Gameplay and Enviroplay

I want to identify my personal definition of game-play, considering it varies between designers. Gameplay is the player’s interaction with the game mechanics or rules. For instance, if the rules of the game are that you get a pistol and have to shot a guard to progress through a level, the gameplay is the player actually using the pistol to get through to their goal. The gameplay is the player’s experience with the mechanics, or how the player experience emerges from the rules. Rules do not necessarily mean a pistol does x damage, but can be expanded to enviroplay (expanded version of Jason Mojica's idea of graphics-play)where the environment art and sound provide context on how to play through a level: common examples are red barrels are explosive and footsteps mean an enemy is coming. In a way, enviroplay are rules found in environment that affect gameplay. But gameplay and its subset enviroplay does not include art or sound that does not directly affect rules: a room being blue or music playing to create atmosphere are not part of the rules and therefor are not game-play. This definition of game-play creates a distinction between gameplay and game mechanics verse narrative, art and sound design.