Ludology

People have long been studying games from an anthropology, psychology, literary and most recently technological point of view. The study of games is formally called Ludology, which is derived from the Latin words ludus meaning "game" and logia which means "study".

The origins the word Ludology can be traced back to the mid-twentieth century however it's wide spread use came about during the late 1990's when game designer and academic researcher Gonzalo Frasca, published the paper Ludology Meets Narratology. In the paper Frasca argues games while sharing similarities with narratives can not be studied under the single umbrella of Narratology, which is the study of narrative structure. Instead Frasca recommends a "Need for A Ludology".

Game Studies

The term Game Studies is commonly used in academic as opposed to ludology. This stems from the on-going debate between ludology and narratology. While the terms ludology and game studies are often used interchangeably, the term game studies conveys an inclination towards video games. Ludology on the other hand conveys a boarder study of games.

In this text we will not delve to much into the ludology vs narratology debate, instead we will look at ludology by focusing on what is a game and what is required to make a game.

Play: Sprouts

📝Critical Thinking | 🕒15 minutes | 📂Required File: none

This activity is designed to help students access the characteristics required to describe something as a game.

Discussion

As a group think about the game you just played, what makes it a game? What is required for something to be a game? How would you define a game?

Definition of a Game

There are different ways in which to define the word game and here are just a few:

• An activity among two or more independent decision-makers seeking to achieve their objectives in some limiting context.
• A form of art in which participants, called players, make decisions to manage resources through game tokens in the pursuit of a goal.
• A system in which players engage in an artificial conflict, defined by rules, that results in a quantifiable outcome.
• A type of play (activity) that takes place in a pretend reality, in which the participants(s) follow a set of rules to achieve at least one goal.

Noticing any similarities? Games require a goal or objective, rules that limit what you can and cannot do, and finally an outcome resolving into a winner and loser.

Interactive Challenges

Play: White Perl, Black Perl

📝Critical Thinking | 🕒10 minutes | 📂Required File: none

This activity is designed to help students identify puzzles and whether they qualify as a game.

Discussion

As a group think about the puzzles you attempted to solve. What are some differences between a puzzle and a game? Is a puzzle a game?

We've defined a game as being a rule-based system with a goal. Puzzles too are rule-based systems with the goal of finding the correct solution. However, there are some key differences between a puzzle and a game.

Take for example the term "playing a game", we don't exactly "play a puzzle", instead we say that we are "solving a puzzle". Furthermore, the act of simply playing doesn't necessarily mean we are playing game, instead it depends on how we relate to the item we are playing with, whether it is a game or not.

Game Designer and author of the 1982 book Art of Computer Games, Chris Crawford explored the idea that games are creative expressions and emphasized that interactivity is one of the main differences between games and other play activities.

Jacob Habgood and Mark Overmars authors of The Game Maker's Apprentice summarized Crawford's ideas by explaining that if there is interaction but no challenge, then it is just a toy. If there is a challenge but no interaction, then this is considered a puzzle. It is the combination of both interaction and challenge that distinguishes something as a game, and because of this, games can be referred to as interactive challenges.