Long-form essays and a Field Guide on how games work: classification, serious games, gamification, and games as media.https://second-playthrough.com/enhttps://second-playthrough.com/essays/where-the-game-lives/https://second-playthrough.com/essays/where-the-game-lives/Six structures—rules, goals, feedback, uncertainty, choice, play—map any game-like thing; the missing ones explain why it does or doesn’t feel like a game.Mon, 02 Nov 2026 00:00:00 GMTThe Game in All of Thesehttps://second-playthrough.com/essays/gamification-is-not-a-game/https://second-playthrough.com/essays/gamification-is-not-a-game/Gamification usually borrows the visible parts of games—points, badges, streaks—and drops what makes them work: real choice, uncertainty and voluntary play.Mon, 19 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTBeyond Entertainmenthttps://second-playthrough.com/essays/why-rpg-stopped-meaning-anything/https://second-playthrough.com/essays/why-rpg-stopped-meaning-anything/“RPG” fuses five separate things—mechanic, theme, format, perspective and role-play—and once progression spread to every genre, the label stopped sorting games.Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMTCategories and Classification