Video games aren't simple things to make.  Since it is 'holiday time' when I write this, I'll share with y'all the secret recipe.

Video Game
Serves 1 - 10,000,000
Ingredients:
1 good game mechanic
12oz Sound FX
30oz (1 can) Art and Animations
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 350.  Pour game mechanic into a large mixing bowl.  Add both eggs and beat until finely pureed.  Slowly mix in art until game is doughy and brown.  Put in oven and bake for two hours.  Let it cool 1-2 hours on the rack.  Sprinkle on sound and serve.

At no point did I mention coding/programming, a game engine, story, characters, or controls.  I also only mentioned a single game mechanic.  And eggs?  WTF?!?  The reason is that those things aren't actually important when making a video game.

In my next post I'll explain how the recipe makes sense.  But can you figure it out own your own?

Gaming isn't as simple as it used to be:

Games can be played in a variety of ways.  There are board, video, computer, miniature-based, pen-and-paper, card, arcade machine, table-based, physical, online, device-based, handheld, and verbal games. 

There are games that are played competitively (e.g. Football, Baseball, Poker, Counter-Strike, etc).  Games that are used for education (i.e. 'Serious Games').  There are many branches of academia that involve the studying of games: Ludology, Game Development (accredited Universities currently offer degrees in the Programming, Art, and Design specialities), and Behavioral Psychology (specifically Game Theory).

There are museum exhibitions of game, art from games, and art inspired by games.  Their are tours of performers who have been inspired by game music, perform covers of the music in games, and who have achieved recognition from their contribution to games.

Most large-budget movies are accompanied by the release of a related video game.  Gaming merchandise is quite popular.  Most of the popular web-comics are related to games (either about the industry or use images based off of older games).  There are numerous gaming conventions, magazines, organizations, books, and websites.  Many stores sell games and their accessories -- some specialize in specific games.

Colossal stadiums have been built, at a great cost, to provide exhibition of games.  A large amount of television is centered around these, and other gaming exhibitions (traditional game shows -- Jeopardy, Wheel of Fortune, Who Wants to be a Millionaire, Let's Make a Deal; sports -- Monday Night Football, World Series of Poker, NASCAR; video -- Starcraft competitions in Korea, G4 TV; reality TV -- Survivor, The Apprentice, America's Next Top Model).  In fact, there are a number of television channels entirely devoted to gaming.

Many aspects of modern society are built around rewarding people for gaming -- office politics, courtship rituals, school-based education, financial investment.  Unlike other forms of gaming:

1. The rules aren't formally documented anywhere, and aren't even well understood.
2. No organization is responsible for the creation of these kind of games; the games continue without any outside intervention.
3. There is a minimum effort that society expects a person to devote to each of these games, but there are moral implications if a person tries too hard.
4. A large number of players aren't consciously aware of their participation.  Those that are aware generally dislike it.  Those that like it have likely gone too far -- seeing as how these games are generally win-lose.

Game production is a big business.  The video game industry is always bragging about its yearly revenue, and many of the publishers are publicly traded.  Who hasn't owned a Monopoly board?  And we've already talked about gaming in television.

Game competition is a big business.  Athletes are some of the most highly-paid members of society.  And they all have agents, managers, and/or trainers.  The organizations that run games are often large businesses in their own right.  Many secondary industries have developed around the production of athletic equipment.  Game broadcasting, analysis, and color-commentary are well-regarded professions.  Cities compete for the right to host gaming events -- the Olympic Games being the most prominent, but professional teams are often the object of desire.  (e.g. Do they even have Cardinals in Arizona?)

***

So what does gaming really mean?  Most people, when writing about it in relation to 'Citizen Kane', are specifically interested in games that a participant plays on a computer, a video-based arcade machine, a handheld device that features a video-capable screen, or a device connected to a television.  (Hereafter, this set of games shall be referred to as 'video games.')  Other forms of games can't contribute to the artform of gaming, it seems.

As a result, this series of articles should be thought of as "[Video] Gaming's Citizen Kane."

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Yet, a ludologist would argue that 'to game' is a subset of 'to play.'  Both are rule-based activities -- even if the rules are abstract/arbitrary/not-well-understood.  The primary distinction of a 'to game' over a 'to play' is that the game has one (or more) rules that result in it ending.  A 'to play' experience does not have an end built in -- it ends when the participants stop participating.  Many of the above game examples might really belong under 'to play', but I didn't think it was a necessary distinction to start with.

As a result, this series of articles should be thought of as "[Video 'to play']'s Citizen Kane."

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However, as mentioned in the first part of this series, The Birth of a Nation is generally credited as the beginning of film-as-art.

As a result, this series of articles should be thought of as "[Video 'to play's The Birth of a Nation]."

But we still call the series of articles "Gaming's Citizen Kane", for short. :)

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Articles in this series:
Gaming's Citizen Kane Part 1 -- In which we debunk the meaning behind 'Citizen Kane'
Gaming's Citizen Kane Part 2 -- In which we debunk the meaning behind 'Gaming' << You are here