Proteus’ Co-Creator Contends That His Game Is Indeed A Game

One major talking point over the past week or so, at least on Twitter, has been Proteus by Ed Key and David Kanaga. Ever since it's release on Steam last Wednesday, people have been debating if it is actually a game or not.

Some, including Gamasutra, have been calling it an "anit-game". Others have dubbed it a "not-game" or the somewhat nicer sounding "art game".

Still, the connotation is that Proteus, because it lacks certain aspects found in traditional video games, is somehow inferior when compared with the status quo. A connotation that Ed Key, co-creator of the game, is not exactly fond of.

In a response on his blog that's entitled "What Are Games", Key notes:

"If you want to narrow your definition of “game” for purposes of academic study or personal taste, then that’s fine, but the vagueness of the term itself has been around as long as things that we call games. “Snakes and Ladders” is my favourite example of this inconsistency: it involves no decision making and therefore is well outside of many of the stricter definitions, but clearly is a boardgame as far as society is concerned. More recently, videogames like The Sims and SimCity are also “not games” according to some.

The stricter the definition of an inherently nebulous concept, the more absurd the implications. Should Dear Esther and Proteus be excluded from stores that sell games? Not covered in the games press? Since Sim City is either a toy or a simulation, that should be excluded too, along with flight simulators.

Are all comics “comical?” Meanings are fluid. Most of the words we use don’t mean what they originally meant – that’s just how everyday language works."

Keys goes on to state that Proteus does have systems, even if they're not as complex or apparent as SimCity's. It's just that 95% of them optional, plus there's no real indication given when you do become involved in something. He also questions if adding game-like elements would actually improve things ultimately.

"Outside of academic discussions, encouraging a strict definition of “game” does nothing but foster conservatism and defensiveness in a culture already notorious for both… Proteus was certainly made by a game developer (and a musician), working in the context of videogames, using game design and development techniques to express a particular set of things. None of that is really important, because the proof is in the playing."