ABSTRACT
Playing a game requires full attention during play. The irony of writing a book about games, yet championing the value of play, is not lost here. The challenge in a global society is that reading requires literacy. Play is a way of understanding and a way of explaining. Play and relationship games function as a way for players to understand and designers to explain. It is often useful to understand the difference between interactives, toys, and games. The first digital games were a triumph simply in the fact that they worked. The ability to play with or through a computer is a clear triumph in the evolution of human–computer interaction. Games are structured play. Games take the ephemeral properties of play and the play state and turn them into something with a distinct start and a distinct end. Games structure interactive play. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
