Soapy Games’s Blog

Many people have trouble understanding what gaming is.  When I say “I work with games.” some people instantly think of slot machines.  The world of gaming is very big and I confine my work to video games and real life games.  Here are some terms and examples of the things you might hear your kids talking about: 

Platforms and Devices

There are many different hardware devices that can be used for playing video games.  These devices are generally called “platforms” and they can be divided into several broad categories.

            Consoles:        A console is a device used only for gaming.  Some examples are the Wii, Xbox 360, PS3, GameBoy Advance, and so on.  While I use the term “gaming”, you may have also recently read of the Banner Health study that used the Wii to increase surgeon effectiveness and you may have seen the Johnny Chung Lee video on YouTube that makes a low cost Smart Board out of a Wiimote.  (The Wii controller is called a “Wiimote”.)  So, while these are gaming devices, it is useful to understand that they are used for more than just having fun.

            PC Games:     These are games that are played just on the PC.  You can buy them at a store like Best Buy or EB Games, or they can be downloaded off the internet from sites like Big Fish www.bigfish.com

            Massively Multiplayer Online Games:        These are games you play online, but with a bunch of other people, potentially from all over the world, who are also logged in at the same time interacting with you.  You may hear people also use terms such as MMO, MMOG, MMORPG, MUVE, and others to describe this category, but the bottom line is that no matter what the variant, it is potentially a lot of people logged in at the same time.  Some examples include Club Penguin, Second Life, and Webkins.com.

Game Genres

As with the many different hardware devices, there are many game genres.  There are myriad types of games, which is why people in the industry get so upset when people publicly paint with a broad brush and say “Games are bad.”

            Casual Games:          These are games that can take 10 to 20 minutes, or even less time.  Examples are the games you might find at Addicting Games www.addictinggames.com  (Note:  I would be careful about letting my child have free access to this site.  Some of the games are fantastically amusing: my favorite is the parking game.  But others have mature themes.)

            Serious Games:         These are games with a purpose, not entertainment as the ultimate objective.  Examples are ReMission, the first person shooter (FPS) game that has the heroine in the game attacking cancer cells.  Studies have shown that kids with cancer who play ReMission do better during treatment than those who don’t.  Other examples are The Redistricting Game www.redistrictinggame.com that teaches players the complexity and nuances of gerrymandering.

            Advergaming:           These are games that are designed to sell something.  A great example is the Burger King game.  Other examples are the Folger’s Word Puzzle ads that you have seen on web pages.

            Persuasive Games:    Like advergaming, these games set out to sell an idea.  Frequently used for social consciousness raising and the like.  See www.games4change.org

            First Person Shooter:            The player is the protagonist who goes through the game shooting at things.  These are the types of games that tend to get the public upset.

            Augmented Reality Games:             These are games that have a computer-based gameplay component, but also have the players complete missions in real life.  The TV show “Numbers” had an episode on ARGs that did a good job highlighting this type of game.  (Of course, ARGs rarely lead to death and mayhem in real life like they do on tv.)

            Real Time Strategy:  RTS games have players competing against one another by making strategic moves to accomplish game objectives, such as secure more resources or stabilize currency.

Many modern simulations are simply serious games.  America’s Army is a simulation, but it is also an MMORPG, and Advergame, and a First Person Shooter.  The Redistricting Game is a simulation.  ReMission is a simulation.  There are other more technical simulations that our students might work on after employment that involve more precise application of physics and so forth, but the lines between games and simulations are very blurry.