Brick #1: What is a game?

So, you are a game developer, but where are you supposed to start? Let's begin the destruction of the wall by taking out the first brick: " What is a game? "

Let's try to find a common term of what a game is... Hmmm...

"We could say that a game is practically an experience you go through willingfully, in order to have fun, by solving a series of problems, alone or with teamates/enemies in order to achieve a specific goal by utilizing creativity or not, under a specific set of rules that can either speed up or slow down your progress by triggering you emotionally and can be also classified as a form of passive training."

Would that suffice? Maybe not, since, really, games are not rocket science, they are rather a kind of art. Trying to interpret this we can get some facts straight:

"a game is practically an experience" : Intrestingly put, a game is trying to grab the essense of memories or experiences from real-life and try to make you go through the very same. It's an experience we are trying to create here. And that comes through memories, dreams, nightmares, important life events.

"you go through willingfully" : Meaning freedom. You are not forced to play a game! Else you can't see that as a game! It would be rather a job, or something that you do to get paid whatsoever! When you do it without having any second thoughts or just because someone else wanted you to, you are NOT having fun and thus, not feeling the experience of a game.

"in order to have fun" : Practically, what the last paragraph said. You play games in order to have fun! But then again, children have fun without playing games, rather with their toys. But toys are objects, they are something you can have fun WITH, and have no rules or whatsoever. Fun is a very important fact when playing games, and it has a different meaning than pleasure...

"by solving a series of problems" : We humans like solving problems. We take pleasure in solving difficult problems, with either creative thinking or with our problem-solving skills. Notice the use of the word "pleasure" now? Things are probably starting to get clearer here. As intellectual creatures as we are, we are fascinated by solving problems that tend to trouble our thoughts from time to time.

"alone or with teamates/enemies" : Ah, so there are others in the "battlefield" with us as well! This can fairly well introduce us to the aspect of multi-player gaming. There are games that can be played solo, by solving clues that the game gives us, or there are games that force us to fit in a team where teamwork and co-operation are required in order to "beat" the opposing team, either it is the AI or just other players. Chemistry of a team is a core aspect. Though that's something for us, human beings to develop. A game is merely a push towards that direction.

"in order to achieve a specific goal" : Yes, all games that respect themselves should have a goal, a primary objective, a main quest, the important mission that will forever stay in our minds as we play and play and play until we fulfil our destiny as players and achieve our goals. A goal can be considered as our "oil" that keeps us going until the very end and try to solve everything that comes in our way. The goal itself, though can't act as a motive.

"by utilizing creativity or not" : Either we like it or not, some puzzles in games or some problems can be too easy to solve if the path we chose is straightforward, so in games we either utilize the element of creativity , meaning something can be solved either by following a split path (Many solutions) or an invisible path (A creative solution), or just don't utilize that element and leave our game linear and straightforward.

"under a specific set of rules" : That's very important. Games have rules, as a matter of fact, rules in a game are one of the most important pieces of a game! For example, we control a hungry creature that is supposed to be herbivore only, so we avoid meat and hunt for bushes, leaves, etc while we avoid other creatures, dead bodies and meat in general. Another example: We are playing in a shooter, and our character cannot shoot a target that's closer than let's say 10 yards! A final example: In a turn-based RPG our character cannot act twice before the enemy, and that's the reason it's being called "turn-based", but then again, by implying special rules like the enemy is terribly slowed by a sickness, while our hero has the blessing of a God , he can act twice for X turns. It's our world here. We can do it all. The rules though, need to exist in every type of game, and must be obeyed by every creature, virtual or not.

"that can either speed up or slow down your progress" : To extend what we said, when being fully obedient of the rules, the game can sometimes reward you, or can punish you, if you aren't. The rewards usually speed you up to achieve your goal or slow you down. It's the game's way of saying "Thank you for listening to me" or "Obey me or else!". Typical examples: The Elder Scroll games. You help a civillian? Extra gold for you, buddy, go buy yourself medicine, or special equipment. You KILL that civillian instead? There is bounty on your head and YOU gotta pay for your vile acts, imbecile!

"by triggering you emotionally" : Oh yes, when you are being called a hero can make YOU (The player) to feel like a god inside a game, when they hunt you however you do feel a bit weird. (Maybe fear of what's about to follow? This applies to games you have not yet fully experienced and you can't tell what will happen.) Emotional triggers can be the element of creativity, as previously discussed, the element of chance, the element of surprise, a steamy romance between you and another character, unexpectable twists in the plot of the game, generally, the art of storytelling can do wonders here, if played right. A game that can manage to strike fear in you, make you scream, laugh, cry, touch your soul, or even frustrate you and make you smash things around you when you play it, it is said that it CAN trigger you emotionally.

"and can be also classified as a form of passive training." : Oh, the final phrase, we have stumbled upon a gem here people. That's one of the most important aspects of a game, and i tend to call it "passive training". Can you think why? Games in general are being critisized by enfeebling your mind, making you dumber and dumber, whilist the exact opposite is trully the fishy story going on in the background.

Tell me, have you played Pokemon? So, how on earth can you manage to recall 350 names, and 1500 attacks? How on earth do you know which one can you encounter where and at which level range? That's passive training to you. You are being taught subsequently about Pokemon, you are memorizing such a huge array of names without even noticing it! That's trully a GEM for me. The ultimate educational value.

I personally learned all the English i have learned through gaming! No, i have never studied the subject, and it's not my native language! I just played a lot of games! On top of that, think of shooter games. Have your mother play a shooter. Unless your mother is a seasoned gamer who owns a blog about gaming and is writing on a PC Games magazine, you will notice how slow her reflexes will be. See other games playing a shooter. BOOM headshot! Running around, jumping at crypts, changing guns and reloading, then BOOM another headshot with a newly acquired sniper rifle from the corpse of a dead marine! Shooters increase Hand-To-Eye coordination, and thus a gamer who goes for a driver's licence tends to find holding the wheel, changing speeds and looking at the mirror dramatically familiar.

Last, let's discuss about RPG games. How on earth is someone supposed to remember which weapon or which skill is best used against which monster? What about the turns? It's a formula of calculating Speed differences! How about the damage of each skill? It's all about adding your character's strength, multiplying it by a set value, then removing some value based on the opponent's defense, and then throw in a probability for a chance of critical strike, meaning even more multipliers..! That's a simple damage formula for those intrested in RPG games, then again, they have to calculate their health points based on the enemy's level and buy the correct amound of healing and mana potions to replenish their energy while keeping in mind the chances of their character going beserk. To be honest, someone not familiar with this is the one who should worry about going beserk. So many things to keep track of. A minimap, a bag of supplies, a health meter, maybe a thirst meter and some energy meter. How about the enemies circling around you? What about your goal?

To conclude, someone who is into games is forced to THINK, to SOLVE, to CALCULATE before they ACT, and as a result, all this is interpreted into "A great learning experience"..! Let's see what we have learned today:

1. Games offer experiences.
2. Games are played willingfully.
3. Games are a fun hobby.
4. Games enhance our problem-solving abilities.
5. Games can be played alone, cooperative or competitive, for the sake of challenge. 
6. Games enhance our creativity.
7. Games aid us in focusing on single goals.
8. Games have rules.
9. Games can reward or punish us.
10. Games can trigger our feelings and emotions.
11. Games have hidden educational values.

So, games are all that... Yep, and now we trully know what a game consists of...!