ABSTRACT
In my view, the very breadth of the term video game has had a pro-foundly negative impact on the way that we in the video-game world think about games and game design . Th e term has become a catchall for any kind of digital interactive entertainment, regardless of the nature of the system . Furthermore, for most people who play video games, the massive catchall term video game has become synonymous with game . And yet puzzles, sandboxes, toys, simulators, interactive fi ction, contests, and many other types of entertainment also are referred to as games . Th e problem with this is that there actually is a type of system that’s getting lost in the mix-a specifi c thing that is not the same as a puzzle, a toy, or a basic interactive system such as a simulator . Th e eff ect of using the term game for all of these things is that we’re left with no way to point to this other, unique type of system .
