After much fretting and fussing, I finally submitted by answers to PublicBeta’s “Difficult Questions About Videogames” project.

At first I thought this would be fun. Then I realized that whatever I said might be put into the context of answers coming from other participants such as the Ludonauts , the Avant Gamer and The Ludologist. I’m not particularly intellectually shy, so I don't embarrass simply because of some stupid idea or another I have espoused. Still, it seemed liked a little hard thinking was in order to try and sort out these tricky questions. No reason to look more foolish than necessary.

Asking questions such as “What is a videogame”, “How can you tell if a videogame is rubbish? “ and “Why is playing videogames fun?” is innocent enough. And, of course, that’s what makes them diabolically difficult to answer—at least with any sort of brevity.

For me, the effort of trying to lay out a clear and concise answer to these difficult interrogatives was a real thrill and challenge. Now I can’t wait to see what the PublicBeta guys make of all the answers and to see what other people have said when the book is published this fall.

I am sure I have a soft spot for this sort of research because of the journalistic side of my life. I believe asking simple questions of people and listening to what they say is a great way to find out about things. This reporters’ approach to game theory should provide a fascinating and terribly useful survey of thought around game studies!