Uncertainty in Games

Highlights

3. Uncertainty

  • @roger-caillois: “Play is . . . uncertain activity. Doubt must remain until the end, and hinges upon the denouement. . . . Every game of skill, by definition, involves the risk for the player of missing his stroke and the threat of defeat, without which the game would no longer be pleasing. In fact, the game is no longer pleasing to one who, because he is too well trained or skilful, wins effortlessly and infallibly.”
  • The goal of Space Invaders is not to “win,” for you cannot, but to achieve a high score—perhaps bettering your own previous score, perhaps achieving a place on the high score list, perhaps outdoing a friend, perhaps achieving the top slot on the list. The uncertainty of the game lies not in its ultimate outcome, but in the final score.
  • not all games have outcomes

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