Newman suggests that there are two different types of game; these are Paidea and Ludus:
PaideaThis form of play is unrestricted by rules so that you are free to do whatever you please, usually this type of play includes sandbox games such as Minecraft, Spore and The Sims. Minecraft is a paidea game because when you start you are free to do whatever you want in whatever way you want, Spore is a paidea game because you have an infinite amount of ways in which you can create your creature and evolve it and The Sims is paidea game due to you being able to control a person and make them do anything.
LudusThis form of play has set rules which you must follow to complete an objective, this type of play contains games like Call of Duty, Battlefield and League of Legends. Call of Duty is a ludus game because you are always set objectives to complete such as eliminating the enemy team or setting off a bomb, Battlefield is a ludus game because you either have to capture certain command points or destroy command points and League of Legends is a ludus game because you have to destroy the other teams nexus in order to win.
Newman then goes further to say that there are four types of play; these being Agon, Alea, Ilinx and Mimicry: Agon meaning competition, Alea meaning chance, Ilinx meaning movement, and Mimicry meaning simulation.This table shows you how I would class certain games:
| Paidea | Ludus | |
|---|---|---|
| Agon | Borderlands | Beijing Olympics 2008 |
| Alea | Binding of Isaac | Poker |
| Ilinx | Skate | AMPED |
| Mimicry | Minecraft | Forza 4 |
Hi Peter,
ReplyDeleteWhile Newman discusses these concepts in his work on video games, they derive from French sociologist Roger Caillois's Man, Play and Games.
Try to keep your blog up-to-date by making a short post on the current topic or on your project reading every week or two. There is a list of blog topics for the Critical Games Studies module in the VLE, while Rob provides readings for the project module in the weekly class meetings.