What is a video game? It might superficially seem a silly question as many readers will assume everyone is agreed on an answer.

See: Video Games as “Playable Texts” (Video Game Studies)
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On the contrary, however, not all game theorists necessarily concur and, even when agreement is indeed present, there are complexities inviting further discussion and clarification in the fields of game studies and video game studies (Salen and Zimmerman 2003, 73–80; Ferrari 2021, 772-773). As two scholars explain,

“The medium proves complex to define: video games are not computer hardware, not software, not wireless networks, not televisions, not narrative, not play experiences, and not human beings—though modern games typically use all of these elements” (Thompson and Ouellette 2013, 5).

Definitions have varied and it is helpful to include a small sample of them.

Discussing virtual reality and video games, Michael Zyda defines a video game as “a mental contest, played with a computer according to certain rules for amusement, recreation, or winning a stake” (2005, 25).

In their seminal textbook on video game design, Rules of Play: Game Design Fundamentals, Katie Salen and Eric Zimmerman define a video game as “a system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome” (2003, 80). Adding to this definition, one might say that “digital games [are] played on a television or computer screen” (Ferdig 2014, 7), and on the screens of smart phones, tablets, and a range of devices (Stuart 2020).

Oliver Steffen offers a definition with several essential elements: Video games are simultaneously “entertainment software,” “system(s) of rules and control,” and “sign-producing machines [with the] ability to tell stories” (2012, 249-250).

Jesper Juul (2003) describes the essential elements of a video game:

• [1] is rule-based;
• [2] has a variable, quantifiable outcome;
• [3] assigns different values to different outcomes;
• [4] players exert effort in order to influence the outcome;
• [5] players are attached to the outcome and hope to be “happy” about a positive ending but will be “unhappy” about a negative one;
• [6] the same video game may or may not have real-life consequences, relative to player choice.

Theologian and game scholar Frank G. Bosman isolates several features he believes must be included in the definition: text, narrative, playable, and interactive. “As a text, a video game is an object of interpretation. As a narrative, it communicates meaning. As a game, it is playable. And as a digital medium, it is interactive” (2019, 33).

One observes several agreements across these definitions. Video games are an interactive digital medium played on the screen of an electronic device. They are rule-based in that they operate according to preprogrammed patterns, which are engaged and interacted with by the player intending to accomplish a goal. Further, they evoke user experiences, such as excitement, fun, horror, and/or amusement. Many theorists consider narrative as essential to a video game since they tell stories and are often pivotal to the player’s experience.

References

Bosman, Frank G. 2019. Gaming and the Divine: A New Systematic Theology of Video Games. London and New York: Routledge. (Apple Books pagination).

Ferdig, Richard. 2014. “Developing a Framework for Understanding the Relationship Between Religion and Videogames.” Online – Heidelberg Journal of Religions on the Internet 5:68-85.

Ferrari, Simon. 2021. “Game, Definition of.” In Encyclopedia of Video Games: the Culture, Technology, and Art of Gaming (2nd edition), edited by Mark J. P. Wolf, 772-776. Santa Barbara, California, United States: ABC-CLIO, LLC. (Apple Books pagination).

Juul, Jesper. 2003. “The Game, the Player, the World: Looking for a Heart of Gameness.” Keynote presented at the “Level Up” conference, Utrecht, November 4-6. Available.

Salen, Katie., and Zimmerman, Eric. 2003. Rules of Play. Cambridge, Massachusetts.: MIT Press.

Oliver, Steffen. 2014. “‘God Modes’ and ‘God Moods’: What Does a Digital Game Need to Be Spiritually Effective?” In Playing with Religion in Digital Games, edited by Heidi Campbell and Gregory Price Grieve, 214-237. Bloomington, Indiana, United States: Indiana University Press.

Thompson, Jason C., and Ouellette, Marc A. 2013. “Introduction: A Game Studies Manifesto.” In The Game Culture Reader, edited by Jason C. Thompson and Marc A. Ouellette. Newcastle upon Tyne, England: Cambridge Scholars Publishing.

Zyda, Michael. 2005. “From visual simulation to virtual reality to games.” Computer 38(9):25-32.