I Have No Words & I Must Design

'A game is an interactive structure of endogenous meaning that requires players to struggle towards goals'

The above quote is covered within the article by Greg Costikyan, I have no words and I must design: towards a critical vocabulary for game. Within the article Costikyan goes into more detail about specific terms that are found within the quote, the ones that are italicized.

To begin with Costikyan talks about the term gameplay  in his article and how it cannot be used as a term, and instead must be broken down into different terms. Specifically, these terms that Costikyan breaks gameplay into are the same ones that are italicized in the quote above.

The first section that Costikyan delves into is the subject of interaction, and the different methods of interaction that are available in games. This includes discussing the idea of puzzles not being games because of the interaction included in them. As Costikyan states in his article :'"Games", by contrast, are not static, but change with the players actions'. This quote gives off the idea that what makes a game interactive is the notion that the actions of the player change the state of the game, such as by choosing a certain option in a conversation changes which way you go. This change in the game state is how the player is interacting with the game.

Costikyan improves upon the notion of interaction by adding the concept of goals to his vocabulary. When discussing goals he mentions that for something to be interactive it must have a purpose, and this is where he introduces goals. Goals are often input into a game, such as objectives and rules, that must be achieved to win the game. Other games are not as simple and allow the player to create their own goals, allowing for another level of interaction from the player. This concept was input in Sim City, having no real method of winning it allowed players to create their own win conditions for the game and work towards them.
By implementing their own goals, the players were able to enjoy their game experience more and interact with the game on a deeper level than by being forced into a goal.

In reference to goals, Costikyan also mentions struggle. Struggle can mean having to go against another player in a multiplayer game, or against an obstacle that is placed into the game in order to add a level of difficulty. This struggle is incorporated into games in order to make them challenging. Costikyan mentions the idea that players play games for the challenge and they do not want to play games that are easy to win, whilsty also not wanting impossible games. The difficulty of a game is what keeps players trying to achieve victory, and attain their goals.

Once Costikyan has delved into the topic of struggling, he diverts onto the topic of structure. The idea of rules, regulations and algorithms. The structure of a game is what keeps the players on track, knowing what they are needing to do in order to play the game. This idea is related to a childrens game, mentioning how little structure a childs game has until it breaks down when two players do not agree on the rules. This contrasts with wargames for instance which have a strict set of rules and goals that cannot be easily changed when playing the game.

The following topic is endogenous meaning, this phrase means: ' caused by factions within the system or organism'. In simpler terms, endogenous meaning in gaming means that the game will create its own meaning. This term is important in RPGs such as Skyrim, because the meaning could be different for each player depending on their play style. Another example, one that Costikyan uses in the article, is that of monopoly. Within the game of monopoly, the money given to you has real value and is used for multiple ingame transactions, whereas at a real shop monopoly money is worthless. This is an example of the game creating its own meaning.

The above paragraphs explain about the quote given at the beginning of the article, and in my own words i consider the quote to mean the following:
By game the quote is referencing all of the above and more. An interactive structure takes into account that the player will be changing the set up of the game and its rules and regulations through his/her interaction with the game and changing the game state as they progress. As covered above, endogenous references the notion that the meaning is created within the game itself and not outside of it. Finally struggle is the idea that the player will be fighting against the games difficulty in order to achieve his/her goals and earn what he considers the victory point of the game.