Most of the academic literature on games is either mathematical, focusing on finding optimal strategies, or sociological, focusing on the role that games play in human society. Characteristics of Games is neither. Its intended audience is the community of game critics and game designers—people who have studied hundreds of games closely and are faced with the task of evaluating them and determining what would make them better. Even though games have existed throughout human history, our vocabulary for discussing games is surprisingly primitive. Characteristics of Games plugs this gap by introducing a powerful set of concepts for thinking about, analyzing, and discussing games.
As an example, consider the common misconception that a game is simply a set of rules. Though it is undeniable that the rules of a game are absolutely fundamental, they do not by themselves determine everything about the game. How seriously the players attempt to win, how much work it takes to become an expert, and even how quickly the game is played depend more on the community of players of the game than on the rules themselves. Characteristics of Games provides the vocabulary for this distinction by introducing the adjective "agential" for the aspects that are player-dependent and the adjective "systemic" for the aspects that are not and depend only on the structure and rules of the game itself. Armed with this distinction, we are immediately better equipped to analyze a question such as, "Is poker a game of skill?" Naively, most people assume that the answer to this question depends only on the rules of poker; i.e., they assume that skill is a systemic characteristic of a game. However, the authors argue that skill is largely agential. Whether or not you agree, it is clear that having the right concepts to work with automatically raises the level of the discussion.
The authors identify a large number of important characteristics of games: downtime, spectation, kingmaking, standards, metagame, and many more. These concepts are not arbitrary but have been carefully selected based on the authors' long experience with, and profound thinking about, the key features of games of all types, from classic board games to sports to computer games. Whether you are a professional game designer or have a leadership role in a community that plays games or are someone who simply enjoys thinking deeply about games, Characteristics of Games will provide you with the cognitive tools to take your thinking to the next level.
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Top reviews from other countries
Roger Meloche
A good exploration of the nuts and bolts of games.
Reviewed in Canada on February 18, 2023
MR CHIHIRO YAMADA
Essential Reading for any Games Designer
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 15, 2015