In this post i will be discussing different games that I believe show signs of being either paidea or ludus. First of all I should probably explain the meaning of these two terms...
Paidea games are often associated with being very free and open to the gamers decisions. The gameplay often revolves around having a good time and being rather relaxed about it all.
Ludus games are out there to challenge a player and there are a very clear set of rules in order to win the game. In other words, you have a set goal or objective and you have to get there within the rules the game has set you.
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A paidea game!
A great example of a paidea game as illustrated by James Newman is SimCity. There are many reasons for this but some of the more obvious reasons come from the fact that there is only ever one real objective and that is to be a success however this objective isn't set in the game itself, it's you to figure out from common sense.
Furthermore, the game doesn't direct you in any one way. An example would be the game telling you to build something in a certain place and to get all of your money from dirty industry. Well, outside of tutorials the game lets you do as you wish. You can build your city by exploiting raw materials such as oil or something like tourism. It's completely up to you and the game is essentially never-ending. You play until you feel satisfied with your accomplishments.
Because there is no set-in-stone objectives, the game is free will and in many ways fun. It lets you do as you wish when you wish and as a result, I would call this game an outright paidea game.
A ludus game!
The example I will be giving for this one is very typical so expect it. Call of Duty. This in my books is a very ludus game. For the purpose of this blog post i will be focusing more on the multiplayer aspect of the franchise.
When you play Call of Duty online with other people as soon as you are thrown into a match the man shouts at you to do one thing: kill everyone! (or other similar things dependent on the game-mode). You are given an objective and you have a strict set of rules to follow. There will often be re-spawn timers, penalty points for team killing or even harming a teammate. As well as this, there will be game time limits and players panicking all over the place.
Basically, you're playing the game to be competitive and to win the match. You're given your rules and you abide by them and if you don't you will be penalized for it. It is very clear that this is to be thrown into the ludus game category.
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So that's it for my blog about paidea and ludus games. I hope you learnt something because i certainly did! As always, thanks for reading if you did.
-Jamie
Tuesday, 15 October 2013
My interview..!
In the first teaching week of my course at UCS we did a small paired task trying to understand each others tastes in art and culture. The purpose of this post will be to outline how I answered the question put in front of me.
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1) What is the title of the book (fiction) you are currently reading (or the
last fiction book you read)?
When I was asked this question I tried to think back to the last time I read a fiction book. As it were, the last one I read was 'The Hunger Games'. I actually rather like this book so I will most probably eventually get through all three!
2) What is the title/topic of the book (non-fiction) you are currently
reading (or the last non-fiction book you read)?
This one was a lot more difficult because I genuinely don't remember ever reading a non-fiction book. I think the conversation about this question died out at this point - there wasn't much to talk about if i'm honest.
3) What is the last live performance (music, drama or dance) you attended?
Because i'm not all that into live performances I don't think I gave much of an answer to this simply because I had nothing that could count as an answer. Oh well.
4) What is the title of the last film you saw at the cinema / online or
watched on DVD?
At the time, I think the last film I watched was in Athena Halls (my student accommodation) the day before my course started and that was Fast and Furious. Good film..
5) How often do you read a newspaper? (which one? online or physical?)
Google news. Okay? That's it.
6) Which art gallery / museum / exhibition did you last visit?
I actually had an answer to this one. I went up London for a day with my good friend Nikki and me and her both went to the Science Museum up there. Always a nice place to go I think.
7) How many hours a week do you spend playing video games?
Too many... But then, for an aspiring games designer is there such thing as too many gaming hours? Questionable. Still, I play on average about 5 hours a day give or take an hour. I suppose it depends on things like friends being available for playing and what games tickle my fancy.
8) How many hours a week do you spend playing games other than video
games?
Oh goodness so many hours... Oh no wait!! None. Literally no hours. I'm sorry.
_____________________________________________
So that was the interview I had with a fellow games designer. Interesting to say the least. If you read through all that, I thank you. There will be so many more posts to come in the next few years... EXPECT THEM!
-Jamie
_____________________________________________
1) What is the title of the book (fiction) you are currently reading (or the
last fiction book you read)?
When I was asked this question I tried to think back to the last time I read a fiction book. As it were, the last one I read was 'The Hunger Games'. I actually rather like this book so I will most probably eventually get through all three!
2) What is the title/topic of the book (non-fiction) you are currently
reading (or the last non-fiction book you read)?
This one was a lot more difficult because I genuinely don't remember ever reading a non-fiction book. I think the conversation about this question died out at this point - there wasn't much to talk about if i'm honest.
3) What is the last live performance (music, drama or dance) you attended?
Because i'm not all that into live performances I don't think I gave much of an answer to this simply because I had nothing that could count as an answer. Oh well.
4) What is the title of the last film you saw at the cinema / online or
watched on DVD?
At the time, I think the last film I watched was in Athena Halls (my student accommodation) the day before my course started and that was Fast and Furious. Good film..
5) How often do you read a newspaper? (which one? online or physical?)
Google news. Okay? That's it.
6) Which art gallery / museum / exhibition did you last visit?
I actually had an answer to this one. I went up London for a day with my good friend Nikki and me and her both went to the Science Museum up there. Always a nice place to go I think.
7) How many hours a week do you spend playing video games?
Too many... But then, for an aspiring games designer is there such thing as too many gaming hours? Questionable. Still, I play on average about 5 hours a day give or take an hour. I suppose it depends on things like friends being available for playing and what games tickle my fancy.
8) How many hours a week do you spend playing games other than video
games?
Oh goodness so many hours... Oh no wait!! None. Literally no hours. I'm sorry.
_____________________________________________
So that was the interview I had with a fellow games designer. Interesting to say the least. If you read through all that, I thank you. There will be so many more posts to come in the next few years... EXPECT THEM!
-Jamie
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