Golumbia writes alot about games without play, and I believe he makes some valid points. I also believe he rants on about whether or not games are “play”. I will elaborate on this in my discussion, and I disagree on most of what he has said.

I believe Golumbia over-analyzes the word “play” and its meaning. He sais that WoW is work and it has a subconsious objective to get players ready for the real world by leveling up, unlocking new things, and putting in work to make those things happen. I agree with him that WoW can be related to the real world, but I think that the game is made to appeal what we concieve as entertaining and worth-while. This can happen to be similar to a real life job because that is what we are raised to think: that jobs and promotions are good and they benefit you.

I think Golumbia over thinks “play” because he goes so far into it that he starts talking about games that are widely viewed as “play” types. I think that if a game keeps you playing when you dont have to, or when its for pleasure then it is playing. I think that what he calls work in a game (like mining in WoW) is playing because you dont have to play the game at all, and the fact you took your freetime to play this game makes it “play”.

“Gone Home” which is a game where you are a college student coming home to an abandoned house and you have to search the house to find out what has happened to your family. You search rooms and discover secret passages and you learn alot about your family. I think that this is a game when someone plays it for their freetime, but when its used in an english class and students are supposed to play it for homework then it becomes work. I think that when you walk around trying to find a key it is called play, the same as when you spend hours mining steel on WoW. I think Golumbia is wrong on this point.

“Pry” , which is an interactive ebook  that has braille, flashy lights and small video clips that tell different views on war and home life thereafter. Some might say that reading this ebook is work, but I think there is a balance between the two. As in “Gone Home” when you are playing the game for fun, it is not considered work. Yet when it is read for school it turns to work because most students don’t consider reading Pry a freetime entertainment activity, as well as any homework. If you find Pry on the app store on your own and like reading, you might buy it and get into it. At this point is it called work to read and decipher it? I dont believe so.