put in, it is an expression of who we are. Putting no effort in shows on the screen and that, in itself, is an expression of who you are. Putting lots of effort in and being creative is also an expression. People working, learning or living in the creative medium of games are all artists and I'm excited to see what things I will be able to share with people when I go out into the world.