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The Game Ontology Project (GOP) is a framework for describing, analyzing and studying games. It is a hierarchy of concepts abstracted from an analysis of many specific games. GOP borrows concepts and methods from prototype theory as well as grounded theory to achieve a framework that is always growing and changing as new games are analyzed or particular research questions are explored.
The Game Ontology Project's approach is to develop a game ontology that identifies the important structural elements of games and the relationships between them, organizing them hierarchically. The use of the term ontology is borrowed from computer science, and refers to the identification and (oftentimes formal) description of entities within a domain. Often, the elements are derived from common game terminology (e.g. level and boss) and then refined by both by abstracting more general concepts and by identifying more precise or specific concepts. An ontology is different than a game taxonomy in that, rather than organizing games by their characteristics or elements, it is the elements themselves that are organized. This approach is well suited to exploring issues and questions regarding games and gameplay. The GOP provides a framework for exploring, dissecting and understanding the relationships between different game elements. A few examples of research questions we have already begun to explore include: "How can we understand interactivity in games?", "How is gameplay regulated over the progress of a game?", and "What roles does space play within games?". Some of our explorations are also available in the publications area.
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