Production 1: Power-Up

As a gamer myself who plays many different genres of games in addition to making them as a hobby, the definition of a game takes many different forms for me. By using gamedefinitions.com, I chose two almost conflicting definitions of games. One is almost entirely devoid of the entertainment aspect of video games, taking the perspective of a game developer, and the other is the opposite, taking the perspective of a player. I find these two definitions interesting to compare for these reasons.

 

Regarding the first one,  "a game is a self-contained artwork characterized by an interaction" , are games truly self-contained if they have the ability to inspire numerous forms of paratexts—guidebooks, wiki pages, trailers, and other posted canon works? In this case, would it not be more appropriate to say that games can be self-contained but are not always self-contained? I find that the first definition fits academic/game studies traditions that align games with aesthetics, design, and interactive art. It speaks to how games are considered structured, closed systems where meaning emerges from rules and interaction, in other words, its procedural rhetoric.

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Regarding the second,  "a game is a ritual that involves an act of exploration to have fun" , are games truly rituals? What is the definition of a ritual, in this context anyways? The second definition situates games as part of human culture and play, framing them as recurring, exploratory, meaning-making rituals with a primary goal of enjoyment. It feels like a complete departure from the first definition, but I think it is no less important to understand and consider.

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By framing these two definitions as a dialogue between two parties, I believe that it highlights the tension in game studies between games as art objects and games as cultural practices. If we imagine these two definitions speaking to one another, what’s really interesting is how they highlight different sides of the same experience. To explain this, I am using the RPG game Stardew Valley as an example.

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If we think of Stardew Valley as a self-contained artwork, it’s a carefully crafted world with its own rules and aesthetic. The interaction—planting crops, talking to residents, and taking care of your farm—is what turns it from a static design into a living experience. But if we think of it as a ritual of exploration and fun, the focus shifts; it becomes about the repeated daily cycles and the slow progress of interacting with NPCs to build relationships. When we think of it like this, Stardew Valley can be seen as both a designed artwork that offers structured interaction and a ritual space where exploration and enjoyment build a sense of belonging.

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Word count: 440