In all honesty, I do not seem to share the same disdain/hatred as others are about Gone Home. However, I would maintain that Gone Home isn't a game, however it does share its heritage.
In Japan, there exists a video/picture book called Visual Novels. They run on a computer, either with video or pictures, along with sound. They also have light amount of text, as 3D landscapes aren't terribly used as of yet.
This Gone Home should be more part of a Visual Novel genre. Like I said, it does look like a game in some aspects. Admittedly, having not played it, I cannot say there aren't game elements in it.
Well, that would be a good criteria for what a game "is":
'Is there a chance of winning or losing? And if you lose, does it cost you a loss in resource (including time)?'
In Japan, there exists a video/picture book called Visual Novels. They run on a computer, either with video or pictures, along with sound. They also have light amount of text, as 3D landscapes aren't terribly used as of yet.
This Gone Home should be more part of a Visual Novel genre. Like I said, it does look like a game in some aspects. Admittedly, having not played it, I cannot say there aren't game elements in it.
Well, that would be a good criteria for what a game "is":
'Is there a chance of winning or losing? And if you lose, does it cost you a loss in resource (including time)?'