Definition of Games

Below was my thoughts from an older blog entry dated February 16, 2005. The idea has been developed into a full chapter (along with Luca Botturi) that will soon appear in a new book edited by Chris Miller, Games: Purpose and Potential in Education (2009).
[N.B.: There are two chapters in the book that bears my name, one I co-authored with Luca Botturi, and another one of which I am the single author.]

Games: Purpose and Potential in Education

Games: Purpose and Potential in Education

I am reading the chapter in Instructional Media and Technologies for Learning, by Heinich, Molenda, Russell and Smaldino (1999). It’s a very widely used book for IDT students (good book, too), but I find myself disagreeing with the definition of GAMES provided by respectable leaders in my field.

They said, “A game is an activity in which participants follow prescribed rules that differ from those of real life as they strive to attain a challenging goal.” (pg. 316).
Huh? Where is the fun in doing such an activity? Creating a make believe activity and follow the rules? I believe the heart of GAME should be “FUN” and “entertaining”! No wonder many games played in school are no fun, at all. If the IT textbooks teaches teachers and educators to regard games as activities, games will become another “instruction”: something to be scripted and carried out to the dot. Even my kids will not play a new game if they find it not “FUN.”
Then about simulation, they said, “A simulation is an abstraction or simplification of some real-life situation or process. In simulations, participants usually play a role that involves them in interactions with other people or with elements of the simulated environment.” (pg. 319) Now, wait a minute. While I am agreeable to the definition for simulation, doesn’t the second sentence sounds like a definition for Role-Playing GAMES? I must insist that RPG is game, and not simulation. I also believe the gamers community at large would agree with me. Even the recent SIMS2 and SIMS: Bustin’ Out are games and not Simulation!
I supposed these definitions were accurate as of 5-10 years ago. But the gaming industry has been pushing the envelop and have “changed” the definitions. I do think Heinich, et al should revise the chapter to reflect the new understanding. What scares me is for a group of researchers who don’t play games to begin quoting these words as golden reference in some gaming research papers!!
Come to think of it, it is no wonder that someone at last year’s AECT conference confronted me about the name of the new Special Interest Forum for Instructional Gaming (SIG-IG). The individual felt that the SIF should be called SIF-IGS (gaming and simulation) because “I don’t see any difference between games and simulation.” Hmm, I disagree.

Book Chapter on Game Modding

I have finally sent off the book chapter I co-wrote with JaeHwan Byun for the Gibson-Baek’s book.

Book Title: Digital Simulations for Improving Education
Editors: David GibsonYoung Kyun Baek
Chapter 18 - Making Video Game By Modification (Game Modding): Lesson Learned

Apart from the regular “fix this”, “change that”, I am actually very pleased with the reviewers’ feedback:

  • There are very few chapters that I know of that walk a reader through the mod process.  As such, this was not only entertaining, but also informational.

  • …this would be potentially one of the more widely used chapters!

  • …the chapter will be widely used by designers and educators.

New Journal in Gaming and Simulations

The quarterly International Journal of Gaming and Computer-Mediated Simulations (http://www.igi-global.com/ijgcms) is a new, peer-reviewed, international journal edited by Rick Ferdig (University of Florida) and published by IGI-Global.

The journal is interdisciplinary in nature and invites research from fields and disciplines that share the goal of improving the foundational knowledge base of games and simulations. The journal publishes critical, theoretical manuscripts as well as qualitative and quantitative research studies, meta-analysis, and methodologically-sound case studies.

There is also a book reviews section aimed at keeping readers on the forefront of this continuously evolving field.

First issue should appear sometime between Nov 2008 – Jan 2009!

Full Disclosure: I am one of the Associate Editors for this new journal.