Gameplay is the specific way in which players interact with a game. The term applies to both video games and tabletop games. Gameplay is the connection between the player and the game, the player's overcoming of challenges, and the pattern of player behavior defined through the game's rules.

History

Arising alongside video game development in the 1980s, the term gameplay was initially used solely within the context of video games, though now it is also used for tabletop games.

Definition of term

There is no consensus on the precise definition of gameplay. It has been differently defined by different authors, but all definitions refer to player interaction with a game. For example: Theorists also agree that video game gameplay is distinct from graphics and audio elements. Some theorists add more specific elements to the basic definition of gameplay as the interaction between players and games. For example:

Types

Gameplay can be divided into several types. For example, cooperative gameplay involves two or more players playing together, often on a team. Below is a non-exhaustive list of various gameplay types:

Playability

Playability is a measure of the quality of gameplay. Playability represents the ease, quantity, or duration that a game can be played. Playability evaluative methods target games to improve design, while player experience evaluative methods target players to improve gaming. Different scholars analyze playability according to different sets of criteria. For example, in Playability: analyzing user experience in video games, the researchers define playability as a set of properties that describe player experience using a specific game system: satisfaction, learning, efficiency, immersion, motivation, emotion, and socialization. However, in A video game's elements ontology, the researchers define the facets of playability as: intrinsic, mechanical, interactive, artistic, personal, and social. These concepts of "playability" are not to be confused with the ability to control (or play) characters in multi-character games such as role playing games or fighting games, or factions in real-time strategy games.

Further reading on playability