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Ever wonder about the first games played? What about how we got games like Dungeons and Dragons or Call of Duty? Join your host Sean as we explore these questions and more about games, gaming history, and gaming culture. This weekly podcast will look at the history of games, from the very first, to the most contemporary. We'll talk about how games formed, were changed with the times, and how they've affected us as a culture. From Mehen to Mario, we've got you covered.
Hello, and welcome one and all to Anart Gaming, the show where I talk about the history of everything about games. I'm your host, Sean, and welcome to our inaugural episode, the worst episode I will record for this show, I hope. Joining me today
Marty:at the bottom. I can only go up from here.
Sean:That is the hope. Yes. So joining me today are Marty and Lexi. Marty and Lexi, how the hell are you guys doing?
Marty:I mean, the horror's persistent, so do I.
Sean:Good enough. Lexi, how about you?
Lexi:Am actually surprisingly doing well today, and also it's my weekend now, so fantastic.
Sean:Oh, weekend.
Lexi:Yes.
Sean:Alright. The best part. So a couple things that I want to establish before we get started proper. This is mostly an introduction to the podcast. It's shorter than what I'm planning on making an episode, but we'll see how things go.
Sean:Also, by nature, this is going to be a somewhat shallow overview of things without a lot of research because it's just a bit more casual. That said, it's my very long answer to a question that's been burning in my mind, which I will get to in just a little bit. So I wanted to start by just going over what I'm hoping to accomplish with this podcast. So first, I wanted to do this podcast because I wanted to talk about games. I love games.
Sean:I'm sure you guys love games.
Marty:I mean You're it was easily what my parents used to raise me instead of, you know, all of the stuff that they also had to do. So, you know, I've there's a there's a small soft spot, you know, just in the cold remains of my heart.
Lexi:Yeah. He said, I don't I don't wanna trauma dump today, though. So
Marty:That's between me and the thirst I have that doesn't exist.
Sean:Yeah. Well, so for me personally, I love games. Video games, board games, card games, tabletop RPGs, war games, you name it. I typically love to play it. There are some exceptions I'll get to down the road.
Sean:I do have a couple episodes I have simply titled Sean's Banes. So, yeah, we'll see what happens when we get to those. I am definitely going to need to bring on experts for that because I don't like some games, and I will need to grab people to explain them to me.
Lexi:That's fair.
Sean:Yeah. But I also like the theory and the history of games, and this is where I feel we're gonna be doing something a little bit different. There are quite a few history of video games podcast out there, but I wanna take a look at the history of gaming as a phenomenon that dates back to literally ancient times. We'll talk about the theory of games, what goes into making them, and how historically from the royal game of Ur to the most advanced modern video games, we got to where we are now. It's not gonna be chronological because that is starting to sound an awful lot like a real job.
Sean:This podcast started out because I foolishly asked that question. Is there a way to make core mechanics innately exciting? And just quick definitions, core mechanics are the main way you interact with a game. So if you're you're both familiar with Dungeons and Dragons for our audience, it's when you roll a 20 sided die. Right?
Sean:That's the main way you interact with that game. From there, I disappeared down a bit of a rabbit hole into game mechanics, their function, and started asking another foolish question, what is a game? And I promptly decided I needed to inflict this information on others. Hence, this episode.
Marty:Alright. We're bringing back ancient Greek philosophy. Let's go. Yeah.
Sean:So a short answer to a question I'll answer in more detail another time is, yeah, core mechanics can be used to generate excitement, particularly if they are done well. The second thing that I wanted to explore when I started this podcast was look at gaming culture from my own weird little perspective. I'm not what I consider to be atypical for a gamer, but I am a firm believer that gaming is for everyone. So I hope to get a broad perspective on what games are and what they mean to a variety of different people. I'm gonna delve into some ideas that might raise some heckles, and honestly, I think that's a good thing.
Sean:We should grapple with Oh, no. Go ahead.
Lexi:Let me ask though. What do you why do you consider yourself abnormal for a gamer? What would be your definition?
Sean:Well, that's the thing is I don't actually consider myself that atypical for a gamer except maybe some weird cultural spats. Specifically, it's in the title. I'm an anarchist. Right? I don't think that's typical for anything, really.
Sean:We're not a we're not exactly a large subsection of the population. But I have noticed this growing trend in games that move at least in gaming culture, that move towards, like, more insular focuses. So, like, you know, when you don't see yourself represented in a game, that's not a good thing. And for the tip the typical gamer demographic, it can be a bit alienating. And sometime I'm gonna get into that, but, like, I do think that gaming demographics have shifted dramatically over the past, even, like, ten, fifteen years to get to where they are now.
Lexi:Yeah. Okay. Okay. That makes sense. Yeah.
Sean:Yeah. So I think that we should grapple with ideas that are uncomfortable or outside of our norms. Hopefully, if this is where you're coming from, you'll learn something and get a broader perspective. I should probably mention that this is not an apolitical podcast. You both know I am not an apolitical person.
Sean:Again, it's
Lexi:in our conversations. Yeah.
Marty:That's right, folks. He he's he's apolitical. Sorry. He is apolitical, not apolitical.
Lexi:Exactly.
Sean:Yeah. Fair enough. But, again, it's in the title. I'm left wing, and I'm anti authoritarian and proudly so. And that's probably gonna come across in some of my commentary.
Sean:If that's not your jam or you think it's problematic, this might not be the podcast for you. But I'm still hoping it is because, again, you need to broaden your perspectives a little bit, and I think listening to somebody who's not maybe in your circle of friends is beneficial. And finally, I'm gonna take a look at some games. Some will be good from a mechanics analysis. I have listed here GURPS.
Sean:Have either of you ever heard of GURPS before?
Marty:I know you have explained GURPS to us, specifically in relation to some shenanigans Brad has pulled, but it has been a hot minute, so I don't remember exactly off the top of my head.
Sean:Yeah. So it's the generic universal role play system. System. It's very, very good mechanically, if a little complicated in my mind. But it's great from a mechanics analysis for, among other things, its core mechanic.
Sean:But we're also gonna look at some games that have had a broad cultural impact, like Mario. Some things It's
Lexi:a me. It's a me.
Sean:It's a me. I can't do the Italian accent. I I'm not even gonna try.
Marty:Yeah. I mean, could have not tried it the first episode. Let's let's get a couple in before we start doing anything that'll get us
Sean:Yeah. Speaking of that, some things I'm gonna be looking at are downright awful because I think that's important to look at at some point. These examples are going to be important since gaming as a concept does not exist in a vacuum, but rather through the games and the people who play them, or in some cases, reasons we don't play them. So got a question for you both. What do you think of when you hear the word game?
Marty:I'll let you go first on this one, Lex.
Lexi:Okay. I guess my definition because I I'm even gonna say, like, you know, we start this as kids. Probably something with a set of rules, regardless if they make sense or not, and involves participation in whether it's imaginary or, like, physical items, if that makes sense.
Sean:Okay. Okay. Marty, what do you think?
Marty:Much along the same lines. You know, kind of an activity with a defined set of interactions specifically. You know, the the one that always comes to mind is the one I would do as a kid where you imagine the dude running alongside the car as a kid, and you you can kind of think of that in and of itself as a game, I guess.
Sean:Yeah. Alright. That makes sense. Okay.
Lexi:So I was thinking floor is lava too.
Sean:Floor is lava.
Marty:Truly an all time classic. Yep.
Sean:Alright. Now I want you guys to guess how many definitions I looked through when I was researching for this episode. Alright.
Marty:Now I
Lexi:may have not to feel sorry. Are you
Sean:numbers or hours? Just just how many definitions do you think that I found?
Marty:I'm guessing somewhere in the high double digits.
Sean:Not quite that high. Okay.
Lexi:I'll say, like, I don't know, 15 or something.
Sean:K. You're actually not that far off. 14. Oh. Yeah.
Sean:So when I first started this script, I figured I would just define game using dictionaries. That got me looking deeper, and I realized there's not actually really a solid definition of the word game. It's a bit like the whole definition of obscenity thing that went through the Supreme Court back in the sixties. You know it when you see it. Mhmm.
Sean:There are a few commonalities, things like it needs to have rules. It needs to be a form of play, have some sort of objective or an obstacle to overcome. So I started with the two dictionaries of notes, Merriam Webster and Oxford. By the way, just have to say this. Oxford requiring a subscription was really annoying, so I kind of cheated and went with an old actual physical Oxford dictionary that I had.
Sean:So Merriam Webster has entirely too many definitions of game. But for our purpose, I'll use two. A physical or mental competition conducted according to rules with the participants in direct opposition to each other. So that's one. Two, an activity designed for diversion or amusement.
Sean:K.
Lexi:Mhmm.
Sean:Oxford, meanwhile, simply defines it as an activity which provides amusement or fun. Now, if I'm being honest, I find both of these definitions a bit lacking for what we're gonna be discussing. Again, Oxford might have more, but that requires a subscription, and I promptly said to hell with that.
Lexi:Are Chaos.
Sean:Yeah. There are a couple reasons why I dislike these definitions. The first Merriam Webster definition basically entirely cuts out single player and cooperative games, which are huge. And, honestly, those are the games I tend to enjoy the most. So neh.
Sean:And the second definition lacks the fact that games need rules and structure of some kind. Oxford's definition has similar issue. K. So I workshopped this in my head for about, well, probably about a month. And so for purposes of what we're going to be discussing, the definition I'll work with is a structured form of play conducted according to rules for the purposes of entertainment.
Lexi:I think that's fair.
Marty:Yeah. Yeah. No. That's I think that kinda covers as much of it as you can without a definition turning into a book.
Sean:Yeah. My book coming shortly in February, like, '59. I don't know. This is going to be my working definition because, frankly, defining the game is hard, and this isn't my day job. So you may notice a couple of things from the get go, which is this definition includes sports, which I definitely argue are a form of a game.
Sean:There's a reason why you play football or basketball. They require rules and are a form of play, you know, usually until people take it entirely too seriously.
Lexi:Sports spending and all. Yep.
Sean:Yeah. Which, you know, technically, a lot of gambling is also a form of a game, except there, there's a monetary buy in, and it's a little bit weirder. But, like, poker, blackjack, those are games. You play those. So
Lexi:Oh, yeah. Yeah. That's true.
Marty:I mean, what is a monetary buy in if not a, core mechanic?
Sean:So now for an all important question, why does any of this matter? So defining something is important, and a lot of people have made attempts to define what a game is before. I'd argue mine's not, like, great, but I need something that I can cut off and say, this is a game and this isn't a game. Kicking a ball around isn't a game. Right?
Sean:Just that's just play. Mhmm. Kicking a ball into a goal might be a game. Depends on is there a score? Is there a rule to it?
Sean:Soccer Soccer or football, if you're not from the dumpster fire that is this country, is definitely a game in my book.
Lexi:I agree.
Sean:Yeah. So games need a few things to be games. The first, and I'd actually argue the most important thing, is a set of rules by which people play. Rules are ultimately how we play games. You can't have a game without everyone agreeing on how to play.
Sean:So imagine if you were playing monopoly, and one player, rather than using a six sided die, is using a 20 sided one. Right? The rules
Lexi:Bernie is so triggered right now.
Marty:Very true. I am I am actively follow you know, fight or flighting right now. I I desperately would like to punch this hypothetical person.
Sean:So the rules
Lexi:So 20 sided night.
Sean:Yeah. So the rules changed. But, honestly, if all players were following the same rule, there's no real problem. There's no reason to say you can't say break out a 20 sided die and play a terrible board game with it. Right?
Marty:Yeah. Exactly.
Sean:Yeah. And there are often variations to games where players agree to a different set of rules. These are often called house rules. And, again, these are fine as long as everyone is on the same page. One example of this is there are actually entire variations of chess that are so massive.
Sean:There's an actual term for it. It's called fairy chess. Right? There can be alternate board setups, pieces that act differently, or even entirely new pieces added.
Lexi:Did the Fate come up with this?
Sean:No. But it's it's called fairy chest because, you know, things are weird and confusing and a little bit off. Right?
Lexi:Uh-huh.
Sean:So a fictional example of this is something called stealth chest invented by sir Terry Pratchett of Discworld fame, which adds two rows to either side of the board where the assassin pieces can move up or down and then jump out and strike.
Lexi:And Okay.
Sean:This has, to my knowledge, actually been defictionalized where there's an actual, like, stealth chess game board that you can buy, but I'd have to look that up. So of the rules you need to have, the most important is what is referred to by nerds like myself as core mechanic. Now, again, the core mechanic is the main way you interact with the game. I will, again, probably do an episode on this at some point. But as a general rule, core mechanics are the thing everyone has to do and is the most often mechanic you use when you play.
Sean:So this is rolling a six sided die in a lot of game. It's the d 20 of Dungeons and Dragons or just comparing who has the bigger number in a lot of video game. Now this is usually quite simple, and that's a good thing. You want something that's quick and easy to remember. There can be a lot, and I do mean a lot of ancillary rules, but the core mechanic needs to be tight and fast.
Sean:If your core mechanic is too complex, people tend to get frustrated, which is bad when you're doing something to relax and have fun.
Lexi:Yeah.
Sean:Yeah. So one question you might be having is, well, what are core mechanics of video games? But and I admit that does complicate ideas, but these tend to be things like movement. If you ever wondered why do tutorials always start with press w to walk. Right?
Sean:It's because you need to move around the map, level, whatever you want to call it.
Marty:I mean, Lexi doesn't wonder if she doesn't pay attention to tutorials. No.
Lexi:I just don't do them.
Sean:Oh, tutorial skipper. Yep.
Lexi:One of these Okay. Not really, but oh, no. Go ahead.
Sean:No. One of these gotten better. Yeah. One of these times, I'll do maybe a short episode on, like, why tutorials for video games are important and why they shouldn't just be some static thing that you do, but rather you weave it into the way your game is played. Yeah.
Sean:Although, like, even for that tutorials for something like Dungeons and Dragons, really, when you get down to it is levels one and two, at least in fifth edition.
Lexi:Mhmm.
Sean:Right? It's everybody's on the same page. You typically haven't picked out your subclass yet, so you're not really worrying about builds or whatever. So yeah. Mhmm.
Sean:So beyond the rules, you need to have in your game some sort of a goal or objective. I'd argue that the most common objective is number goes up. Right? Having more points than your opponent is a good measure of who's winning. It works for
Lexi:Except golf. But yeah.
Sean:Except okay. Except for golf, there's always an exception that proves the rule.
Marty:Yep. I'm sure there's somebody who's smarter at math than I am could argue about absolute values and things like that and, you know, imaginary numbers. We I'm sure somebody can make the argument that, you know, number lower means number higher.
Sean:Yeah. Anyway.
Marty:I don't know. I'm not really a math guy.
Sean:Haven't done math since high school. So but the reason that, numbers going up or I suppose down is that it works very simply as a way to compare. So it works for sports. It works as a fallback in chess. Works in a lot of board game.
Sean:Other objectives can be something as simple as reach the end of the board or reduce your opponent's life score to zero. Right? These objectives give players something to work toward, and there are, again, many, many kinds of goals in games. But at the end of the day, you do want players to have some sort of objective for them to reach. Things like tabletop RPGs muddy this a bit, but even there, every good GM will tell you that you have to have a plot thread or 10 for players to focus their attention on, even in ones that expect players to set their own goals and object.
Sean:Everything tracking so far?
Marty:I'm following you. I'm following you.
Sean:Alright. So another bit that's needed for games is that, ultimately, games should provide some form of entertainment. This can be fun, enjoyment, can be the thrill of competition, or in the case of games like Dark Souls, it can be the thrill of repeatedly running in and getting yourself killed in that boss room. This was one of the questions that started off this podcast, so I'm gonna ruminate on it a little bit. They should provide people with the means to enjoy themselves.
Sean:I'll admit my two widest bits of experience with tabletop RPGs and video games. Right? I haven't played as many, say, trading card games, and I haven't played as many trying to think of another example. I have played quite a few board games, but probably not as many as some people out there. I have seen people's board game collections that just give me envy.
Marty:I've seen one of our friends board games collections, and it kinda gives me anxiety, to be honest with you.
Lexi:Yeah. But I I definitely on the MV side too.
Sean:Yeah. But I have at least experienced most of these categories. Right? I do find that nine times out of 10, the main draw or appeal of a game is experiencing a fantasy of some kind. This might be the fantasy of overcoming a monster with nothing but a dagger and your wit, or the fantasy of exploring a mysterious and dangerous world, or as the case may be, being well rested after eight hours of sleep.
Marty:She beat me to it. I was gonna go well rested and, you know, reasonably compensated.
Lexi:No. The one I'm going with is, oh my god. I'm actually able to, like, do my own things, and I don't have to be at work?
Sean:Oh, yes. Not having to have a day job. Definitely a fantasy of many of us. Mhmm.
Marty:I mean, I'm still among us. Yep.
Lexi:Listen. My power fantasy is actually being able to help out everyone that's in need, which is why I always play the good.
Sean:Yeah. I I have trouble playing evil run throughs of games.
Marty:I simply just don't because I know who I am.
Lexi:Yeah. Looking at you, Boulder's Gate.
Marty:Looking at you, Knights of the Old Republic.
Lexi:Yep. Yeah. That too.
Sean:Yeah. I'm not sure where my Jedi Sith index is these days. I'll have to check sometime.
Marty:I'm gonna go somewhere in the, the gray area.
Sean:But so long as a game provides you with something that draws you in, be it the fantasy, the challenge, or being able to relax, it's a key part of a game that draws you in, and it shows some kind of a hook that players find engaging. It can often be, but isn't always, a power fantasy. We get to be the heroes and the villains of our own stories. We can shape nations or, at the very least, our own fate. Horror games do subvert this a little bit, but and there are always those downer ending.
Sean:But, generally, they offer us an escape from the real world in a way that few other media can offer since we're the ones who get to control the outcome. Mhmm. Yeah. So That makes sense. Yeah.
Sean:And most games, but not all, have what's called an end state or the point where players stop playing said game, at least in its current setup. So this would be something like checkmate in chess or obtaining any of the various ways you can win the game in magic the gathering. This from the simple, like reducing an opponent's life score to zero or various specific cards that say you win the game if. These aren't quite universal. Like, not every game necessarily has an end state.
Sean:You can play Dungeons and Dragons long after you reach level 20. But for the most part, level 20 is the start of the end state of that game. And end states are also where you declare a victor, if that's important. So considering we just talked about end states, this is the end state of this episode. Episode.
Sean:But before we go, Marty, Lexi, do you guys have any socials you wanna plug?
Lexi:Don't follow me. I'm boring. I'm boring. I don't post anything. But, definitely follow Sean.
Marty:By all means, please do follow this podcast. You may hear more of my voice or less depending on what, your desires and so to's on that one. I purposely make myself rather difficult to find online, so please do not go looking for me or perceive me.
Lexi:He said, what a failure. Don't follow these people.
Sean:Oh, dear. Well, you can find me at anarch mage on blue sky, anarch mage gaming Instagram, where I sometimes share memes or model painting I've done. And you can find me pretty much literally nowhere else because I despise Twitter, x, whatever the hell they're calling it now. Fun story, my account actually got banned recently for being inauthentic since, I guess, only following people and not posting indicates you are not a real person.
Marty:Oh, yes. Inauthentic. Twitter. Two things. Very, very, very different.
Marty:Yeah.
Lexi:Yeah. Listen. All I'm saying is that please feel free to dead name it because Elon Musk can't, you know, freaking like, actually appropriately name his, you know, daughter. So, no, we're we're not gonna do that. We're gonna say Twitter because, also, it's a much better name.
Sean:I Do not
Marty:recognize the sovereigntyofx.com, but it will and has always been Twitter.
Lexi:Yes.
Sean:Right. Well, until next time, everyone. Game on. Whoo.