Explain gaming to a non-gamer

[Fortunes_Friend]

If you had the task to explain to a person that has never heard of gaming, which game would you show that person that he understands what gaming is?

For me it would be Mario 64 because it combines fun and challenging gameplay in an amazing way (I think it is still the best Mario game).

So which game defines gaming for you? Which game would you show to such a non-gamer person and why?

 

[Folji]

Planetside 2!

Just kidding, hehe. Think I'd actually pick something that's a little out of the ordinary in some way, like Portal, or inMomentum, or Trine, or Psychonauts! Or maybe just show them Rayman or Beyond Good and Evil. Or make them briefly play all those games, one after another, just to get a wider sense of things.

 

[Pfheonix]

Something in the strategy genre. That way, they understand that there are mindless games, then games which are thought provoking, or just a thinking man's game.

 

[Pink Gregory]

Apparently, people who haven't gamed before have some difficulty actually understanding the control interface, and moving in a 3D environment inside a game; really shows how much we take for granted what we are immediately familiar with.

I'd probably go with Portal; it's a simple idea executed very well, and the thought process isn't entirely in-game (taking physics into account etc).

Something in the strategy genre. That way, they understand that there are mindless games, then games which are thought provoking, or just a thinking man's game.

I don't believe that any game is mindless, personally.

But you've got a point, there are probably a few more simplistic strategy games that would be a perfect gateway to understanding RTS and 4X games, though somehow I think the latter would be easier to work with.

From Dust, maybe? Or maybe DEFCON...

 

[BrotherRool]

I'd second Portal. Really I wouldn't do it because there's too many different types of engagement and no game can cover them all. Show them any game and you'll probably create misconceptions (for example Portal is very puzzle focused with clearly defined levels and teaches you how to do one thing per level (ish)). The problem with Portal is it involves navigating and aiming in 3D space with timing and jumping(in first person!) which would be difficult for people.

But on the positive side Portal is
1. Widely acclaimed
2. Has a setting
3. Has a story/comedy
4. Teaches the person what to do
5. Builds up on that idea so they can see how things go from simple starts to much wider complexity.
6. Is 3D (yeah this is also the main negative)
7. Is fairly short

The problem with Mario games is that 2D gaming has become fairly uncommon in the wider stream and it's purely challenge based with very few of the other types of reasons people play games. And if we change the condition so it's a person who lives in the real world but has never touched a game or discussed it with someone, it would reinforce the stereotypes (scores, points, clearly defined levels, chippy music, excuse plots, 2D, linear) These aren't bad things but they don't correspond to what most people play nowadays.

EDIT EDIT: I'm probably saying this because I started playing game really during the PS2 era (although I'd had some experience with an N64) and so for me I don't associate first with the older games, in my mind they end up being the precursors to the games that were around when I started playing.

But I think games are really too broad. I couldn't answer the question if it was what film would you show a person to show them what films are and games are much broader and more complicated

EDIT:

From Dust, maybe?

Actually I like all your suggestions, From Dust would be a really good one. Maybe even better than Portal. And its introducing a mechanic no-one is familiar with so the learning curve probably wouldn't be so steep. And there's some sandbox elements it introduces which would be a nice way of introducing the concept of games where there's something you can explore and play around with

 

[skywolfblue]

I'll 3rd Portal.

The way it starts from really simple and builds to the complex one idea at a time is very friendly to new players.
It's fun, it's not violent, it's a game for everyone.

 

[Glaber]

...Baldur's Gate?
Sorry I'm bad at this, I just never interact with non-gamer humans...

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

I'm really bad at this, I've been bashing my brains for months now trying to properly introduce games to my girlfriend. I even made a thread about it. The consensus seems to be something short and to the point that will reward your actions immediately, like a puzzle game or just something very, very simple.

 

[blackdwarf]

Probably something like Megaman or any other 2D game. Because They just throw you in a game without taking too long to establish a new universe and are generally pretty good in explaining their own game by actually playing. And it would probably help to give some recognizable characters Like Mario or something, so that they get confused with too much new information. Super meat boy would also be a good one, because although they will die a lot, they will not have the feeling they suck, because its kind of the point.

 

[StriderShinryu]

I would go with either Journey or Ico. Games that aren't too complicated or demanding control wise but show very quickly what games can do that other forms of artistic entertainment media can't.

 

[UniversalRonin]

I'm really bad at this, I've been bashing my brains for months now trying to properly introduce games to my girlfriend. I even made a thread about it. The consensus seems to be something short and to the point that will reward your actions immediately, like a puzzle game or just something very, very simple.

THIS.

I was thinking about a great battleships game I have been playing on my mobile recently. They would get the experience of playing against a computer, playing against people in real time on the web, playing against me, seeing how intuitive and accessible it can be, and from it I could easily introduce them to more casual mobile gaming, and strategy based PC gaming, and from there, the world really would be their oyster. Do they stick with nice simple mobile casual games? Do they get into the more gritty FPS world? Do they go to MMORPG's?

But in conclusion, something as easy or challenging as they want, fun, involving, with multiplayer and instant reward mechanics. Like the battleships game I have been playing on my mobile recently.

 

[Mordekaien]

I don't believe that any game is mindless, personally.

Painkiller disagrees, and it's not the only game out there. There are games that are made to be recreational or reaction time-based, and require very little thinking, aside from the steering commands.

I'll up the first Portal too... the gameplay starts slow, but introduces everything with good measure, so as not to be overwhelmingly difficult.

Any casual game is pretty much a given, too.

 

[BrotherRool]

I would go with either Journey or Ico. Games that aren't too complicated or demanding control wise but show very quickly what games can do that other forms of artistic entertainment media can't.

A games festival in the UK was giving games to non-gamers to get their feedback and this year I think they had Journey, ME3, Fez, Catherine, Super Mario 3D and a couple of others, and Journey was the one that won with them

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/41f8bcc0-1158-11e2-a637-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2H3jBanL2
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2012/oct/24/journey-wins-game-city-prize-2012

Hmm thinking about it, that award was kind of relevant to the thread subject. Maybe I should have thought about it earlier.

EDIT: Out of interest, Minecraft beat Portal 2, Pokemon and Limbo in last years contest judged by non-gamers
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/gamesblog/2011/oct/31/minecraft-wins-gamecity-prize

 

[Blunderboy]

Solitaire.


Seriously, there are some good suggestions here, but they rely far too much on this non gamer understanding concepts which may feel intuitive to us but are completely alien to them.

 

[gigastar]

It would need to be something slow paced or turn based. It would need to be realatively simple to understand. It would need to provide some level of challenge. And most importantly it would need to make the player think.

I would choose XCOM: Enemy Unknown.

 

[Voxgizer]

Depends on how much you like the person in question. If it were someone I didn't like I'd hand them Superman 64. For someone I do like - Tetris.

Tetris would give the instant gratification that's been mentioned before. It also has simple controls and speeds up as you go.

 

[Jark212]

Show them Black Ops 2, and tell them it's pretty much a Tom Clancy novel that you can play.

I'd start them off at Call of Duty because it's popular and easy to get into, then move them to some more complicated games depending on what they like.

 

[Zipa]

It would depend on the person really, if I was introducing someone like my brother for example who hasn't played a game since the sega megadrive and C64 I would show him something need for speed, some kind of football management game or call of duty as I know it would be the kind of thing he is into .

If it was my grandparents though I would introduce them to something more tame like say portal or journey or even minecraft. B efore my grandfather died I introduced him to gaming on a iPad with a free chess game since he was a big chess buff (he taught me how to play)

So tailor it to the person and their interests is the best bet really.

 

[Teh Jammah]

Pong.

Pong is gaming at its most basic (I'll take this moment to make the caveat that you never specified modern gaming or even a particular decade). Simple objective, simple controls. Maybe I'd swap it out for Space Invaders, but you get the idea.

I'd also like to note that either of the above is the game I'd start with, because there is no, to paraphrase a literary giant, no 'One Game to Rule Them All'. I'd build on this, adding the likes of Mario Bros. 3 (probably the best 2 D platformer ever), GTA: San Andreas (debatably the best sandbox game), SMT: Persona 4, <insert favourite Elder Scrolls Game from Morrowind-Skyrim>, CoD 4: Modern Warfare, etc, etc.

Start simple, add the games you feel are genre/era defining. That's how 'I'd' do it anyhow.