Games Are A Structure Of Desire --> Whore House?

Costikyan says:-

'A game is an interactive structure of endogenous meaning that requires players to struggle towards goals' (2004:24) 


When i first read the statement i thought to myself  
1.Why the hell did this guy use such complicated words?
2. Why does he need 30+ pages to explain  gameplay? 
3.And what the hell does he mean that games are... endogenous, interactive, structural, tough and has goals.


It wasnt until i got onto the second paragraph where I started to have a clearer perspective of what Costikyan meant about games. Before Costikyans explanation about games and puzzle I didn't think there was any difference in the two. In simple terms, (which i understood) he give a clear difference between the two.
Where by a game can change with a players actions ( To which I thought of the achievements you can receive by killing a certain amount of people, or special cut scenes when you have played the game in a certain way) Where as a puzzle is 'static' and needs a logical way to complete the puzzle, you can only succeed or fail ( Crosswords, Sudoku, Wordsearch) At which to this point I feel like i have just touched the meaning of the statement.


Costikyan later talks about Will Wright and how Sim city over ruled Sim earth, and it was that  example of game that made me understand the statement ( a little more )
Sim earth, at the core it's really just a puzzle with a tiny bit if interaction, but the end result being you finish the game by having a life form on earth. Though I haven't played Sim city, i have spent a ridiculous amount of time on sims, which has every aspect of the statement 


Interacive: Being 'God' over my Sims I always changed the state of the game, I made Sims die (mostly because I just wanted to see what are the possible ways to kill them), I let them go to the toilets, I make them eat, I tired to make them happy e.t.c. All these commands I gave to them gave me a different result which in return I had multiple choice in how i go about them 




Endogenous: Lucky Costikyan explained what it meant. and gave a perfect example with the use of monopoly money.The  props in a game is exclusive to that game. Unless you have an extension to that game it is pretty much useless everywhere else


Struggle: To me this is one of the most important factors of gaming. Without the sense of a challenge or a level of difficulty you can never feel real satisfaction. I totally agree with what Costikyan says about ' A game without struggle is dead'


Goals: Goals and Struggle go hand in hand with each other, essentially the harder the level the greater the goal and so the greater the reward. Without a goal and just struggle you are just climbing an never ending rope... with your hands tied behind your back.


I do agree with Costikyns statement, it takes more then just entertaining the user once and never again can you change what you have down with a puzzle. A true game can have different and multiple changes made to it, depending on how the player chooses how to deal with certain situations. I am sure that there is a loop hole game that doesn't  go with Costkiyans definition, and I will be ecstatic if i did find one, but in general his definition is pretty solid in my opinion. This statement has given me a clearer view on the gaming genres and how hard it must be to have a game to keep a player entertained once they have completed the game.