Game Definition
Generally, a game is defined as a set of voluntary activities which has participants, goals, rules, and some kind of (physical or mental) competition. Dempsey, Haynes, Lucassen, & Casey (2002) define a game as “a set of activities involving one or more players. It has goals, constraints, payoffs, and consequences. A game is rule-guided and artificial in some respects. Finally, a game involves some aspect of competition, even if that competition is with oneself” (p. 159). The term “digital game” usually refers to games played using a personal computer or personal game machine. Prensky (2001) defines digital games by a set of key characteristics including: rules, goals and objectives, outcomes and feedback, conflict/ competition/ challenge/ opposition, interaction, and representation or story. (see Chapter 1 for a complete discussion). Digital games can be categorized as adventure, simulation, competition, cooperation, programming, puzzles, and business management games (Hogle, 1996, citing Dempsey, Lucassen, Gilley, & Rasmussen, 1993; Jacobs & Dempsey, 1993).
During the past 40 years, digital games have been played with a variety of technologies and on many devices: from a sealed console, floppy disk, CD-ROM, with email, on the Internet, and with handheld machines such as the Game Boy®, mobile phones, and game consoles such as the Sony PlayStation® 2/3 or Nintendo’s Gamecube®. Digital games can be played individually, against the computer, or against other people, either face-to-face or online. The terms computer game and video game are usually used interchangeably and the term “digital game” incorporates both.