A game is a form of structured play or activity governed by rules, roles, goals and challenges and taken by players for entertainment.
Characteristics of game
Games tend to have:
- players - the person(s) participating in the game
- rules - the constraints under which the game is executed
- choices - the players have some degree of agency in which affecting the outcome of the game
- outcomes - there is usually an end state in which we can conclude that the game has ended; outcomes can be losses, wins or ties
- goals - the desirable achievements attainable by the players; goals can be achieved in the process of arriving at an outcome or they can be outcomes themselves
Game design vs. Game development
Game design is the process of creating the rules, roles, goals and challenges characteristic of the game. The final product of this process is usually a game design document.
Game development is the activity in which developers, artists, sound engineers, etc. create the game. The final product of this activity may be a prototype of the game or even the finished game.
Game design is a necessary step of the game development process regardless of if any documentation is generated by the game designer(s).
In the case of a solo developer or small dev team, the game can be created without any formal documents detailing the design of the game.