1.1 Core concepts in games and gaming

In the following 3 lessons you will be introduced to some core theories and concepts within game studies. One of the most basic questions is how to distinguish between play and non-play. We have many ways of doing this and one of the often-cited concepts is that of the magic circle as a metaphor for describing the complex set of social relations. While within the magic circle, the players adopt a lusory attitude as one of the basic building blocks of games. A player with a lusory attitude accepts the rules of the game just because they make possible such activity. After having read about the magic circle, the lusory attitude and the different rules of games, you will be asked to test your knowledge in the final exercise on Core Concepts in Games sand Gaming.

1.1.1 Definitions of games
Game designer Warren Spector has said: “It is absolutely vital that we start to build a critical vocabulary that allows us to examine, with some degree of precision, how games evoke emotional-intellectual responses in players” (Salen & Zimmerman, 2004, p. 2). Thus, in order to talk accurately about and analyse games, we need to understand what they are.

In the section below, you will find a number of different definitions of games, each of which highlight different aspects of games and the playing of games. In doing so we can see that each definition highlight specific aspects of what games are and, at the same time, obscure other aspects of of games. It the therefore critical, that we understand what we mean when we talk about games and what theoretical tradition we engage with in our definition of games.


Exercise: Defining games

Below you will find six different definitions of games, all of which are often referred to and cited within game studies. Read the six definitions of games carefully and do the following reflection exercise:What does the different game definitions reveal about what games can be viewed as? In other words:

What do the different definitions focus on and how are they different? Try to evaluate each definition in accordance with the following categories:
  • The game as a formal system
  • The relationship between player and the game
  • The relationship between game and the rest of the world

For example, if a definition mentions "rules", it describes games as a formal system. If a definition states, that a game is "outside ordinary life" it describes the relation between the game and the rest of the world. But that a game has an "object to be obtained" describes the game as formal system and the relation between the player and the game.

See if you can find a common denominator / keywords across the different definitions - what are they? Why these?


Defining games is not an easy task

Defining games is not an easy effort, it would seem. Different definitions of games highlight different aspects of games and at the same time obscure other aspects. As such, Thomas Malaby’s definition is clearly an attempt to argue against almost all of the other definitions, as he sees games as “intimately connected to everyday life” and this argument is reflected in his overall argument.

But we can point to some commonalities in the definitions, such as the game as a formal system, which are separate from real life or non-games (games have a beginning and an end). Another commonality is that games consists of some kind of outcome (the end of the game) as well as goals attached to the outcome (the game as a formal system and the relationship between the player and the game). A third commonality is concerning the relationship between the game the rest of the world, where we find the game described as separate, not work, unproductive, outside ordinary life etc.

The most commonly referred to aspect in the definitions above is that of rules. In the following section we explore some of the core concepts within game studies and how they allow us to build a vocabulary for discussing and framing both elements of games as well as the experience these afford.

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Further reading on game definitions:

  • “Defining games” and “Defining Digital Games”, in Salen & Zimmerman (2003): Rules of Play.
  • Juul, J. (2003): "The Game, the Player, the World: Looking for a Heart of Gameness". In: Level Up: Digital Games Research Conference Proceedings, edited by Marinka Copier and Joost Raessens, 30-45. Utrecht: Utrecht University, 2003.