This is one I've sweated over a good deal, but truth be told, I don't think there's a perfect word for what we're trying to get across. However, I think it's important to bear in mind that etymology (the root or original meaning of words) is not always as relevant as some may think. For instance, if you call someone a "dork," that is an insult, yet the etymology of that word is "whale penis." This is just one of millions of examples of how a word has changed its meaning almost completely. This is just to say that the meaning of words is a social convention, not anything intrinsic to the words themselves or what their coiners intended.
"Videogames" seems as good as any other word to describe a certain class of things. But it is arbitrary. However, again the social nature of this process will mean that certain words "stick around" a lot more easily than others. We could coin a new word; perhaps "barlog" games; but who's going to use that? It's easy to coin a new word for something, but much harder to make it stick. Look at how hard companies like Xerox, Post-It, and even Google have worked to keep their words out of the common lexicon to mean something specific. Yet I hear few people saying "did you see my adhesive note?" or "why don't you just Microsoft Live Search it?" It's easier just to say "post-it" or "google" because (a) everyone knows what you mean, (b) it takes a lot less effort, and (c) using something else will likely distract the audience by calling attention to itself.
I see the same thing with even a single genre--take Zork. Is that an "interactive fiction," a "text adventure," an "adventure game," or an "electronic novel?" I've seen all of these and more used to describe it, and I can sympathize with all of them. However, if I'm going to enter a certain community of Zork fans who want me to refer to it as "IF," fine, I'm happy with that. My point is simply that if that's what the folks in the community agree to call it, for the sake of the discussion I will also use the term, even if I'm partial to text adventure or whatever.
Some of the scholarly books I've read on the subject lump in things like the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books as well as electronic games and even mechanical devices and "poetry generators." I think this sort of thing is cute, perhaps, but again it seems to be taking the words and their meanings too literally and not abiding by the social conventions. No sensible person would ever claim a book, jigsaw puzzle, and deck of cards were all the same thing as Pac-Man.
Anyway, I think "videogames" is about as good as any other. It certainly seems less problematic than something like "computer games," a term that is getting increasingly fuzzy now that console games and pretty much everything else is fusing together. "Electronic games" also makes sense to me, though I see where some might make a big deal out of things like Simon or Electronic Battleship and want to keep those things out of the equation. I also see the logic behind referring to them as "entertainment programs" or "game software," since that gets at the critical element of coding (but of course rules out games that don't use software).
The etymology of "video" just means "to see," going back to the Latin "videre." We could argue that "videogames" just means any game of which seeing is important and not worry about the industrial history of the word and its connections to TV. Of course, that covers a lot of ground, since sight is important in most games--and all of these neglect audio and input methods, which are also important. Nevertheless, the "video" part seems to suggest electronics and audio/video, as in "VCR" (video cassette recorder), a device that also has audio functionality.
In short, until I see a word or term that really covers the ground in a succinct and convenient way, "videogames" will be my choice. Even if some argue that it means something else, those people might consider jumping on the bandwagon. If enough people use the term, it will become the accepted term for what we mean (i.e., the dictionaries will cover it). In addition, you can always provide a definition or explanation of the usage in your text if you think it may confuse the audience.
This is one I've sweated over a good deal, but truth be told, I don't think there's a perfect word for what we're trying to get across. However, I think it's important to bear in mind that etymology (the root or original meaning of words) is not always as relevant as some may think. For instance, if you call someone a "dork," that is an insult, yet the etymology of that word is "whale penis." This is just one of millions of examples of how a word has changed its meaning almost completely. This is just to say that the meaning of words is a social convention, not anything intrinsic to the words themselves or what their coiners intended.
"Videogames" seems as good as any other word to describe a certain class of things. But it is arbitrary. However, again the social nature of this process will mean that certain words "stick around" a lot more easily than others. We could coin a new word; perhaps "barlog" games; but who's going to use that? It's easy to coin a new word for something, but much harder to make it stick. Look at how hard companies like Xerox, Post-It, and even Google have worked to keep their words out of the common lexicon to mean something specific. Yet I hear few people saying "did you see my adhesive note?" or "why don't you just Microsoft Live Search it?" It's easier just to say "post-it" or "google" because (a) everyone knows what you mean, (b) it takes a lot less effort, and (c) using something else will likely distract the audience by calling attention to itself.
I see the same thing with even a single genre--take Zork. Is that an "interactive fiction," a "text adventure," an "adventure game," or an "electronic novel?" I've seen all of these and more used to describe it, and I can sympathize with all of them. However, if I'm going to enter a certain community of Zork fans who want me to refer to it as "IF," fine, I'm happy with that. My point is simply that if that's what the folks in the community agree to call it, for the sake of the discussion I will also use the term, even if I'm partial to text adventure or whatever.
Some of the scholarly books I've read on the subject lump in things like the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books as well as electronic games and even mechanical devices and "poetry generators." I think this sort of thing is cute, perhaps, but again it seems to be taking the words and their meanings too literally and not abiding by the social conventions. No sensible person would ever claim a book, jigsaw puzzle, and deck of cards were all the same thing as Pac-Man.
Anyway, I think "videogames" is about as good as any other. It certainly seems less problematic than something like "computer games," a term that is getting increasingly fuzzy now that console games and pretty much everything else is fusing together. "Electronic games" also makes sense to me, though I see where some might make a big deal out of things like Simon or Electronic Battleship and want to keep those things out of the equation. I also see the logic behind referring to them as "entertainment programs" or "game software," since that gets at the critical element of coding (but of course rules out games that don't use software).
The etymology of "video" just means "to see," going back to the Latin "videre." We could argue that "videogames" just means any game of which seeing is important and not worry about the industrial history of the word and its connections to TV. Of course, that covers a lot of ground, since sight is important in most games--and all of these neglect audio and input methods, which are also important. Nevertheless, the "video" part seems to suggest electronics and audio/video, as in "VCR" (video cassette recorder), a device that also has audio functionality.
In short, until I see a word or term that really covers the ground in a succinct and convenient way, "videogames" will be my choice. Even if some argue that it means something else, those people might consider jumping on the bandwagon. If enough people use the term, it will become the accepted term for what we mean (i.e., the dictionaries will cover it). In addition, you can always provide a definition or explanation of the usage in your text if you think it may confuse the audience.
Matt Barton, Managing Editor
Location: St. Cloud, Minnesota, USA
Email: matt@armchairarcade.com