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{{Short description|Video game genre}}
{{distinguish|application software|zero-player game}}{{More citations needed|date=February 2024}}{{Video game industry}}
{{Art and video games}}
'''Non-games''' are a class of [[software]] on the border between [[video game]]s and [[toy]]s. The term "non-game game" was coined by late [[Nintendo]] president [[Satoru Iwata]], who describes it as "a form of entertainment that really doesn't have a winner, or even a real conclusion".<ref>[http://cube.ign.com/articles/595/595089p3.html IGN: GDC 2005: Iwata Keynote Transcript] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070920141542/http://cube.ign.com/articles/595/595089p3.html |date=2007-09-20 }}, March 2005</ref>{{Not in source given|date=May 2023}} [[Will Wright (game designer)|Will Wright]] had previously used the term "software toy" for the same purpose.<ref>{{cite web|title=I want my software toy|url=http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2008/09/simanimals.html|website=Brainy Gamer|date=September 25, 2008|access-date=June 19, 2015|archive-date=June 19, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150619200655/http://www.brainygamer.com/the_brainy_gamer/2008/09/simanimals.html|url-status=live}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=May 2023}} The main difference between non-games and traditional video games is the lack of structured goals, objectives, and challenges.<ref>Francisco Queiroz: ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20081221110027/http://www.gamasutra.com/education/theses/20051202/chico_criticalappraisal.pdf Insular, Critical Appraisal]''. September 2005</ref> This allows the player a greater degree of self-expression through freeform play, since they can set up their own goals to achieve. Some genres that have been considered non-games include [[Computer-assisted language learning|language-learning software]], [[digital tabletop game]]s, [[Puzzle video game|puzzle games]], [[Simulation video game|simulation games]], and [[art game]]s.
== History ==
Non-games have existed since the early days of video games, although there hasn't been a specific term for them. One of the first is Atari Inc.’s 1977 ''[[Surround (video game)|Surround]]'', a two-player [[Snake (video game genre)|snake game]] for the [[Atari 2600|Atari VCS]], which contains a free-form drawing mode called "Video Graffiti." Later examples which were sold as games but present a less structured experience are ''[[Alien Garden]]'' (Epyx, 1982), ''[[Moondust (video game)|Moondust]]'' (Creative Software, 1983),  ''[[Worms?]]'' (one of the 1983 launch titles from Electronic Arts), ''[[I, Robot (video game)|I, Robot]]'' (Atari, 1983) which contains an "ungame mode" called "Doodle City," and [[Jeff Minter|Jeff Minter's]] ''[[Psychedelia (light synthesizer)|Psychedelia]]'' (Llamasoft, 1984), which is an interactive light synthesizer.
[[File:ACS rashid01.png|thumb|left|A map created in ''Adventure Construction Set'']]
[[Bill Budge]]'s ''[[Pinball Construction Set]]'' (Electronic Arts, 1983) popularized software where building something is more entertaining than playing the finished product. To a lesser extent, some games became construction sets through the inclusion of level editors, like [[Douglas E. Smith|Doug Smith]]'s ''[[Lode Runner]]'' (Broderbund, 1983), Ron Rosen's ''[[Mr. Robot and His Robot Factory]]'' (Datamost, 1983), and John Anderson's ''[[Rally Speedway]]'' (Adventure International, 1983). Other more proper construction sets followed, such as EA's ''[[Adventure Construction Set]]'' (1984) and ''[[Racing Destruction Set]]'' (1985).
In January 1984, [[Joel Gluck]] presented a simple toy called ''Bounce'' in his game design column in ''[[ANALOG Computing]]''.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gluck|first1=Joel|title=Our Game|journal=ANALOG Computing|date=January 1984|issue=15|url=https://archive.org/details/analog-computing-magazine-15}}</ref> ''Bounce'' lets users draw low-resolution lines, then release a block that leaves a  trail as it moves across the screen, making patterns as it reflects off of obstacles (other than its own trail). The program is specifically designed not to have goals or scorekeeping, other than what's in the user's head. ''Bounce'' was revisited several times in ''ANALOG'', including a version which allows multiple active blocks at once.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Gluck|first1=Joel|title=More Fun with Bounce!|journal=ANALOG Computing|date=February 1985|issue=27|url=http://analog.katorlegaz.com/analog_1985-02_120dpi_jpeg_cropped/analog_1985-02_043.html|access-date=2015-05-21|archive-date=2015-05-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524061517/http://analog.katorlegaz.com/analog_1985-02_120dpi_jpeg_cropped/analog_1985-02_043.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The 1989 simulation game ''[[SimCity]]'' was called a ''software toy'' by its creator [[Will Wright (game designer)|Will Wright]], since there is no ultimate objective in the main game; scenarios with objectives exist in some incarnations of the game, such as ''[[SimCity 2000]]'', but these are not the focus.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1523/the_history_of_civilization.php?page=2|title=The History of Civilization at GamaSutra|access-date=2009-01-28|archive-date=2008-05-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080531030014/http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/1523/the_history_of_civilization.php?page=2|url-status=live}}</ref>
Non-games have been particularly successful on the [[Nintendo DS]] and [[Wii]], where a broad range of Japanese titles have appealed to a growing number of [[casual gamer]]s.<ref>[http://www.gpara.com/ranking/mediacreatebn/20070523brain.php Gpara.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524061535/http://www.gpara.com/ranking/mediacreatebn/20070523brain.php |date=2015-05-24 }}: non-games sales figures in Japan, May 2007 {{in lang|ja}}</ref><ref name="IGN">[http://ds.ign.com/articles/719/719258p1.html IGN: Non-Game Flood: Twelve more non games are set for the Japanese DS] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206204220/http://ds.ign.com/articles/719/719258p1.html |date=2012-02-06 }}, July 2006</ref> Types of non-games included [[Computer-assisted language learning|language-learning software]] for English and Japanese (including one for the memorization of [[kanji]]), [[Go (game)|Go]]-learning games, [[Puzzle video game|puzzle game]]s, and [[cooking game]]s.<ref name="IGN"/>
== See also ==
* [[Falling sand game]]
* [[Sandbox game]]
* [[Serious game]]
* [[Video games as an art form]]
== References ==
{{reflist}}
== Further reading ==
* [http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/when-is-a-game-not-a-game gamesindustry.biz: When is a game not a game?]
* {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050615022915/https://lostgarden.com/2005/06/nintendogs-case-of-non-game-that.html |date=June 15, 2005 |title=Lost Garden }}
* [http://www.vrinternal.com/qubrix/index.html Qubrix Brain Twister - a 3D combinatorics toy.]
{{VideoGameGenre}}
[[Category:Non-games| ]]
[[Category:Video game genres]]