Games for game's sake

Games have been around for centuries but the idea of creating games professionally is a relatively modern idea. It could be argued that it is only since the advent of videogames that games and game design started to be taken seriously.

Traditionally, games were seen as teaching children the basic skills needed to become adults. Playing games was something children did, while Board games were aimed at the family market. The exception was intellectual games, such as chess, for the serious competitor. Then came role-playing games and now electronic gaming has moved the idea of gaming into a wider audience. Playing games is no longer a childish pursuit.

Teddy Bear's Picnic - Murder Mystery Game

There has also been a change in the way games are perceived. Games are now seen as a way of adding value to companies. They can be used to market products, to promote networking and teambuilding, and can be used to educate. But this ignores the value that games offer just from being games. Eric Zimmerman suggests that we are danger of forgetting to appreciate games as enjoyable entities in their own right.

Art for art’s sake could be rewritten “Games for game’s sake”.  Games should not be valued for their ability to market a product, nor expected to serve a moral purpose. Games are there to provide fun for the mind. They are valuable as games without needing an additional justification.
Games provide fun because the outcomes are unpredictable. Sure, you have an idea what is going to happen, but there is an element of chance, a certain randomness included in the game, that makes it different each time you play it. The game has to be easy to follow or you will get frustrated and stop playing, but not so easy that you win every time. (Spoiler alert) Think the lesson of noughts and crosses learnt in War Games.

Attending the Sandpit - Evening of Games at the V&A

It’s the random element that keeps you coming back to play. It’s the thought that you want to win, but there is the chance you may lose. Your game may include unknown and unpredictable factors that could get in your way. Even Grand Masters can’t predict the outcome of a chess match. If they could what would be the point playing? The element of chance means that the inferior player still has a chance to win, even if it is by luck.

Attending the
Sandpit - Evening of Games

 If you would like to try out a downloadable role-playing game,

click here and check out the ITM Games website.

FREE EVENING OF GAMES!

If you would like the chance to play some fun games, there will be a free evening of games at the Southbank Centre on Friday 25 May 2012 from 6:30-10:00pm.

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