What Are Games?

Games are structured interactive systems defined by rules that govern allowed actions, states, and outcomes, and in which participants make decisions in pursuit of goals. They range from abstract mathematical constructs studied in game theory to digital interactive experiences produced by the entertainment industry and physical sport competitions with formal governing bodies. In engineering and computer science, the study of games intersects with artificial intelligence, human-computer interaction, software engineering, real-time graphics, and network systems. The IEEE Transactions on Games covers the full technical scope, including AI for games, player modeling, game analytics, serious games, streaming and eSports technology, and computational creativity in game design.

Games serve as both a subject of study and a tool for research. Their well-defined rule structures make them tractable testbeds for AI and decision-making algorithms, while their demand for real-time interactive response has driven advances in processor architecture, graphics hardware, and network infrastructure.

Games and Game Theory

As formal objects of mathematical analysis, games model strategic interactions in which each participant's outcome depends on the choices of others. Game theory, developed by John von Neumann and John Nash, categorizes games by their information structure (complete or incomplete), payoff relationship (zero-sum or general-sum), and timing (simultaneous or sequential). This formal framework has applications across economics, biology, and engineering, where the concept of equilibrium strategies provides a design tool for multi-agent systems, auction mechanisms, and network protocols. Games used in AI research, including chess, Go, poker, and Starcraft II, have served as benchmarks for algorithmic progress because their rule sets are simple enough to specify precisely but complex enough to resist brute-force solution. The IEEE Transactions on Games publishes research on all scientific and technical aspects of games, documenting the interplay between AI research and game structure across these benchmark domains.

Digital and Entertainment Games

The entertainment industry treats games as interactive media products consumed on consoles, personal computers, mobile devices, and, more recently, cloud streaming platforms. A digital game is software that generates reactive, rule-governed environments with which players engage in real time, with the player experience shaped by visual feedback, audio, narrative, and control responsiveness. Video games in educational settings from the Wiley-IEEE Press Handbook of Digital Games examines how the interactive properties of digital games, specifically their capacity to present adaptive challenges and give immediate feedback, distinguish them from passive media and create opportunities for skill development. The global video game market exceeded two hundred billion dollars annually by the mid-2020s, making it one of the largest entertainment segments worldwide and a primary driver of semiconductor, networking, and cloud computing investment.

Games in Education and Serious Applications

Beyond entertainment, games are used in education, training, and research under the umbrella of serious games. Educational videogame design research on IEEE Xplore describes how educational games embed learning objectives in mechanics that motivate continued engagement through challenge, progression, and feedback loops. Simulation games model physical, biological, or social systems and serve as training platforms for military personnel, surgeons, pilots, and emergency responders. These serious game applications share the technical substrate of entertainment games but impose additional requirements around fidelity, performance measurement, and domain validity.

Applications

Games have applications in a wide range of fields, including:

• AI research and algorithm benchmarking using rule-defined game environments
• Entertainment software for consumer platforms and cloud streaming services
• Sports analytics and simulation for performance optimization and coaching
• Training simulations for medical, military, and aviation professionals
• Educational tools for mathematics, language learning, and STEM disciplines