Today, there is a large variety of different types and forms of games: single-player, multiplayer, massively multiplayer, personal computer (PC), console, hand-held device, mobile phone, and of course on the fields or courts, boards, or just plain of cards. So what makes a game a game? Games have a unique structure that when someone is playing a game, they just know it. There are four defining traits of a game: the goal, a specific outcome that players work to achieve; the rules, which places limitations on players and how they will achieve the goal; the feedback system, which tells players their progress in the game and how “hot” they are to achieving the goal; and lastly, voluntary participation, which requires players to knowingly and willingly accept the goals, rules, and feedback of the game. …show more content…
But the ability to win is not a defining trait of games. Tetris is one of the most well known games worldwide and is an ideal example of a game that no one can win. When playing traditional Tetris, the goal is to stack falling puzzle pieces, trying not to create any gaps in between pieces. A player is guaranteed to lose at this game, so why is the game of Tetris so addictive? The game provides an intense feedback. As the player progresses further into the game, the game responds by making the pieces fall faster and faster until the player ultimately loses in the