What use, a game with no end point?

One way of dividing types games is into the classifications emergent and convergent. A convergent game is one that converges play towards an inevitable goal. A convergent game has a definite end.

Emergent games, on the other hand, have no distinct end. They are meant to go on forever.

Studies have shown that convergent games, across the board, give a much higher degree of satisfaction. When one is playing an emergent game, joy and engagement eventually and inevitably give way to boredom and dissatisfaction.

Luckily for us, life is so constructed to be a convergent game. In all life, there is an end. That end is death. Though we may fear it, and agonize over it, death might be what ultimately provides the basic joy of life. Without death's sting, life would stretch on to the point of meaninglessness.

Death may be the ultimate source of fear. It represents the absolute unknown. On the other hand, it also may simply be the one thing that drives the engine of life's poignant pleasure.