Quote Originally Posted by Randy View Post
Whereas something like Passage is not a game.
I consider Passage to be sandbox. You can do things or not do them in the game, and whether or not that is better is down to the individual. For example, you can get married or not get married. Likewise, there are games such as Dwarf Fortress where it can be argued that "bad things" are what actually makes the game so incredibly fun, in which case the worse a thing the better, in a weird way. In the end, it's a game if you can interact with it and alter what happens next based on your own input, and is designed to be either enjoyable or challenging.

Some people might not consider these things games, but I'm not sure what they would call them if not games. Personally, I see them as games. Whether or not they are good games, or succeed at being either enjoyable or challenging, does not change that they are designed to be these things (which is what differentiates them from applications like Excel or Notepad).