My family recently completed a lovely road trip around the Great Lakes. One of the most spectacular views was found at Pyramid Point on the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore. The photograph doesn't do it justice.
When we reached the lookout point, a young couple was just turning to go back down the trail, and an older couple was behind us on their way up. The young man in front me wore a University of Michigan cap with "CSE" emblazoned on it. Upon my inquiry, he confirmed my suspicion that it stood for "Computer Science and Engineering," and he told me that he was a doctoral student there. I told him that I had completed my Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo's CSE department, and I asked about his specialization. He told me that he studied game theory. I laughed and told him that I worked in game design and development, which was a different kind of "game." At this point, the other couple had caught up, and the gentleman joined us, telling us that he worked for the Michigan Gaming Control Board, working with the certification of electronic gaming (that is, gambling) machines.
And so it happened that we held the Pyramid Point Games Summit, where, by incredible chance, the three men on the top of the dune represented specialists in the three different definitions of "game." We laughed at this unlikely coincidence, enjoyed the view, and then parted ways.
