Game Design - Hanging From Things

In American Ninja Warrior, we manipulate the player to a degree because it makes for better TV. And in that case, maybe you want it to be light so that the players don't know if the ball is moving or not. You've gamified some really unique user experiences like chat apps and park rides. How do people interact with that? It's a great question. I think it would be good to understand what a game is at its core.