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Time To Stop Calling Them Games?
GamePolitics wonders aloud about our use of the term game to describe electronic entertainment. In the author's view, referring to videogames as 'games' is inhibiting their adoption by mainstream society (who relates gaming to children's activities). From the article: "Things have changed, of course. Video game content now runs the gamut from kid-friendly titles like Curious George and LEGO Star Wars to adult-themed offerings such as GTA San Andreas and Black to the highly socialized online communities of World of Warcraft and Second Life or the largely adult-populated casual game scene of Pogo. Over the years, gamers and game designers have recognized the artistic and expressive potential of videogames, along with their power to enlighten and entertain players from four to ninety-four. But there are also millions who missed that particular cultural bus."
Question is, what would you call them? As long as it's not something like 'Infotainment', I don't mind...
We can separate "games" into two categories. The fun stuff that people actually like playing can continue to be called "games". The adult oriented, artistic works of sound and video that are supposed to be admired for the sake of it can then be called "garbage". Sound like a plan? :-P
(Tongue firmly stapled to my cheek.)
Javascript + Nintendo DSi = DSiCade
I think it is time to change the fact we call them games. I personally still deal with the fact that gaming is a waste of time to so many. My parents sit and watch the tv all night after dinner but they can't see that doing that is no different from me playing my games for the same amount of time. Why doing something on a console or computer is so different than sitting in front of a television I will never know.
how about calling them adult entertainment ..oh wait
MikMik Baby Organics Mikkaworks
But, what one word fits better. Yes, game isn't perfect, but it is close and everyone understands it so why change it?
I used to have a better sig but it broke.
Do do you call Comic Books "Sequential art"? Me neither, see how well it worked when they tried the name game?
As impatient as well all are to reshape society, the solution isn't to change the name. New names would only get used by academics and the like. You really have to wait for people to gain their own personal respect for games. Yes, it may take multiple generations, or it may happen as more mainstream oriented and casual games increase the audience, it probably won't happen by trying to give games a new name.
Interactive Billings Wireless Map
Windows Vista Help Forum
It's a good idea. In theory -- and only in theory.
In reality, everybody will still call them games. I mean, I still snicker when I hear "graphic novel". Why? It's kind of stupid, IMHO -- changing the name doesn't really change the thing, and I identify "graphic novel" (vs. comic book) more with the people who insist on calling it that than with the thing itself. Same with people who insist on differences between "film" and "movie".
How about instead of changing the name, people change their associations? (Why are people so hellbent on making sure "mainstream society" accepts gaming? The majority of "mainstream society" still hasn't accepted that sex exists. Slashdot joke here.)
A "game of chess"
"Gaming"
"Wargames"
Oh yes, the word "game" has way too much of a childish connotation. :-/
and you can call blogs a "LiveJournal", and it still doesn't change that it's still just a blog filled with yet another silly opinion. :)
This is a sig. Deal with it.
I prefer the term 'murder simulator'. /me ducks.
====
Crudely Drawn Games
Games like EQ - which is more like work. They expect you to show up at certain times and put in several hours of solid work ;)
If Google really cared they would fix Android Chrome to reflow text, instead of discriminating
How about Chess? Is that a game? Or Go?
A game describes what it is - just because you associate games with children doesn't make all games childish.
Just another attempt at marketing doublespeak.
Next, you'll be referring to your comic books as graphic novels.
Frankly, I see no reason to be embarassed that I play video games. Everyone my age knows what an Atari was (though, I had a kick-ass ColecoVision with the Atari adapter). If they forgot why video games were fun, it's not my problem.
I thought we could leave "Myst" out of this...but probably not "Doom3".
...a GAME of golf today?
Then we can watch the big GAME on TV.
We still on for the poker GAME Thursday night?
The problem isn't the word "game". It's the term "video game". People still associate that with adolescents in dark arcades playing Pac-Man. We need to simply drop "video" when refering to an adult-oriented game and people won't think twice about it.
120 characters for a sig? That's bloody useless.
Games are shouldn't be considered childrens activities, they improve the mind. More sophisticated games have never been primarily children's activities. I remember I was recently in Atlanta's Chinatown and two people in a Chinese restaurant were playing Xiangqi (these were adult men). I believe Hiroshi Yamauchi himself is a top ranked Go player, and lest we forget, Nintendo got it's start manufacturing HanaFuda cards, especially profitable because the Yakuza insisted on a fresh deck for each game they played. (Yakuza itself means something like busted flush in a game played with HanaFuda cards.)
On the other hand, games for adults have always had a seedy and disreputable reputation, either because of gambling or "devil worship" (in the case of the original RPGs, which were definitely intended for adults at the time check the art in the game manuals if you don't believe it.). So, I'm not sure if that's much better.
"MIT betrayed all of its basic principles."
Maybe I'm missing something....
http://www.theesa.com/facts/top_10_facts.php
The average player is 30, 43% are women, 18% are over 50 and revenues exceed that of movies.
How much more mainstream does gaming need to be?
I'm also wondering who thinks "games" are just for kids? Not many kids playing Bridge, Shuffleboard, Bingo, etc....
You could have fooled me with that one.
yet more doublespeak. man, i can't take it any more. games are games, no matter what you call them...
...how about "murder simulators"? :P
Game dev and music blog
Let's call them "sex" from now on. It's a term with popular appeal, and very few gamers are going to confuse it with any of their other regular activities.
I don't think the word "game" is a huge hindrance. The respectability of theater hasn't been hindered noticably by the term "play," as far as I can tell. And any kind of self-conscious relabeling of games would just be silly and obvious.
Anyway, don't we already have our euphemisms lined up? E3 could just be GE, but they decided "electronic entertainment" sounded more professional than "games". I've also heard "interactive entertainment," "multimedia experience," and so on.
They're all dumb. And frankly, any change to the terminology risks misinterpreting one of the biggest draws of video games: they ARE games, just like Solitaire or checkers or freeze tag. They are challenge and interact with the consumer in a very direct way. That's why they're fun.
"Things have changed, of course. Book content now runs the gamut from kid-friendly titles like Curious George and The Ewok Adventure to adult-themed offerings such as Lolita and A Clockwork Orange to the highly socialized plays of Les Miserable and Romeo & Juliet or the largely adult-populated operas of Mozart. Over the years, books and writers have recognized the artistic and expressive potential of the written word, along with their power to enlighten and entertain readers from four to ninety-four. But there are also millions who missed that particular cultural bus."
Books are containers for written content.
Games are containers for interactive content.
I don't see the problem here other than to separate the "good" stuff from the "bad" stuff to help offset political restrictions.
Where is the gaming in some of these simulation "games"? They truly are interactive entertainment, but maybe not games in the traditional sense. Sometimes there is no winner/loser or competition at all. That's not a game. For instance...there is no game in Animal Crossing (and I assume the Sims but have never played it). They are just interactive entertainment.
<half the title of the game>Crack. I guess that's just for MMO's.
Some people just don't "get" how much less of a waste computers are compared to TV. When visiting home, my parents always lecture me on how much I use the computer. The last time, I said, "I just learned about the Coasean Theory of the firm, the P=NP problem, and the history of late-19th century Australia on Wikipedia, while you were learning about the latest celebrity gossip. Who's wasting whose time here?" (I think I said it more tactfully though.) I know, that's the internet, not gaming, but the bias applies to all computer-related stuff.
Rank my idea: http://www.sinceslicedbread.com/node/531
Just as soon as we stop calling them "movies" or "books." Don't even get me started on calling academic publications "journals."
The term is quite fitting since they do not have the typical characteristics of an adult (even the ones that are technicall adults)
Now you have Adult Comics. In Japan this was never a problem because comics were marketed to all demograhics. Games have only gotten their adult content as the Pac-Man generation grew up.
;-)
So:
Adult Games
Interactive Movies (with movie ratings)
Mature Games
Virtual Fiction
Animated Fiction
Virtual Movie
Adult Themed Content (label)
but really, as long as you have hit points, it's still just a game.
I don't see Basketball having problems being called a "game". And plenty of middle aged people strap on their ace bandages and stock up on liniment for regular weekend participation.
Although in some cases you might be tempted to call certain entertainment software "sports", and stuff like The Sims might most accurately be called a "software toy", "game" is probably the most accurate and neutral term to cover most things that are sold in that particular isle of your local computer store.
Post may contain irony: discontinue use if experiencing mood swings, nausea or elevated blood pressure.
I think everybody in science and particular the ones involved in game theory will tell you that playing (games) is one of the most fundamental part of the learning process.
So just because some people don't like the name "game" because of marketing issues doesn't change the fact that we humans like to play games.
So let's start playing:
Doctor game
marriage game
war game
"You will by my weapons, I support your campain financially" game
"I provide content, you enforce DRM" game
Game is just a nice name game
"People who are willing to sacrifice essential freedoms for security deserve neither freedom nor security."
B F
playing on my Sony *Computer Entertainment System* for years even though it has barely any actual correlation to a computer. God forbid we play "games" I mean how gay is that?
It's a freakin game, folks. Stop trying to legitimize it and make it into an "industry" like Hollywood or the music industry... just have some damn fun playing a game. Instead of arguing over if it can display 1.2 million or 1.3 million polygons, and mortgaging your home for an SLi videocard setup so you can play at 120FPS (which your eyes can't even see nor your monitor/TV display) lets break out of this marketing bullshit and get back to fun games, that are both FUN and GAMES.
http://teasphere.wordpress.com - A little spot of tea
I'm sure they find other ways to entertain themselves, and I doubt there's some hole in their lives that will only be filled by an "interactive entertainment console".
The whole conversation just seems silly to me.
I think it safe to say that "game" is a very old word, which means it has probably had many meanings over time. I fully expect that trend to continue. Those things we call "games" today will acquire a new label and the word "game" will move on.
*The French, in an effort to keep their language pure, do have an official council to ensure that imported words are minimized and new words are of genuine French derivation. If I recall from French studies correctly, there are even legal restrictions on what name a person can be given.
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
We call them G@mes, if for no other reason than to confuse the ignorant.
You know who I mean. All those parents and commentators who open their yappers without ever having actually played one of the G@mes they're bitching about. We can insist on some stupid pronunciation just to make them sound really dumb when they're talking about them... and hopefully, this will cause them to stop talking about G@mes.
Alternate spellings:
Gam3
G4me
Ga/\/\e
and any combinations of the above
[Fuck Beta]
o0t!
Change video games to "Entertainment Software"? To HELL with that! I like the name as it is, and here's why: 1. "Entertainment Software" is too broad of a definition and can NOT be used to solely define video games alone. Entertainment software can come in the form of movies on DVD, software that builds entertainment (video and 3D editors), and basically anything digital that can be utilized for the purpose of entertainment. Even software that operates the lights and special effects of a concert would be "Entertainment Software". 2. "Adult Games" would not work as a way of separating "mature" games from the rest. Why you ask? Because "Adult" makes the games sound pornographic in nature, and while some games do have sexual content, they are not always sexual in nature. Take Halo and Halo 2 for example. They are M rated, but no one would say they are for "adults" alone. The story and characters are highly develop and the situations and scenarios require a mature mind to understand and comprehend (except in online multiplayer :P ) Calling a game like Halo "Adult" is an insult to the game since it makes Halo seem like porn when it isn't.
3. People seem to assume that games are only played by children. This is NOT true! If it were, then why are men often fascinated by football and sports? Aren't those types of "games" as well? Do people think football, basketball, baseball, hockey, etc. are only for children? And what about those who play board and card games? Men and women all over the country get together to play games like poker, Trivial Pursuit, Monopoly, and more! And let's not forget gambling! Gambling is considered gaming as well (Nevada Gaming Commission if you want proof), and many adults want to play these games as well. This should be enough proof to show that there are games for all ages!
4. Games can be educational and can teach, even those that are highly action based. Games such as Psychonauts, God of War, or Halo have lots of action, but also stories that entertain and keep the player moving through, WANTING to see the end of the game. Other games like Tetris, Bejeweled, Bust A Move, and more help build mental reaction times and complex spatial thinking (there are two kinds of thinking, quantitive and spatial [I think that's right]) Even the most mature of games like GTA:SA have a deep underlying story beneath them that makes it worth the while to see the end.
5. Video Games are games played on a video screen, yes? Electronic games would be games that are electronic in nature, but do not require a video screen, correct? Games such as Simon would fit into this category. :) Video Game seems to be an adequate definition for the medium that people play.
6. Finally, the only other possible name that could be changed to would be "Interactive Media", but even so I have a problem with this name. This lies in the Narrativism vs. Ludology argument. What if a movie was just that; a linear movie? But what if you could choose how the movie ends? Make decisions for the characters that swing the movie one way or another? Like a Choose Your Own Adventure book? It's "Interactive Media", yes, BUT... ...is it also a video game? Would a movie like that really be a game? What about the lack of game mechanics and game rules that make games, well... games!
So to me, "Video Games" is an adequate name based on this definition:
Video Game: a form of digital entertainment that encompasses pre-programmed rules of game play, contains a story, purpose, or goal which keeps the game player playing, and utilizes a video screen for output.
Those that think "Video Game" contains too much of a youth stigmatism for it need to just get over it, because the only people that think games are for kids are those that never played. Give it 20 more years, and the any changes made now will just seem stupid.
~Steve B.
While this is true, people ussually dont call videogames (or any other game) "games" you have to consider each game has its OWN NAME so they dont have to, "we are playing animal crossing", "we are playing halo", "we are playing Madden", "baseball", "football", "chess", etc. Also videogame consoles are shortened to "consoles" (for speed mostly) and a lot of companies already call themselves "electronic entertainment" or "entertainment studios" (some of them actually mention "game" proudly) So.. in short the article is useless theres no need to change the name of "game" or look for some other stupid synonim, is a problem that has already (and has always) been solved.
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
The Sims might most accurately be called a
Virtual doll house.
You can't take the sky from me...
Bleh. Now they want to come up with a way to more effectively market things that are fun, so as to make them seem more "adult."
I propose a new tagline for games of all sorts (video, board, etc.): "Games: Cognitive Entertainment Will Get You Ahead in Life!"
Read the EFF's Fair Use FAQ
I don't think this society suffers from a lack of gaming or recreational activities. That is why games are almost a secret shame. When you fold in teevee, socializing, time at the club or rec centres -- which are all good, in proportion, how much time does each person spend. I think (that is I'm sure there is a study somewhere, but I'm too lazy to go look, lol) people in our society have a disproportionately large amout of free time than many societies.
Slashdot is news, information, and recreation. Can we really measure how much time we spend performing recreational vs educational activities as we read or participate in these forums.
I like games, I enjoy tv and movies being with friends and family. For recreation, I can just go for a walk, I get a lot of excercize at work, so I don't have to spend time at the gym. I still have to do a lot of stuff at home for preventive therepy.
My point being, If I haven't made it yet, is that we shouldn't be afraid to admit we enjoy games, candy, or to having fun. Knowing the right balance is important.
...SportPolitics wonders aloud about our use of the term game to describe sporting events. In the author's view, referring to sports as 'games' is inhibiting their adoption by mainstream society (who relates gaming to children's activities).
"You cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war." -- Albert Einstein
Of course, it's a subset of comic books, but why does it have to be called something else? The point is that people aren't comfortable saying, "Yeah, I read comic books. They aren't just for kids."
I play Warcraft. It's not a medieval-themed, social-centric, combat simulator (which would be a subset of video games designed for more mature audiences). It's a [i]video game[/i] and calling it something else gives credence to those who would portray a "typical" one as juvenile.
Super Happy Fun Activities (now with built-in eLearning)!
There exists no way of exchanging information without making judgments. --Bene Gesserit Axiom
Maybe it's simply that a portion of mainstream society is not interested in computer gaming? You could probably call them pork rinds'n'beer and nothing much would change. If you want to appeal to a demographic, make content for them, don't try to reclassify your product. Let's face it, Uncle Jethro in Arkansas ain't gonna rush out and buy an XBox 360 because games are now called "sitcomps" (situation competition).
We should also consider remaming Olympic Games. Maybe something like The Totally Grown Up Althletic Competition of Olymipa, so no one will confuse them with childsplay or wasted time.
The days of the digital watch are numbered.
Hey, why not? That way we can remove the last bit of guilt any companies might still have for releasing graphics-fest movies "games" with all the interaction of a college business law lecture!
The term "game" seems hard to change, but I hate seeing the term "game programming" meaning doing stuff with 3D graphics and sound. This should be called multimedia programming, or something. For me, game programming means things which you only do while writing games, such as inventing interesting game rules and implementing them, simulating an interactive world, network protocols for games, and so on.
If you are like me you have been gaming since Pong. What has always made gaming exciting and cool was that until about ten years ago there were completely new paradigms in gaming every year.
But about the last ten since the "entertainment" business got involved there has been hardly any new game styles. They reskin all your favorite game paradigms and then wonder why people won't continue to but 25 versions of first person shooters. More polygons and more elaborate visual affects, oh thrill!
They should call them movies because the game industry is acting like they can put out the same stupid action flick for years.
Us gamers are action oriented and the current gaming industry is boring, corporate and is not on the cutting edge of technology, sci-fi nor gaming.
Well, I am not sure that everything with the word 'game' is considered childish. People 'watch games', whether it be football (aka Soccer in USA), Americain Football, baseball and cricket for example.
;)
Then then there are people play 'card games', such as Black Jack or Bridge, but then again maybe that is also known as gambling
And of course there are computer games and board games.
In the end people play a certain type of game because it suits their sort of challenge. The truth is the issue with many computer games is that they are seen as 'anti-social'. Unless you can find your self a SO other who is also into computer games, then you will be left feeling that it is probably anti-social. Then again do we really have to convert everyone into believing they playing computer games are cool. Let them play what they want and play what you want.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
because you play them!
:)
I say sod any "adult" who thinks they are too grown up to play anymore
Chris "Ng" Jones
cmsj@tenshu.net
www.tenshu.net
...tried to replace the term "text adventure." Of course, in that case I think they wanted to hide the word "Text."
I believe they are ripping someone off. There was some academic who a year or two ago suggested that the name was incorrect.
His point was more technical than "games == kids" and was more along the lines of a "game" is akin to chess, poker, tic-tac-toe and nothing like what 90% of what video games are. I believe according to his argument, a fighter would be a game, but definately not a RPG or even an FPS.
For the love of god, why do people feel the need to rename something because it's somehow "different"?? Just stop it, NOW. First it was garbage man and janitors becoming "sanitation engineers". Now, you don't buy a bed, you buy a "sleep system" or a "bedding surface". I mean WTF? Really. Give it a rest already. Not later, but right now.
Stop wasting your time trying to find ways to redefine the basics and just enjoy them for what they are.
referring to videogames as 'games' is inhibiting their adoption by mainstream society
Video games are mainstream. They have been adopted. It has already happend. New video games sell as much or more than opening day for a movie. Some people just don't like them. Just like some people don't like movies.
I don't play them because I still haven't won my first game of nethack. I refuse to spend ay money on any new game until I do that.
Ascii artist &
Yeah, Second Life isn't really a game. It's more of a graphical chat client... with shopping malls...
"Convictions are more dangerous enemies of truth than lies."
Woohoo! More buzzwords! As others have pointed out, there are lots of adult-themed uses of the word "game," such as "Hey honey, you know not to bother me when I'm watching the game." I don't think it's the name that's halting adoption of video games to the masses, I think games just aren't intuitive to newcomers and have a high barrier to entry such as having to purchase a $400 piece of equipment and then spend hours trying to get good at a game.
Working people don't have that type of time. I know because I used to be a gamer, but since I've gotten out of college and into work, I haven't had time to sit down and learn how to play new games, or the time to learn how to get competitive in them in online play. Sitting down and watching tv requires little to no interaction from the audience perspective besides flipping the channels. Games are very different and will have a much harder time finding mainstream acceptance.
Don't trust a bull's horn, a doberman's tooth, a runaway horse or me.
The problem is that most people have no idea that the term "game" means much more than "something kids do with each other". Ask John Nash, Oskar Morgenstern or John von Neumann. Politics. Economics. All games.
That's a traditional mainstream video game with a nice 3D engine that runs on mainstream platforms. Perhaps a better example might have been chosen (interactive television set-top-boxes, javascript sites, v-smile and other edutainment kit based on cheap 16 bit CPUs).
...it was associated with sleazy dives in New Orleans. It didn't become mainstream and get taken seriously until they started calling it "Polyrhythmic improvisational music."
"Chess" was never taken seriously until they stopped calling it a game. It didn't take off until they started to call them "Combinatorial placement challenges."
"The movies" never caught the attention of serious critics. That's why, today, everybody calls them "Photoplays."
Yes, absolutely, what's important is not what it is, but what you call it.
Note: Irony.
"How to Do Nothing," kids activities, back in print!
No No No- None of this inventing words crap. We're going to have another edu-tainment for kids or something silly like that.
Why not just adapt what people consider to be a game. We all know what games are, but they just have a general negative ora about them. A game can be many things and people need to realize it's more than playing Street Fighter in the arcade, or tetris on a GameBoy, or those handheld games that play a single game on the unit using crappy LCDs. Games have evolved and are considered anything interactive and entertaining.
So as opposed to making up a new word, why not just let the word 'game' adjust in people's minds. The definition is right for all of those ( http://www.m-w.com/dictionary/game ) "activity engaged in for diversion or amusement".
A game is something different to different people. A club to an adult may be a strip club. A restaurant to a rich person probably doesn't include Boston Market. The word is correct, but is interpreted differently depending on the market (in this case mostly age/maturity level).
-M
when you see the word 'Linux', drink!
The terms "graphic novel" and "comic book" refer to both format and genre. If someone talks about a "comic book movie," chances are they mean X-Men or Superman and not Ghost World, Road to Perdition, or A History of Violence. This leads to ambiguity in just what the terms actually mean.
I can't bring myself to call anything made up of 22 pages stapled together a "graphic novel," no matter how serious, but a 150-page hardcover or trade paperback? Maybe. I'm more inclined if it's all one long story, especially if it's original. I guess I'm thinking of an individual comic book as a short story, and something like Sandman: The Kindly Ones (which took 13 issues to tell serialized) as novel-length.
That said, I've recently started looking at comics from the 1940s, and there were tons of these 100-page anthologies on newsprint. Those were unambiguously comic books. Same with the 200-300-page hardcover Archive editions DC puts out. Or the 500-page Marvel Essentials or DC's Showcase Presents lines.
Even for people who actually distinguish between "comic books" and "graphic novels," the line is fuzzy.
The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein, in his Philosophical Investigations, discusses the term 'game' at length. He argues that whilst is is clear that the term lacks a precise boundary (para. 69-71), we can still meaningfully use the term in most cases. It seems that many of the observations here are just noticing what Wittgenstein noticed back in 1953. It was examples such as the term 'game' that led him to famously formulate his doctrine (para. 43) that "...the meaning of a word is its use in the language".
Consider that daily life can be viewed as three activities. Work, Sleep, and Games. Work is the stuff you do to stay alive. Sleep is the stuff you do keep working. Games are what you do that don't support work and sleep directly. So eating is perhaps both work and sleep. Eating good food makes it a game. Commuting doesn't pay -so one cranks the tunes and decides who to let cut in, giving us a game. Chatting with someone or staring at the tube or playing chess or gardening (if you are not a farmer) are games. They keep that throbbing jello between your ears operating. Rationalization, flaming others and voting are games. The more we can put game into our life by choice the happier we seem to get. If work is part a game, going is less onerous. So 'up' your game time. I am just not sure changing the name is worth much thought.
Hmmm . . . lessee . . . winners and losers, check . . . rules, check . . . primary motive for engaging in this activity, recreational, check . . . looks like a duck, walks like a duck, quacks like a duck . . . yup. It's a game.
What next, you'll tell me that I can't call my new car "my new toy"? Get stuffed - there's nothing wrong with playing games as an adult. In fact, many NBA/NFL/NHL/NL players (among others) make a better living at it than I do working; and that didn't even cover the World Poker Tour, game shows, etc.
Admit that you enjoy playing games. Revel in it - on the day you stop growing up, you start growing old.
I think Alan Moore's "The Watchmen" is one of the greatest works of storytelling art in the past 50 years, but anybody who calls it a "graphic novel" around me risks a punch in the throat.
:-P
While 'graphic novel' sounds to me like it was dreamed up by some comic books writers make their medium more legitimate by making it sound 'artsy', the watchmen is in it's current format a graphic novel. here is why:
A comic books tend to be serial in nature, while novels tend to be self-contained stories. While you can probably name dozens of counter examples, I think this is probably a good generalization. The watchment is pretty much a self contained story, and since it is told with small colored drawings, I think it could be called a graphic novel.
As for punching people in the throat, you seem to have quite a bit of fanboy rage built up over this issue. Relax dude, it's just a comic book.
HA! I just wasted some of your bandwidth with a frivolous sig!
I've long held the belief that the total complexity of language (which would be a measure of the complexity of the characters, the complexity of the grammar, and the total number of words) would necessarily be comparable for all languages. You've still got to express about the same number of things, all you're doing is shifting where the work is done.
However, this does not appear to apply very well to English. True, it doesn't have a neuter gender and the structure of a sentance is notoriously flexible, but it does have a vast number of rules and special cases. Over time, I've also encountered many cases where a concept in one language simply doesn't have anything comparable in English. This suggests that overall complexity is not as simple as I'd assumed, although I strongly suspect I'm not too far wide of the mark.
(I would love it if someone who specializes in language could draw up a map, showing the various degrees of freedom within a language, and how different languages compare both within any given degree of freedom and overall.)
It's a small world and it smells funny; I'd buy another if it wasn't for the money; Take back what I paid (SoM)
Yeah, "game theory" sounds also a little bit childish to me.
You have got to be kidding me. They are game. They have been games, and will continue to be games.
Way back in the mid 1980s, my computer had a good stragety game, a vocabulary game for kids, and a ASCII art strip poker game.
The only difference between games then and games today is that the games are prettier, people take them more seriously, spend more money on them, and one can make money off one's prowess.
But, even if there are professional game players, so what? Football has a professional side and it is still called a game.
They are games.
There is no "-1 offended" or "-1 you don't agree with me" mod options for a reason.
This reminds me for some reason of people who call any SUV a Jeep, rather it be a Jeep or a Toyota SUV. A game is a game whatever kind of game it is. Same reason that a computer is a computer weather it be a Micro$haft, OSX, or Linux box. This article is so pointless, but entertaining.
I've been saying that we need to stop calling them games for a long time; the only problem is that my thinking always gets stuck in the same place: trying to find a new name.
I'd hate to burst bubbles here but the sports industry is HUGELY popular and it's all about baseball "games" and basketball "games"... the term "game" is not a synonym for "kid stuff". This is meaningless marketing banter and isn't even as convincing as the whole "doll vs. action figure" debate.
== online Gambling even if you mean online RPG.
I completely agree with this, and was already aware of the problem with the word. The other problem word is "Play", which I think is even worse than "game". "Play" and "Playing" is really much more associated with child activities than "game" is.
But as has been mentioned... what other words are there? I can't see myself saying "I experienced this great interactive entertainment called..."
So let's not call chess, poker, golf, pool, darts, or any of the other things which adults play "games" either! Clearly, we must make up an entirely new word because a handful of people have a giant stick up their asses over the term GAME!
How? When? Where? Video games have absolutely saturated society at every level they need to! What more adoption do we need? Play them in our sleep?
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose By any other word would smell as sweet."
they're "Elite Americans"
Videogames are competitive games, but football and basketball are sports.
you have to pull yourself away from the videoscreen and compete with your body as well as your mind.
most importantly, there are no cheat codes, you can't pause the screen, you only have one life, and if you trash talk someone is bound to hit you.
Sports are much harder, I tried kickboxing instead of counterstrike for a week and I found out: Videogames *are* childish in comparison.
Look, if you are the type of adult that refuses to do something because it is called a "GAME" then we don't want you in our club. I can't stand adults that think the "real world" is defined as one devoid of fun.
The problem isn't the word game itself that has a childish connotation. As other people have pointed out various sports games, the game of chess, and others don't have this issue, but if you say video game then that takes on a whole new meaning. I'm afraid that anymore instead of meaning something childish our 'good' senators and like minded interest groups are going to make sure it's synonymous with violence or crime/murder simulators. We may want to be careful what we ask for. Maybe being considerd childish isn't so bad after all?
...which is why you see so many chess grandmasters under the age of 18.
Karma: It's all a bunch of tree-huggin' hippy crap!
Let's file this next to "If we change the name of "North Dakota" to "Dakota", people won't think it's cold and snowy."
This despite the fact that it's cold and snowy.
I've got an idea. Rather than try to manage peoples' perceptions by choosing clever language, how about we stop worrying so much about what other people think?
Why yes, I AM a rocket scientist!
I insist that all http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=%22gaming+com mission have their names changed immediately to gambling commissions.
Freezing the meaning of words to something specific isn't really useful. Meanings of things change trough time, newer generations see things differently. It's annoying when they force you to use old meanings of words, which don't reflect the current use by the people who use it, and ban all modern use of it.
Kaetemi
What should we call them? ... ...
Murder Simulators!
Tell me something...it's still "We, the people"... right?
We are gamers, aren't we proud of it ?
The Wise adapts himself to the world. The Fool adapts the world to himself. Therefore, all progress depends on the Fool.
Hah hah, when I first saw this thread title on Google I thought to myself "since when did Slashdot start caring about the Olympic Games?" Maybe if gamers (not all of us, I realize, but enough) quit whining it would do a better job of disassociating video games with childish activity. The whining itself is far more childish than whatever you wish to call the entertainment.
Yeah let's stop calling them games so some asshat can come along and brand them 'murder-simulators' Sheesh, I mean a game is a game is a game.
And from now on we shall call any movie that gets a PG-13 rating or higher "adult entertainment" ...seriously people, this idea is lame and needs to be shot. dead.
-=Zeus=And=Hades=-
Games have evolved. Games have diversified. Are they suddenly not games as a result?
I guess some things, like The Sims I might consider "toys" instead of "games" in that they're a little more open-ended by design... But still... if we make the wrong associations when we hear the word "game" that's a fault in us, not in our terminology.
---GEC
I'm but the humble pupil, seeking to snatch the scratchbuilt pebble from the master's fully articulated hand
"The adult oriented, artistic works of sound and video that are supposed to be admired for the sake of it can then be called "garbage". Sound like a plan? :-P"
After reading the PS3 story. I thought that "art" discs wold be perfect. Stick a disc in and walk through the exhibit. Interactivity optional.
Sports are games. People take *them* seriously. The name isn't important.
...calling them nerds.
I believe that equating smut with the world "adult" is far worse. Even when I was a child I found this rather frightening. I used to wonder is all adults spend their time watchting porn and reading dirty magazines. Using the word "adult" in this way sends the wrong message to children about what it really means to be an adult. It doesn't take a conservative person understand this and I don't know why it has not be addressed yet. Or maybe it has? Just my two cents.
Who doesn't play video games because they're too serious, 'grown-up' whatever that means, and can't take the time out to have fun ? Fine for them. Some people don't dance, some people don't watch TV. To each their own.
Then there are the people who want to decide that someone else shouldn't play video games, or someone else shouldn't watch what they want or hear what they want or read what they want, to protect the children or because those ideas are dangerous, and there's a word for those people. They're fascists. Plain and simple. They can come about that viewpoint from cultural conservatism or misguided 'progressive' socialism, but either way, people who value art and freedom need to stand up to the fascists, explain to them repeatedly that there is room for all sorts of points of view and expression, that parents are to be made responsible for their children, and that their decision to use censorship as a means of controlling culture is to be questioned at it's core as an attack on freedom and democracy.
Must be a slow newsday. This is a dumb article. Anyone who wants to can start calling video games "interactive entertainment" ( leave out the word "adult" unless there's real porn involved, thanks ), but don't expect anyone else to follow suit. Video games are aptly named _games_ that you play on a _video_ display... changing the name would change nothing and serve no purpose.
And should this suggestion gain popularity, I humbly appologize to future generations.
sig fault
Hey, lets just call them Gateways Away from Mundane Existance. That's too long...maybe we could turn it into an acronym or something.
I have often thought about this, too, although for slightly diffrent reasons. Before Electronic games anything called a game was a multiplayer thing. Sports, Cards (except solitare), RPGs, and Boardgames. Anything else was generaly a 'puzzle' or 'toy' (or probably other terms). So in my incredibly impractical game theory/termonology, a game is any direct competition (something with an offense and a defense, as opposed to running or figure skating which are just competitions and sports but not games), where as a puzzle is anything that pits a player against a system (crossword, jigsaw, solitare would be more acurately called this), and a sport requires physical activity (sorry all you professional gaming 'atheletes' but your more professional puzzler solvers or gamers. same goes for the poker players). So should we call them puzzles? i think that is a little inaccurate too. Real-Time Interactive Simulations (what DigiPenn calls there game design majors) is just to much of a mouthful (although does highlight the key diffrence between video games and traditional games, puzzles, and sports). Movies are another thing to consider. Movie is a pretty archaic term IMO (just as bad as talkie). The movie industry realized this and now use the term film when they want to sound classy (although that too is equally inaccurate. Do we call jigsaw puzzles cardboard?). So maybe 'Disc'? Doesn't quite sound right but in 50 years who knows. Or maybe the stigma from the term game will be gone by then (although my original points stand)?
or as someone said
Back again, "new and improved"
we return to our irregularly programmed schedule
hidden cleverly between heavy breasted
beer and car commmercials
CNNESPNABCTNT but mostly B.S.
where oxymoronic language like
"virtually spotless" "fresh frozen"
light yet filling" and
"military intelligence" have become standard
T.V. is the place where phrases are redefined
like "recession" to "necessary downturn"
"crude oil" on a beach to "mousse"
"civilian death" to "collateral damages"
and being killed by your own army
is now called "friendly fire"