Video Game Design/Introduction/What is a video game

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[edit] What is a video game?

A video game is software that runs on a computer or video game console that uses a display and has a method with which a player can control the game.

When you get right down to it, that's what a video game is. It's communication, just like any other media in the world. The player presses, clicks, or types something and then the game will respond. The elements of communication, therefore, are vital. Video Games are interactive video art pieces. In simpler terms; a video game is just another way to have fun.

While definitions are nice and simple, in order to efficiently understand video game design, you really need to know the mechanics behind it all. We won't go into that in depth just yet, but realize that it requires programming, graphic design, sound design, music composition, and so much more.

Since the development of the first video game in 1931, the video game industry has grown on a kind of exponential curve. There were a few bumps in the road, but the industry has come to the point where it is taking in over $7 billion dollars annually. Salaries for people in the video game industry range from $32k to $200K. And a single video game can sell from $10 to almost $100.

Of all the things a video game is, it isn't anything without a player.