Well, yes, we are having several threads right now, and in most of them, all I see is that we are trying to change the games, make them better, be more artistic, more fun, etc. But in the end, how can you improve something you don''t understand in the first place ? So I am asking you, what is a game ? The way I see it so far, is that all those computer games we create are simply a re-creation of existing concepts that we naturally develop during childhood. Boys games ? Seek and hide, tag (we call it Wolf in France), Cowboys vs. Indians / Cops vs. Bad boys. playing with miniature cars, soldiers... Girls games ? Elastic (I wouldn''t know the name for that one, you know, jumping over an elastic cord ?), skiping, playing dolls, and generally playing mum (dishes, ironing, babycare, cooking, etc)... I probably forget some. All I am saying is, what did we create, in computer games, that is different from those games. Do we need to create something different ? And if so, do we lose the real reason we play games in the first place : to have pleasure ? Bring in the guns !

Playing computer games is not all that different from playing in the sandbox. Playing is actually a way for us humans to experiment on and learn things. Adults play, too, it''s just different. Experiencing and trying different things is essentially playing, no matter if it''s about dolls or Excel.

-Jussi

Probably not what you are looking for, but one thing that is different is that it shifts the focus from physical skill to mental skill. So it allows all of us fatties to be good at something.

Later,
Eck

Sorry to be so cryptic, but...

What is a door?

A door leads you into another room. (what about doors that lead outside?)

A door is a piece of wood on hinges (isn''t that a cabinet?)

A door is a removable barrier. (Like a portcullis?)


Language is failing us BIG TIME. It always will. It''s an old zen concept that Language is merely a tool for illustrating thought, but Language can NEVER be as accurate as thoughts are. If I point my finger at the moon, my finger is NOT the moon, but it can show you where the moon is!

Games are games. I don''t even make games. I''d come up with another word for what I want to make, but I''d be a pretentions prick then, now wouldn''t I?

Too late LF (j/k)

Playing with something and playing a game are kinda different, actually. I might play around with Excel or Access, but I''m doing it to learn something. I play Solitare to get my brain working after severly frying it on code, but I don''t learn anything (besides what''s under the 8 of clubs).

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"What's the story with your face, son?!?"

Are RPGs games? I really am curious.

I never thought I'd say this about anything, but I think we're all being way over-analytical. I love being analytical, but this is getting out of control.

I keep imagining some professional game developers laughing their asses off at our answerless questions.

I like when we were talking about things we can actually change about games. Now we're down to defining things that there's no definite answer for.


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"That's not the answer. If you know the answer then there are no more questions." -- from the movie Breakfast of Champions
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"NPC's are people too!" --dwarfsoft

"`Nazrix is cool.' --Nazrix" --Darkmage

Edited by - Nazrix on September 7, 2000 3:06:24 PM

Nazrix: "Professional" Game Developers make things like Diablo. Why? Because they don''t have the courage to ask answerless questions. Read the sig, man.

About my last post: Forget it, I''m explaining it elsewhere.

LF, I know, man...
Normally I'd be all for this sort of thing, but it just seems like it is getting rediculous fast. Usually, I love answerless questions. I'm probably giving up too easily though

Edited by - Nazrix on September 7, 2000 3:20:51 PM

Nazrix, perhaps you know the answer, deep down inside, and you''re afraid of it. Like Keith was afraid of his revelation. You must face it, and slap it in the face a few times. Then tell everyone, so that we can slap it too.



I know I''m being silly, but it doesn''t matter.

Though there may not be a real answer, this topic does accomplish something: the way we think about games. Not RPGs, or FPS, or strategy, or any genre, but games in _general_. How can we make a good game if we don''t know what a game is.

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"What's the story with your face, son?!?"