On the Phrase ‘Serious Games’
July 19, 2007 1:41 am GamesIn reflecting on the phrase serious games, I note that at first glance it sounds like an oxymoron with two opposite concepts linked together to form a paradoxical figure of speech, as in hasten slowly, sweet and sour pork or thunderous silence, so I consulted my Macquarie Dictionary, which describes serious as ‘demanding earnest thought or application: serious reading, serious music’. Under game it lists ‘an amusement or pastime: children’s games’’ as the first definition. It also describes game as ‘a contest for amusement in the form of a trial of chance, skill or endurance, according to set rules’ and lists variations of this, referring to game as a trick, joke, gamble or sport. However, it lists less frivolous definitions that refer to a fighting spirit, prey, ‘wild animals hunted for sport or profit’ and a ‘willingness to undertake something hazardous or challenging’. It even includes reference to a game as a business or profession or as a ‘game of diplomacy’. Those references move game closer to a more serious meaning, giving less justification for calling serious games an oxymoron. And taking games seriously is something some people are doing. (Written by Diane Robertson)
