Games – Our Friends

Games – Our Friends

A game is a structured kind of play, normally undertaken for fun or entertainment, and at times also used as an academic tool. Games are quite different from work, that is typically carried out for pay, and from literature, that is generally more of an expressive or aesthetic elements. Games are normally played between two people with the objective of gaining points or accumulating bonuses or failing in that regard. Some games are competitive games, where one player challenges another to a contest, whereas other games, such as bowling, are interactive and relay the rules or objectives of the game on a graphical display. However, one must remember that not all games can be considered games, because some have the purpose of distraction or stress reduction, while others are purely exercises for the mind.

The word ‘game’ comes from the French word ‘gamin’, which means ‘to play’. From this, the idea of a game evolved, with the idea of playing a game as a recreation, and also as a social activity. From a simple single player game, we now have multi-player games between friends or even family members, where each one takes a turn and tries to achieve a set goal. Online multiplayer games, where players take turns logging into their computers to compete against each other, are also quite common.

Games have, therefore, become a significant part of our lives. Although computer games are popular with children and teenagers, there are still certain aspects of the board game, such as the scoring and counting, that are popular with adults as well. It is this nostalgic attachment to board games that has led to the revival of Chris Crawford’s ‘The World in Your Hand’, a computer game based on the famous Chinese board game called the Shanghai Khan. This game has been inspired by both traditional Chinese architecture, with its many columns and dragon figures, and more modernist designs, with the use of cubicles and desks. The result is both a celebration of old Chinese culture, as well as setting the sights of the future of computer games, where creativity is still taken seriously.