Concepts of Play

Concepts of play are some kind of macro version of game genres. New terms and short descriptions will follow, like my first article on concepts of space.

Action Play
Common kind of play. This concept implies an always evolving environment (meaning things can move without your approval at all times) wish presents threats and the importance of dealing with that environment through gameplay. Games like Starcraft, Hockey, Super Mario Bros. and Half Life all fall within this concept.

Turn-Based Play
This one is well known. Almost every card and board game is turn based, as well as RPGs' battle modes.

Puzzle Play
Usually, we can compare puzzle concepts of play with single player turn-based concepts, although we wouldn't be right for every puzzle concepts. Tetris, for exemple, is a clever mix of puzzle and action play. The environment does not move on it's own, but you have a space-based time limit wish is the time your pieces take to reach the bottom. Another exemple, Tetris Attack, makes it possible to affect the other player's space in a real-time fashion. The reason why the concept is still puzzle play: thinking is the key to success. The reason why it is mixed with an action concept: being quick is another key. (Almost) Pure puzzle concepts are found in Mastermind, Portal and Braid. Why Braid? Because you can't die in Braid. There is an action concept absorbed by a puzzle concept; or an illusion of action, because moving things will never pose a real threat. This is awesome, really. Braid is a way to tell conventions to go fuck themselves.

Synchronized Play
You must do what the game tells you to do at the moment it tells you to do it. Exemples tell everything there is to know: Guitar Hero, Karaoke Revolution, Rock Band and those small games (sorry, I don't remember any name) where your avatar never stops running and where you have specific things to do in specific situations; there's a gap, you've got to jump, but unlike in action play, no matter what you do you'll have to face this gap at a moment you won't choose. The reason why synchronized concepts of play are not reflex concepts is because reflexes are inevitably found in action concepts too. But really, synchronized play is only about reflexes and learning controls. You need nothing else. This is what makes synchronization games so popular; they are easy to play. "What must I do?", "Do what the game tells you to do."

Luck-Based Play
Heads or Tails, Snakes and Ladders, etc. Pure luck-based concepts create an illusion of play. Players think they play because they flip the coin themselves and decide wish outcome will mean their victory, but really, what they do is the same as pushing "play" on a remote controler. They trigger the beginning of something on wish they have absolutely no control, except for beginning and ending the "game". People lost everything they had playing those games that are even more easy than the previous concept of play.

So that's it for now. More about concepts of play as I experiment them!