Kamui

@zombiepie: *Puts chloroform rag over Zombie's mouth* Shhhhh... Just play FFX as others have mentioned and you'll be fine. It's straight-forward and you don't have to grind levels at all because you can beat any boss your under-leveled for by spamming summons cause they're OP as hell. FF XII is good if you want something a little more removed from the classic turn based style combat and more action-y.

@mechamarshmallow: I like the point you made about sword fighting. If we're asking the question what constitutes a game, that is something we can look at that wasn't really a game that was turned into one, and in doing so we can identify some of the factors that are involved in turning something into a game. The work simulators are an interesting topic also. We already see farming and truck driving simulators that are considered games without a doubt. While they are one of the more weird genres, they do have set goals and can get satisfying for some people who are really into those particular things or someone who just wants to live out that fantasy. I wonder if after robots take over more of our jobs we'll see more simulators for things that doesn't exist anymore, like warehouse work.

@atwa: It's not about whether a game like Firewatch is less validated as being a game. It's more that the word game doesn't accurately describe what something like Firewatch or the like is. It's just a thought about if the term 'game' is an oversimplification of some games since many have evolved into something completely different than what was the norm when the term was first coined.

@bloodjunkie: Yeah I agree, as I was writing that I was thinking that there is that sector of games that are made in a purely clinical way just for profit. Even so, there are usually at least some people involved that actually care about the project in a way where they want to put themselves into it or create at least a part of it in a specific way. But yeah, I know what you mean.

@imsh_pl: Of course it's a pretty simple topic that doesn't necessarily need a lot of discourse to discern, but even so, I think to figure out what a game is you should look at not only how you use it but how the creator envisions it. Or, what it means to them. I think we can boil down how we examine what a game is to how the average person interacts with it and what they think of it and what the creator of the game intended and what it means to them. Just as a game can be an interactive form of entertainment to someone or an interesting story to someone, it can also be a cathartic release of expression for another person if you look at it from the creator's side.

@imsh_pl: I think that is half of the coin when it comes to discerning games. Most forms of art or expression are more focused on the creative aspect. That is to say, we focus on who made it on that process. Since games have such an interactive nature, we tend to focus more on the person consuming the product and how they go about that. I think what you mention is the consumption half, but there should be a consideration made for the creative half also when we think about the descriptive nature of what a game is.

Jumping Flash was a pretty awesome game to witness back then. I remember replaying a demo I had for it over and over. Also, I played the shit out of Vector Man. That game had some really cool animations going on, both character wise and in the environments.

As others have said, Mega Man X Collection is one of the best compilations. I don't know if I'm in the minority or not but I wholeheartedly enjoyed the X series much more than the original Mega Man series. And I grew up with an NES playing tons of Mega Man games early on. Also, I don't know if it counts in this category, but Final Fantasy Anthology is pretty great minus the crazy load times in Chrono Trigger.

@makayu: The reason I mention other art forms as being passive is because I'm focusing on the way gaming is different from them since it includes physical interaction. I agree that there is a ton of mental interaction you have when you look at other types of art or listen to music. About your other point. I have no problem with games possessing elements from traditional media. I was just kind of discussing thoughts about the subject throughout the article, by at the end I came to the point that I just hope that people will be able to see the potential of all games. Not only in what can be done by pushing boundaries with how it integrates with other media but also the special experiences it gives even when playing a simpler traditional style game.

@oraknabo: Thanks for the reply. I agree about philosophy when talking about things like this. It's almost always fruitless to argue a specific stance when it's a philosophical kind of topic. I usually just enjoy bringing up a topic that I think is fun to think about and can possibly lead to other interesting discussions stemming from that main topic. If you try to come to a definite conclusion though, at least in my experience, I tend to end up playing devil's advocate against myself and never finding a solid answer.