what is a video game

[Zomber_Jesus]

That's assuming the game has a story or characters. Those aren't inherent. I also think that focusing on end-states and fail-states too much is a limiting factor. A video game doesn't have to be a challenge just to satisfy the criteria of 'being a video game'. It really feels like an arcade machine relic at some points. Simply experiencing a world can be enough, and loading a piece with puzzles / qtes / battles etc isn't necessarily a good thing for immersion.