Are Video Games Art?

Pervasive Video Games as Art

The form and function of art has evolved and changed quite a bit over the years, decades and millennia. Paintings and sculpture have been artistic mainstays for much to most of the world of the civilized human race. However, with the technological revolution that has roared up over the last fifty years or so, new forms of art have bubbled to the proverbial surface. Digital technology has enhanced prior forms of art e such as photography. Beyond that, completely brand new forms have art have been created and the latter is what this report is assessing in the form of pervasive video games. The depth and breadth of this art and the effects it has on its users and fans when done will are worthy of massive study and analysis both in this report and elsewhere.

Chapter I - Introduction

Video games, at this point in history in the mid-2010's, is not new and has not been for some time. However, the richness of video games has allowed for the creation and propagation of alternative worlds and universes that allow people to become engrossed in things such as gameplay, the world created and the culture that has been created within the same. Such a line of thought would have been deemed to have been sheer madness prior to the technological revolution and expansion of the definition of art over the last 50 years. Even today, such supposition and statements would seem to be over the top and beyond the pale to many people. Some would even snicker at the idea of losing one's self in a video game world and culture. However, this phenomenon and happenstance absolutely happens albeit to varying degrees. Some people ignore this as it happen while the other side of the spectrum either welcomes the escape no matter how silly or far-fetched it may seem. As with most things, most people that have an opinion about the topic fall somewhere in the middle.

This event, to the extent that it does happen, is a natural offshoot of a society that is becoming more digital, automated and communication-based in nature. Social media and internet technology in general has made the world a lot smaller much like airplanes did the same for travelling from point A to point B. While some bemoan the pace and depth of this development into a digital world, it is happening nonetheless and it is impossible to miss when one see's smartphones, PDA's, tablet computers, wireless networks and so forth. The cellular phones of just ten years ago had a fraction of the capability and processing power of today's phones that can send, create and receive pictures and video with great ease to the point that they are quite quickly replacing point and shoot cameras and this includes the digital ones.

The manifestations of technology changing culture, the workplace and society at large certainly has its tentacles in many facets of life and art is no different. America is now a world where playing video games is a dominant part of many people's lives and this includes both young and old, both men and women and through many different avenues such as social media sites like Facebook, multiplayer online games like World of Warcraft and Everquest and so on (Sony, 2014)(Blizzard, 2014). One main focus of this overall realm of research focuses on the IPerG research project. There were a number of games that were looked at and analyzed within that project. They included Day of the Figurines, Epidemic Menace, Wizard's Apprentice and others. The concept of "pervasive games" has a fairly inconsistent definition from person to person even in the scholarly sphere. However, the work of people like Montola and Robb are quite enlightening and engaging and they will be a heavy focus of the literature review done in this report.

The larger focus of this report, however, will focus on the idea that entire cultures, societies and such are created and fostered through pervasive games. These cultures and frameworks are very much based on fiction and are often completely digital in nature at their roots, but one would have a hard time convincing those that see these games for the ostensible alternate universes that they are. While these games are obviously not the first thing to come around that encourages and engenders such outcomes, it is very safe to say that very few art pieces are as engaging, interactive and usable for personal satisfaction and enjoyment as the art that is seen in games like those from the IPerG project as well as more commonly known games in the public sphere such as Candy Crush, World of Warcraft and Farmville.

Another concept that will be touched upon in this report will be the concept of the chronotope, a term forwarded and explored by Bakhtin. Other terms and concepts will include how gameplay design plays a huge part in whether people truly engage with and becoming enveloped in the artwork of the game and the aesthetics of dislocation. In other words, the quality, depth and breadth of the art is deemed by many to be inextricably linked with how/when people immerse themselves into the games and the manifestations that become apparent when the art is done in a cohesive and enthralling way rather than in a way that bores users or only holds their attention for some time. Indeed, some games are fleeting in their popularity and people eventually move on to the next fad or game option while other games have an enduring and long-lasting effect and presence. Of course, the user experience and how the users react to the same has everything to do with the cultural, economic and societal effects render themselves.

The digital and temporal nature of the games and the cultures created therein may seem to be fake and unreal to those that focus on what they can see, hold and use in real life. However, other recent events that have little if anything to do with video games and their associated cultures have proven that this can indeed happen in the modern age. It is not some futuristic concept with little to no merit or something one would see on Star Trek. One example is alternative currencies like Bitcoin. The Bitcoin phenomenon, not unlike that of pervasive video games, is condemned, criticized and is labeled as an avenue for fools. However, to say that there "is no there, there" would be a mistake. Another example would be the recent movie "Her" which starred Joaquin Phoenix in which a man has a real relationship of sorts with an operating system rather than a real hot-blooded man or woman. However, while some may snicker at the idea of a man doing such a thing, just as they may do so for a video game fanatic, the concept is not nearly as unrealistic or unfathomable as some may think. While there is not much "art" to Bitcoin, the concept of "Her" is very much an art-driven realm because the 1's and 0's that would underpin such an operating system would absolutely evoke an emotional response, at least of some sort, for the user and that is what art truly is at its core. One need not sculpt the statue "David" or paint a beautiful oil painting to get an emotion response.

The purpose of this report is to define and explore the processes, tactics and habits that go into designing and crafting a pervasive video game that engages a user in a way that only art can. This is obviously done through things like looking at the successes and failures of past games, how a new game should be constructed and why, the mechanics of getting a game from concept to a real online and active experience and so forth. The blend of audio and visual elements have to be assembled and arranged in a very delicate and precise fashion so that the digital world created as much mimics and creates what would be expected. Indeed, there are several distinct elements that must be built into each game. These objectives can be as simple as objectives and goals that can be met like meeting a certain time or less in a race or completing a quest. The trick is to take such an objective that is challenging and engaging and artistically creating a culture and an environment that makes sense and dissuades the user or users from suspending their disbelief. The backdrop, the way in which things are traveled through and used, how updates to an objective are seen or not seen and so forth are all important.

Chapter II -- Literature Review

As discussed throughout the introduction, the main focus of the research through this research project and, more specifically, this literature review will be the works of Robb, Montola and the IPerG project. However, before looking at more modern research and example of pervasive games, one should look at the predictions made more than thirty years ago by Chris Crawford. Even though computer games were in their infancy in 1982, Crawford saw the potential of video games even in treatises like Pac-Man, Tempest, Space Invaders, Missile Command and Super Breakout. The latter of that series is screen-captured in the first appendix. However, Crawford asserted that even though the games of that era were crude, he held the view that they were a form of art and that over the years they would become more present and ubiquitous in the lexicon and activities of daily life and artistic expression. Indeed, he was precisely right

Crawford goes on to elucidate and explain that game design is both an artistic process as well as a technical process at the same time. Even while a game programmer tweaks and creates the gaming code and language, he or she is also engaging in the process of creating art. The days of that time, such as the example of Legionnaire used in the Crawford text, states that computer barbarians had three basic routines and algorithms that they engaged in. They would run for safety, approach to contact or attack. Obviously, the number of possibilities and routines has become more and more advanced as gamers actually demand a stiff amount of artificial intelligence that is actually at least somewhat difficult to master and conquer. However, it is possible to take that too far and make the game too complex and non-intuitive but there also to be at least some modicum of complexity and challenge to mastering the same or the amount of satisfaction is less

As far as more modern research that is much more applicable to modern daily life, one can look at the IPerG project. Started in September of 2004, the IPerG project, which stands for the Integrated Project on Pervasive Gaming, ran from that 2004 start date until its conclusion on February 29th, 2008. Over its nearly four years of processing and existence, the goal of the IPerG project was "creation of entirely new game experiences, which are tightly interwoven with our everyday lives through the objects, devices and people that surround us and the places we inhabit." They go on to say that their work is meant to be the catalyst for future forms of art and gaming in the future. The main findings of the IPerG are easily accessible on their website. The IPerG project was a partnership of the Swedish Institute of Computer Science (who was the coordinating partner), the Interactive Institute, the University of Tampere, the Nokia Research foundation, the University of Nottingham, the Fraunhofer Institute, Sony Europe, Gotland University and Blast Theory. One interesting note about Sony is that the aforementioned MMORPG Everquest (and its sequel Everquest II) are both the products of Sony Online Entertainment

As is noted on their website, a "pervasive game" is one that expands the envelope with its salient features that make use of social, spatial or temporal dimensions. They define spatially expanded games as those that are played on the street, around the world or in certain cubbyholes of cyberspace. Temporal games are those that are interwoven and meshed with a person's everyday lives. For example, someone that schedules a week of vacation to coincide with the release of an online game's expansion pack would be a perfect example of this. Lastly, a social expanded game is one that "blurs the boundaries of player-ship." One of the deliverables offered by the IPerG project was the chart seen in the second appendix of this proposal. The sixteen games developed, tested and then mapped on the chart are listed on the left side of the chart. The X axis was spatial, the Y axis was temporal and a line at a forty-five degree angle from the X/Y axis is the social spectrum. Obviously, results varied quite a bit. Location Box/Crash, Magic Lenx Box/The Alchemist, Interference and Rider Spoke scored very high in the social and spatial dimensions but not in the temporal. Games like Day of the Figurines and Coup replaced the spatial element with temporal. Two games did well in all three dimensions, those being the two Prosopopeia Bardo games. Games like Epidemic Menace, Hot Potato, Insectopia and Mythical: The Mobile Awakening also did pretty well in all three dimensions

In another part of their summary on their website, they note that there are four major dimensions that are part and parcel of a pervasive game and keeping it going. Those four parts, in order as mentioned on the IPerG website, are target groups, market structures, revenue streams and product life cycle. These concepts are fairly common in the general business world but obviously take on a newly realized complexity when speaking of things like art and constructing a virtual world that engrosses and swallows up users into the experience and/or the fantasy of the game. When it comes to pervasive games, target groups are when there is an identification and understanding of the players (or potential players) of the pervasive games. A market structure would be the overall organization of the market that distributes a pervasive game to end users. A revenue stream is the overall value chain of the pervasive game. In other words, it is the revenue streams and facets that make the game profitable. For some games, it is user dues or advertising. For others, there are other means of support like capital investments that prop up the venture until it is (hopefully) self-sustaining and propagating. When speaking of user-driven sales, just as one example, just that one dimension can be divvied out into many different dimensions depending on who the target audience is and where they get the money and/or permission (e.g. children/teens) to buy and/or use the game. A matrix that shows this in action is noted in the third appendix

Regardless, any pervasive game takes money to develop and perfect and this requires revenues coming from vendors, advertisers, users or a combination of those three and/or others. The product life cycle is the envisioning and realization of games as products even if they are fairly abstract. While they are very virtual and unreal in nature, they are also real in the fact that code and art has to feed and mechanize the game and thus render it as art. This is what game engines and game designs are meant to do and the product as it is being produced must be updated and error-checked at all times to allow for the best user experience possible. Needless to say, when speaking of games that are marketed and sold in the real world, some succeed and some do not. With some, it can be inability to secure or sustain revenues due to faulty business acumen. With other ventures, failure can be because of the game simply not being accepted or liked by the target audiences. Other concerns, like those of the mentioned product life cycle, can include bugs not being identified or remedied quickly or the game just not being perceived as realistic enough to users. This is a function of the art not reaching and resonating with enough people. However, no pervasive game is going to ring true and well with all people but this is true of all art

As noted throughout the report, one of the more prescient and adept authorities at defining and analyzing the pervasive game phenomenon is Markus Montola. Indeed, the prior-mentioned spatial, temporal and social dimensions of the IPerG project are also forwarded and vouched for by Montola. He made such a mention in at least one of his scholarly works. Rather than cite the popular MMO games like World of Warcraft and Everquest, Montola instead points to massively collaborative games like The AI Game, location-based mobile games like BotFighters and games that augment reality with ludic and engross content like Visby Under. Montola makes a very salient point when the points to games that are very traditional and "regular" in nature that start and stop when a person starts or stops playing it. However, games that are spatial, temporal and/or social in nature often perpetuate and operate no matter the involvement (or lack thereof) of a given user and/or events will happen while a user is offline or otherwise unaware until they discover the changes later on. He goes on to state that pervasive games are aided, enabled and made possible via technology advances and options that help dictate the level to which a person can become involved in the game and the level of control that they can enjoy or pass on depending on the preferences and predilections of the user. One last major point made by Montola would be that gaming experiences can either be an augmentation of reality or they can even create a new reality. Other times, both of these manifestations happen at the exact same time at one level or another. This paradigm and environment that is created or enhanced leads to a situation where "real life" and the game can become one and the same in many ways. It can drive the thoughts and emotions of a user even when they are not actively using the game

The other specific author mentioned as being a major source of theory and analysis for this research report was Eli Robb. Robb explores gaming and the art therein as relational art. Robb offers a diagram on page 138 of his offering that shows the overall nexus and relationships that are in play when one is assessing and experiencing relational art. Facets of this diagram include free time, philosophy, research, history, affect and so on. The relational art diagram reference is shown on the fourth appendix of this report. As one can easily see, each "leaf" of the diagram overlaps with one another with each leaf representing the dimensions of which examples were given above. The "leaves" that are applicable for any given assessment of relational art will be different for every situation and piece of art in question and Robb himself notes that the possible number of outcomes and combinations are practically infinite

Regarding the major terms that were mentioned in the introduction, the two that are most worthy of coverage are the concepts of chronotope/chronotopicity and the aesthetics of dislocation. As for the former, perhaps the best source authority on that subject is Bakhtin as offered in 1981. Todorov also offered some input in 1984. The genesis and start of the Bakhtin theory was the theory of the chronotope and it had three main points. The first is that the spatial and temporal frames of a narrative are closely integrated and comprise the overall spatial/temporal frame, known more simply as the chronotope. The second part of the definition is that this frame (the chronotope) plays a key role in producing meaning and a filling matrix of "situation meaning-making, roles, identities, values, boundaries and crossings, cultural classes of discourse and tools." Third and finally is the idea that the chronotope of the narrative is inextricably related and guided by the person interpreting the art (reader, spectator, etc.) as juxtaposed against the broader historical, social and cultural setting or setting that it inhabits. These settings can be perceived or actual and can vary based on the perceiver that is assessing and summarizing what they see. A diagram of how the chronotope works and functions in a collective activity function, at least as defined by Bakhtin, is shown in the fifth appendix

. The concept of aesthetics of dislocation is similar to the concept of pervasive games as it draws from and is driven by temporal and spatial elements, as noted by Koepnick in 2007. Things like camera angles, camera speed and so forth have a tangible effect on the perceptions that come from experiencing a movie or television show. Koepnick was obviously speaking of camera shots and moviemaking but the applications to video games are obvious and extensive, especially in the modern era of video games. Stop-motion and changing speeds of "film" are pervasive, to use a pun, in pervasive video games

Translating the concept of pervasive gaming and how to make an enthralling one has to be translated from the artistic and abstract dimension to the nuts and bolts of constructing and making the game. This transition is manifested through game coding and design theories such as the Mechanics, Dynamics and Aesthetics framework explained by Hunicke, LeBlanc and Zubek (2004). The MDA framework is meant to bridge the proverbial divide between game construction, game theory critique and the technical research that goes into all of the above. The overall diagram of game consumption, at its most basic level, is diagrammed in the Hunicke work and is shown in the sixth appendix. The designer crafts and shapes the game's artifacts and the player subsequently consumes these game artifacts. Based on the reactions and revelations thereafter, the game is perfected, updated or changed. The individual game artifacts are collected and arranged in a way that form the game's overall experience, whether it is deemed by the gamers to be good, bad or indifferent. This model is expanded a tad by incorporating the MDA facets in that same appendix as noted before. The mechanics, dynamics and aesthetics triad can be correlated to the design counterparts of the rules, the system and "fun," respectively

The way in which a game is made "fun," and thus pervasive, can differ greatly from genre to genre. With a sensational game, a game becomes sense-pleasure. When a game is fantasy-driven, the game's pleasure is drawn from it being make-believe. When a game has a narrative, this makes it a drama and it engrosses and pulls in gamers in that manner. When a game is a challenge, it is a proverbial obstacle course and thus must be conquered by a gamer. When a game is a fellowship, it renders as a social framework such as with guilds and the like in multi-player games that utilize such structures. Discovery games fasten and capitalize on "uncharted territory," expression games are about self-discovery and submission games are felt as a pastime by the people that play them. TO be sure, many games take on more than one of those dimensions. The Hunicke work notes that Charades uses fellowship, expression and challenge. Quake (a first-person shooter) uses challenge, sensation, competition and fantasy. The Sims uses discovery, fantasy, expression and narrative. Final Fantasy, a very prolific and famous role playing game, uses fantasy, narrative, expression, discovery, challenge and submission

To expand on the aesthetics terminology used earlier, the Hunicke treatise explains that aesthetics are what truly make a game pervasive because it elicits the desirable emotional responses sought by game designers and thus create more interest in playing the game. The mechanics and the dynamics are the underpinnings of the aesthetics, but as mentioned before the aesthetics are the "fun" factor and that is what draws people to play and keep playing a game, thus making it pervasive

. What is key to define in the research for this report is the tactics and habits that fulfill the fun/aesthetics requirement of a game for it to be successful.

Lemos covers much the same subject in his 2011 work in which he specifically looks at pervasive games and seeks out the spatiality techniques that make a game desirable and thus makes them played more and more. He classified games into four major categories, those being chase, hunt, puzzle and strategy and then looked at 73 different role-playing games that were released from 2000 to 2008 using those prisms. He did concede that he could have used more criteria and gone further down the proverbial rabbit hole, but he also noted that doing so within the confines of that particular report would have been impossible, in his estimation. He notes that in terms of game theory and design, that spatiality is created and framed by "changes in space and by producing new places." Looked at another way, he notes that spatiality is framed not only the overall physical construct and feel of a virtual world but also from the information and facets of that space. For example, designing a castle room is one thing but to make that room fit into the story of the game in some way such as a monster waiting around the corner, a quest item to be found or something else of that nature also to be there or the physical space does not serve much of a function other than just being there, so to speak

Along those same lines, Neustaeder, Tang and Judge cover much the same thing in terms of spatial terminology and theory. However, this trio focuses more on the scalability of location-based games and geo-coaching. Rather than confining people to their computer desks or in other fixed locations, location-based games get people into the "real world" of cities, city streets, city parks and other locations throughout the city. The blend of gaming and real-world experience tends to make the game much more real and fun but can still be artificial and created in nature through careful crafting and creation

Scholar Brian Schrank points out that while television has long been the go-to entertainment medium of the late 20th century and early 21st century, it has since been surpassed by video games in terms of capability and use. He also notes that the world of critifcs or both video games and television has expanded as well including sites or forums like Metacritic. It is noted that what constitutes "quality" in all of the above, and with video games in particular, has become watered down and impure. However, he also states that this can be rolled back and there can truly be a better focus on what a "quality" video game is. Schrank says much the same thing as other portions of this report when he notes that what constitutes art has a lot to do with the cultural context of the time. Not unlike the sneers that Mr. Crawford certainly got when he spoke of video games, people probably still laugh at such a suggestion but it is a lot harder in the modern context because video games are much more pervasive and omnipresent in daily lives such as with commercials, the capability of the games, the target markets of the games and who all is playing video games overall as compared to 20, 30 or 40 years ago when Crawford was postulating the theories and projections that are becoming more true by the day

Schrank makes a very good point in stating that movies and video games share a lot of parallels in terms of how they are art and what the audience is seeking based on the movie that is being seen. For example, Schrank notes that one would be seeking something entirely different based on whether they see The Human Centipede, Memento or Spiderman 2. The former of those three is a horror movie that has some action and dramatic sequences that will not be described here because people might have just eaten lunch while reading this. Memento was a thought-provoking drama and Spiderman 2 was an action movie for a large swath of age groups. Obviously, the demographics of people that would tend to watch those movies and why would be very different but they are all art in their own way. Video games are no different. For example, why someone would play Sonic the Hedgehog would differ greatly from Silent Hill. They are entirely different video games with different target audiences but they are both art

Schrank goes even further with the assertion that gaming and modern society are melding and meshing together when he states that the rhetoric commonly only used in the gaming sphere the years of before is now showing up quite commonly in the business and corporate world. Even the more traditional art world has seeped rather strongly into the realm of the video game world. One perfect example of this was a supposed shot of an role playing game (RPG) which was actually a real and genuine screen capture of video surveillance of the Columbine shooting. This art is shown in the seventh appendix. As noted before, Schrank makes mention of the fact that the cultural context creates the backdrop and setting for video games to be analyzed and assessed in an open and honest context given how much of other parts of society and people's lives that it enters. However, there is still some resistance to that idea vis-a-vis video games. Schrank also notes that for a game to be avant-garde, a key point of his thesis, it has to be alienating yet draw people in at the same time

The concept of video games being pervasive has even entered the educational game sphere, as noted by Thomas in 2006. With such educational games, the "foundation" of design and practice are manifested in a form that engages the user (the child student) and keeps their attention

. Speaking of keeping attention, Stenros (2012) frames this question while referring to broader games in asking the question of how to obtain the "elusive experience in pervasive games." Stenros concedes that studying pervasive games is "inherently difficult" and is an entirely different animal from studying regular computer games or board games. However, Stenros asserts that there are prior tables and sets of values relating to pervasive games that are useful and effective

Just as was seen in using the educational sphere as a focus of pervasive games, there are other segments of culture, society and daily life that can be a focus of pervasive games. One such focus is the modern urban culture that exists in major cities around the United States and the rest of the world. Precisely this is discussed by Gentes, Guyot-Mbodji and Demeure in their 2010 offering on the subject. In the case of the urban-themed pervasive games, there is a correlation between making the game mobile enough to be played on cell phones and other mobile devices and in a way that is identifiable with the urban image and culture. As some examples, there are features which focus on the concrete city (physical organization), the imaginary city (narratives), the functional city (services) as well as city events with that urban core. The main assertion and result of that report is that anthropological observations and data are the fuel that feeds pervasive games that have an urban theme and that this probably holds true for other types of games

If there are a few takeaways to glean from the literature review for this report, they would be as follows. First, a game does not have to be complicated to be pervasive or even generally popular but it does have to be engaging and it does have to have a point of some sort that people can identify with and/or find pleasure with. Second, games need not relegate someone to sitting behind a computer desk or other confined or fixed space. Third, even if some laugh and mock the idea, video games are absolutely a form or art and a pervasive part of society and this fact will become more and prominent and more difficult to deny as the years go on.

Chapter III - Method

The methodology behind this research will be pretty basic in nature. It will tend to be more qualitative than quantitative just due to the subject that is being explored. Art is a very subjective thing and for obvious reasons. What is deemed to be "good" art or "bad" art will vary from person to person but to act as if the dynamic is non-existence is obviously a fallacy. Given that, the statistics of game usage and the reactions to the same are illustrative but there will be heavy analysis of qualitative stories, concepts and anecdotes as analyzed and pontificated about in a scholarly and artistic sense.

Irrespective of the balance of the research at the end of this study, even if it will definitely be dominated by qualitative as opposed to quantitative research, there are two elements that must be presence for any outcomes or conclusions from this research to be lasting and accurate. Those two dimensions are validity and reliability. The first of those two concepts, that being validity, is the concept of research conclusions being accurate and supportable based on the data that exists. Put another way, the research on pervasive games should elicit conclusions and outcomes that are supportable based on the evidence that exist and make sense overall. One major reason that validity falls through is because of the difference between correlation and causality. Correlation, broadly defined, is when two events happen at the same time. However, that does not necessarily mean that one caused the other and/or that they are even related. Even further, when one event does indeed cause the other (which is what causality is), the causality induced by one factor upon the other may not be monolithic and there may be other factors. To extend this to the concept of pervasive games, one can look at the IPerG criteria for pervasive games, that being the social, temporal and spatial dimensions. Rather than asserting that there is a single "magic bullet" that makes a game pervasive and catchy for a user, IPerG instead asserts that are three different dimensions and any given game will fall somewhere differently on that spectrum not unlike the dozen-plus games that they created and/or tested during their project, which was covered and spoken of in the literature review.

Because of the heavily qualitative nature of this research, there will be a heavy focus on work that is scholarly and/or otherwise established in nature. The IPerG work would apply because work like that is on the bleeding edge of quantifying and defining what makes a game pervasive and the different factors that go into the same. Works from people like Montola and Robb fit the bill because it is scholarly published and/or reviewed in nature. Given that the research (and the references that fed it) have been peered at and analyze and is thus subject to correction and/or critique, the validity of the research is established and well-established much to most of the time. Speaking of returning to the validity/reliability paradigm, reliability is the concept that someone doing the same research with the same sources and same overall method will come to much the same (if not an identical) overall conclusion and decision on what was sought after during the research.

However, one thing that does detract from the reliability/validity dichotomy in the case of this research study is that conclusions and pathways for game design are extremely subjective. As such, the "correct" answer for one person will probably not be the same with all people. Even so, there are certainly concepts and theories that are agreeable among multiple scholarly sources and many can also agree on the depth and breadth of the gameplay universe and how engrossing and life-consuming it can be. Indeed, just as game users vary in their passion and focus on gaming, the same will be true of the people that create and critique the same games. This is further reflected in the fact that same games are "one and done" in nature while others are commonly known as "time sinks" because they commonly take inordinate amount of time to be "good" at. Even with all of that, any conclusions made by this research study should hold so long as they are balanced in nature and not to assuming or monolithic in nature.