[OLPC-Games] games and play

[SJ Klein]

I spent a couple of days at the serious games summit / game developers 
conference this week.  Thanks to Ben and Jamil for your help making that 
happen.

One recurring theme at SGS was what distinguished a game from other 
interactive environments. If you are studying with two friends using a 
three-way flash-card activity, is this a game? [Let's not get into the 
harder question of what makes a game 'serious'...]

I'd like to think that every activity could have some elements of play 
built into it -- this sense of challenge, response, and success is part
of what makes a good activity discoverable.  Perhaps there are game 
components that, like chat, could be accessible from any activity -- 
statistics on use or popularity, or on how much time one has spent on
an activity.  What other aspects of games can easily be drawn out of
normal collaboration?

SJ