Week 11: Game Play

The word gameplay seems a bit of an empty term to loosely describe elements in a game. Many different people from different backgrounds will make their own assumptions about what the following term means, which makes it a hard term to pin point exactly. Gaming magazines and articles will often rate gameplay but it’s a lax term to describe and even to rate as their interpretation of what is “gameplay” might differ considerably between your view and mine.




However in my own opinion I guess that this quote is the one that I mostly agree with. “Ambiguous term for the total effect of all active game elements. Refers to the holistic game experience and the ability of the game to command the attention of the player.”

Game Play is the sheer core of a game, the foundation if you will. Strip a game of it’s music, graphics and storyline and chances are that it won’t be such a satisfying play however if the game play is done correctly, theoretically you still would play it. Having a look back at early games such as Pong and Space Invaders where there was no storyline, very basic graphics they were still huge hits and considered old favorites because simply the gameplay offered a huge reward to the playing, buying into human nature of being competitive and wanting to achieve. Those games didn’t need fancy music artists to lend their vocals to the games, it didn’t need Ragdoll physics (not that it was available at that time but you get my point) and it didn’t need a witty and clever script to accompany it.
My point is that the old school games of years past is as close to sheer gameplay as you can probably get as all those games had to offer was good gameplay. It’s an important factor in any game as it is the very foundation of a good game and if done right then a player will keep returning to the game – thus equaling a success.
Game Play is how a player experiences the game, what that game means to a player, how successful it can keep the attention of the player through numerous hours and what a player can get out of the game, which should be enjoyment above all else.
I don’t really trust the word “Game Play”, as it is such a broad term and in this day and age where there is so many different genres of game and so many different types of gamer. More games that are targeted towards casual players offer such a uniquely different approach then games targeted towards the hardcore market. Compare say Brain Training to Ninja Gaiden, how would you rate the gameplay between games such as these where the player is getting something completely different?

In short my belief is that Game Play is a loose term for player involvement and experience however I’m sure that many have came up with their own conclusions about this term in which it is not a case of right or wrong as the term is so ambiguous that there is no defiant answer.