Gameplay

History

Arising alongside video game development in the 1980s, the term gameplay was initially used solely within the context of video games, though now it is also used for tabletop games.

Definition of term

There is no consensus on the precise definition of gameplay. It has been differently defined by different authors, but all definitions refer to player interaction with a game. For example:

• "The structures of player interaction with the game system and with other players in the game."
• "Gameplay here is seen as the interactive gaming process of the player with the game." Theorists also agree that video game gameplay is distinct from graphics and audio elements.

Some theorists add more specific elements to the basic definition of gameplay as the interaction between players and games. For example:

• "One or more causally linked series of challenges in a simulated environment."
• "The experience of gameplay is one of interacting with a game design in the performance of cognitive tasks, with a variety of emotions arising from or associated with different elements of motivation, task performance and completion."
• In The Videogame Theory Reader, G. Frasca identifies three components to gameplay: "Manipulation rules" ( defining what the player can do in the game) "Goal Rules" (defining the goal of the game), and "Metarules" (defining how a game can be tuned or modified).

Types

Gameplay can be divided into several types. For example, cooperative gameplay involves two or more players playing together, often on a team. Below is a non-exhaustive list of various gameplay types:

• Asymmetric video game
• Cooperative video game
• Emergent gameplay
• Nonlinear gameplay

Playability

Playability is a measure of the quality of gameplay. Playability represents the ease, quantity, or duration that a game can be played. Playability evaluative methods target games to improve design, while player experience evaluative methods target players to improve gaming.

Different scholars analyze playability according to different sets of criteria. For example, in Playability: analyzing user experience in video games, the researchers define playability as a set of properties that describe player experience using a specific game system: satisfaction, learning, efficiency, immersion, motivation, emotion, and socialization. However, in A video game's elements ontology, the researchers define the facets of playability as: intrinsic, mechanical, interactive, artistic, personal, and social.

References

Bibliography

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References

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18. Frasca, G. (2003). "Simulation versus narrative: introduction to ludology". The Videogame Theory Reader.
19. [http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_657.txl Usability First: Usability Glossary: playability] {{webarchive. link. (2009-10-18)
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21. (2010-06-03). "A video game's elements ontology". University of Granada.