Game thought

Game idea is a technical term in game science . Sometimes the terms game idea or game principle are synonymous. Game theory, game didactics and game practice mean the meaning or game intention that characterize a particular game. The respective game idea is often expressed in the game name. It can be “open” or “covered”, ie obvious to every player or only recognizable to the experienced player. He can express himself on a superficial level, relating to the pure game, or on a more subtle level, relating to the symbolic content of the game.

Word meaning

Every game follows a game idea. The game concept characterizes the essence of a game. It distinguishes it from other games and characterizes the game. The underlying game idea gives every game its own meaning.

Game idea or idea are at the same time the original cell of a game. When developing a new game, the game inventor starts with a game idea, a game idea, a game idea. The game scientist opens up the essence of a game as a war game or peace game , as an educational game or game of chance from the underlying game idea. The players feel addressed or unsettled by the respective game idea. The rules and procedures of the game result from the game idea.

to form

The different game genres, but also individual games, can be distinguished from one another via the special game concept. This happens all the more clearly, the more precisely the game idea is formulated. The simple game idea, which is decisive for the practical game, must be clearly agreed and understood by everyone playing so that a fair game can take place according to the rules. The deeper meaning of the game, its basic idea, does not necessarily have to be obvious to every player. The meaning and basic idea - especially with symbol games - are often only revealed to the game expert. There are two different levels, the action-relevant and the meaningful level. They are also referred to as "open" or "overt" and as "hidden" or "symbolic" game idea.

Open minded game

In the case of the “ soccer game ”, for example, it is obvious that it is a ball game that is to be played with the feet. The idea of ​​the game is, in cooperation with the players of your own team, to get the ball through the opposing defense into the opposing goal with your feet as often as possible and to prevent the other team's intentions as much as possible. In " basketball -" and " hockey " the game idea is modified by the different play equipment, a different ball handling and a different target area.

Volleyball with the idea of ​​"playing off the opponent"

Soccer game, basketball game and hockey game can in turn (as in a competition) be placed under the overarching game idea of ​​the fight for victory over an opponent, but also (as in training) as a pure skill sport without goal or victory vision. In the competition, all three follow the common overarching game idea of ​​the game type " fighting games ". In volleyball or tennis , the idea of ​​the game can also be defined as “fighting against each other” (playing off the opponent) or “cooperation with one another” (keeping the ball in play with one another). The ultimate game idea is determined by the end of the game at the beginning of the game.

Concealed thoughts of the game

	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H
8th									8th
7th									7th
6th									6th
5									5
4th									4th
3									3
2									2
1									1
	a	b	c	d	e	f	G	H

Symbolic war game chess : the "order of battle"

In the case of the “ dodgeball game ” or “ chess game ” only knowledgeable and reflective observers can recognize that it is actually a symbolic war game , which is essentially about the successful wiping out of the opposing party. The designation " killer games " with the game idea of murder declared in the term is often used by opponents of this type of game in order to establish a (suspected but not proven) reference to real homicides. However, because of the widespread confusion between the game of symbols and reality, it is largely rejected by the players themselves as a polemical battle term.

The types of games falling under the category of " hammy games " are given a corresponding appropriate scientific classification, but in practice they are given more harmless labels such as "joke games" or "teasing games" in order not to put a conceptually negative burden on the game. The terms "Hämespiele", "Scherz" - or "Neckspiele" are equally accurate with the idea of ​​the game, but move on different levels of interpretation.

Meaning and action-based game ideas

César Franck playing the organ in the Basilica of Ste-Clotilde, Paris, 1888

Most game collections summarize the game idea in their practical game descriptions in a kind of instruction for the course of the game. Even the game theorist FJJ Buytendijk tried to go beyond practical action to gain a deeper understanding of the game phenomenon. From the scientific game theory, the game didacticians SA Warwitz and A. Rudolf then developed a system according to which the individual game idea is formulated according to the central "meaning". The individual meaning can in turn be translated into certain activities and forms of action, through which both the superordinate game genres and the specific individual game can be characterized.

According to this action-based system, the game types are arranged according to game ideas such as "Making contacts by playing (= games to get to know each other)", "Competing by playing (= competitions)", "Solving problems by playing (= thinking games)", "Being someone else by playing (= role-playing games) "," Learning by playing (= learning games) "," Building and designing by playing (= construction games) "or" Playing and immersing yourself in virtual worlds (= electronic games) ". The principle of the action-based formulation of the respective game idea is consistently continued up to the practical level of the individual games. The " organ game" follows the idea of ​​"creating musical sounds using the keyboards of an organ". The idea behind the " puppet show " is "Recreate or invent the reality of life with puppets as artificial figures".

literature

• Frederik Jacobus Johannes Buytendijk: The essence and meaning of the game . Wolff Publishing House, Berlin, 1933
• Deutscher Basketball Bund (Ed.): Official basketball rules for men and women. Hagen 2004
• Michael Kolb: Play as a Phenomenon - The Game Phenomenon , Cologne 1990
• Hans Scheuerl: The game. Investigations into its nature, its pedagogical possibilities and limits. 11th edition, Beltz, Weinheim - Berlin 1990, ISBN 3-407-34045-1
• Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: From the sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . 4th edition, Schneider, Baltmannsweiler 2016, ISBN 978-3-8340-1664-5 .

Web links

Wiktionary: Game idea  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

1. ↑ FJJ Buytendijk: the nature and meaning of the game . Wolff Publishing House, Berlin 1933
2. ↑ Hans Scheuerl: The game. Investigations into its nature, its pedagogical possibilities and limits. 11th edition, Beltz, Weinheim - Berlin 1990
3. ↑ Michael Kolb: Game as a Phenomenon - The Game Phenomenon , Cologne 1990
4. ^ Deutscher Basketball Bund (Ed.): Official basketball rules for men and women. Hagen 2004
5. ^ Frithjof Staude-Müller: Violent computer games and tendency to aggression. Longitudinal and experimental consideration of competing correlative assumptions . Publishing house Kovac, Hamburg 2010
6. ↑ FJJ Buytendijk: the nature and meaning of the game . Wolff Publishing House, Berlin, 1933
7. ^ Siegbert A. Warwitz, Anita Rudolf: Sinngebungen des Spiel . In: Dies .: The sense of playing. Reflections and game ideas . Baltmannsweiler (Schneider-Verlag) 3rd edition 2014. Pages 37–125