I mention this to say that trying to define a videogame is a fool’s errand
i would say instead that there’s room for other kinds of art that might use the same interfaces that aren’t games but they’re still valid pursuits. A virtual tour of a museum where you move the point of view around in 3D space like an FPS probably isn’t a game but it draws on game literacy for the interface and you could sell it on game consoles.
a box of lego isn’t a game but you can play a game with it if you invent objectives and constraints etc.
i’m aware, you can simplify even more though and have all the points of interest available from the beginning and no tracking of what you looked at and then it’s much more clear that the thing i’m talking about isn’t a game at all and isn’t presented as a game.
a slideshow isn’t a motion picture, but nobody is weird about it. nobody would try to claim 50 still images you click through is a movie and nobody would smear a presentation by saying it isn’t one.
i would say instead that there’s room for other kinds of art that might use the same interfaces that aren’t games but they’re still valid pursuits. A virtual tour of a museum where you move the point of view around in 3D space like an FPS probably isn’t a game but it draws on game literacy for the interface and you could sell it on game consoles.
a box of lego isn’t a game but you can play a game with it if you invent objectives and constraints etc.
There’s a whole genre of game called "walking simulator " where this is exactly the gameplay maybe interacting with a button or something
i’m aware, you can simplify even more though and have all the points of interest available from the beginning and no tracking of what you looked at and then it’s much more clear that the thing i’m talking about isn’t a game at all and isn’t presented as a game.
a slideshow isn’t a motion picture, but nobody is weird about it. nobody would try to claim 50 still images you click through is a movie and nobody would smear a presentation by saying it isn’t one.