gameplay n.
the (characteristic) way in which a player interacts with an (electronic) game; the tactical aspects of play, such as rules, plot, etc., as distinct from graphics or sound effects
OED has evidence for the broader sense ‘the action or process of playing a game or games; game-playing’ from 1920.
Gaming
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1979 Star Raiders (videogame manual, 5 July draft) 2
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After reading these instructions carefully, acquaint yourself with the basic operations of the game, and with using the Joystick, then start playing. After each game you will know more about the important aspects of gameplay, and the depth of the game will become apparent to you. [Ibid. 5] The following Keyboard keys control and direct the STAR RAIDERS gameplay: [etc.].
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1982 The Exidy Experiment in Videogaming Illustrated Dec. 38/4
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All of these games offered players something new in gameplay or hardware, reflecting Kaufman’s bias toward innovation.
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1987 Analog Computing Oct. 63
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Additional peripherals soon to be available from Nintendo can make gameplay even more exciting.
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1999 Electro Games in Amazing Stories Winter 84/2
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Cory J. Herndon
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Ultimately, if the gameplay is good, the action is compelling, and the story line grabs you from the get-go, does it really matter whether a particular game is truly science fiction?
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1999 Mutant Popcorn in Interzone (#145) July 43/2
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Nick Lowe
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The eXistenZ game, supposedly a world-beater, looks like the world’s least enjoyable game ever: no action, little gameplay, no narrative propulsion, lots of confusing and pointless twists, easy clues, [etc.].
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2016 Starburst Magazine (#422) Mar. 118/4
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Overall, gameplay is smooth, easy to pick up, varied and fun and the bits that make up the game aren’t bad either.
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2023 Baldur’s Gate 3 on PS5 in The Verge 13 Sept.
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Being a Dungeons & Dragons-based game, Baldur’s Gate 3 has a wealth of intricate systems—exploration, combat, and roleplay—that feed into one another and fuel the kinds of emergent gameplay that’s made this game so phenomenally successful.
Research requirements
antedating 1979
Research History
The 1979 quotation is from a draft manual for Atari's Star Raiders videogame, which was released in 1980. The cover page of the manual is erroneously dated "5 July 1969"; the next page (the only other one with a date) is dated "21 June 1979".
Last modified 2024-06-05 12:58:52
In the compilation of some
entries, HDSF has drawn extensively on corresponding entries
in OED.