Seriously? You can almost win an award for THIS?!

[IvoryTowerGamer]

Except that Minecraft is not a game. Just like The Path is not a game, nor is The Graveyard.

A game is leisure activity involving one or more participants where a set of challenges are completed to achieve a definable goal.

None of those programs fit this description. Path and Graveyard are devoid of any challenges, while Minecraft lacks any sort of definable goal.

By that reasoning, The Sims, the new Prince of Persia, and Farmville also wouldn't be games. If they aren't games, what are they?

Nowadays very few developers use the definition you posted above. They recognize that goals can be implied (as in the case of Mincraft), and that difficulty can be mitigated for players who enjoy creativity and storytelling more than overcoming some arbitrary challenge. These type of games might not be for everyone, but neither are challenge-based games.

 

[BlackWidower]

How have you not heard of Minecraft?

Minecraft sucks. It's empty and hollow. There is literally nothing there.

Minecraft is only what you make it. That's what makes it so different. What does your statement say about you?

Nothing. It says that Minecraft sucks. What your statement says is Minecraft is as much a game as Photoshop is a game.

I enter Minecraft, and there is literally nothing to do. If I have to come up with my own fun it's not really a game is it? More of a creativity tool that just happens to be in 3D and first person.