Ever since the arrival of the (and yes I will call it this) game Heavy Rain, there seems to have arisen a debate as to what a game actually is defined as. Many people believe that Heavy Rain and it's upcoming spiritual successor Beyond: Two Souls are not games because they believe there isn't really any "gameplay" so there for it's not a game.

Now, accoriding to wikipedia, a video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. Under this definition, Heavy Rain, Beyond, and games of the like certainly fit the definition, yes? However gamers have developed their own personal definition of what a game is. And this creates a rift between the gamers.

What these gamers don't realize is you just can't call a game, not a game, based on your own definition. If there is interactivity, if there visual feedback of what you are doing, it IS a game. It doesn't matter if you can't freely control your character like most games do. It doesn't matter if most of the game is a cinematic experience. As long as you are doing something (i.e pressing buttons, moving analog sticks), it is a game and not, as some people call, an interactive movie.

Now I do, however, believe these games deserve their own genre. These types of games are fundamentally different than others. I think it'll be easier for gamers to say "oh I don't like this genre" rather than "this game is not a game".

Just because I can't teabag my opponent after killing them, just because i can't go killing civilians, just because i can't crash into buildings whenever i want, does NOT mean it's not a game. It's just not a game YOU would play.