Question

Linguistic problem:

Think about the category of things that can be labelled as games.

a. Think up some things that are members of the category games. Make a list of at least twelve words that refer to things that are games and rank them in order of most prototypical to most peripheral category members. (6 points)

b. Discuss, briefly, what features make something a prototypical game. What features do the peripheral members have or not have that makes them less prototypical? (4 points)

just think about 12 words can be categorized as 'games'

Answer 1

The mental category or schema "games" initiates thoughts regarding fun-filled video games that have become the global gaming trend. A prototype is the most common or suitable or appropriate example or cognitive representative of a category of things. Prototypes are especially useful in improving memory recall. People possess cognitive schemas of games, more specifically, the most trendy of them all, that is, video games. It is not unknown that in the Digital Age or Internet Age, video games most promptly come to mind as an escape from the complexity of the busy and fast-moving world. Prototypical category members of a mental schema are the representatives of the category that are most valued and instantly come to mind. Any category or mental schema also has things that are relatively less valued. These are the peripheral category members of the mental schema of "games". So, 12 words that can be categorized as 'games' in order of most prototypical to most peripheral category members are The CrossFire, Candy Crush Saga, Minecraft, Microsoft Solitaire, Dragon Nest, World of Warcraft, FarmVille, Ragnarok Online, Apex Legends, Payday 2, Lineage II, and Ark: Survival Evolved.

There are certain features which make a game a prototype of the "gaming category". This most importantly relates to the innovative concept, which serves as the foundation of the prototypical game. The concept is generally interesting, engaging, and adequately challenging to sustain the engagement of the users. Some games also become a prototype as they are wacky. Some prototypes also attain the same status by attaining widespread popularity. This popularity helps the game to become a prototype even in the minds of the people who have never even experienced or utilized the same.

Peripheral members are quintessentially less prototypical because they may have become outdated, especially in the absence of upgradation or innovative versions of the same. Competition drains certain members and washes them away to the periphery of the category of things. New features supported by latest technology in a new product lure the users, which detaches value previously attached to certain category members. So, peripheral category members are less valuable or less utilized, and therefore, are generally hard to recall.