A
game with strong elements of ludology means that it almost doesn’t have a
story. It is a game that is open to interpretation however has blurred lines
into being a sandbox game(Toys are very Sandbox as they are very open to
interpretation, a story can be made up, like Lego), an example of some sandbox
games are Minecraft, The Sims and in terms of non-video games. The word Ludo in
latin means ‘to play’ , in terms of video games studies is to play without
bounderies , the opposite of a strongly based narrative game.
A
ludic game can be related to toys, they have no rules so the aim , setting and
background can be completely made up. Playing a ludic game means to play
without bounderies, time constrictions or obstacles. However with video games lines
are blurred, because obviously games exist which are open to interpretation
like The Sims (life simumaltion game developed by Maxis, published by EA in
2002 on PC) where your sim can look however you want them to look and be who
you want them to be under the options that the game provides. So obviously you
can use your imagination, under an umbrella of ‘Veronaville, Pleasantview or
Strangetown’.
For
ludic games, rules can obviously be made up where they don’t exist. For example
in multiplayer options in games like The Call Of Duty franchises (first and
third person shooter published by Activision , first game in 2003 on PC). Where game aims do not exist and the arena
turns into a blood bath, however rules can be made up to make it more
interesting like only certain weapons are allowed to be used. As the franchise
has progressed these made up rules exist as presets due to their popularity in
the gaming world.
One
element of a ludic game is one that is all about gameplay, however game play is
hard to define. It is impossible to find a video game which has no factor of
narrative, aim or backstory. If any games were under this category they would
be games like solitaire and Minesweeper.
More likely arcade games than more popular mainstream games. One example
is Bejewled (tile matching puzzle game by Popcap in 2001), where there are
different modes, endless mode would definitely count as a ludic game because
it’s endless, nothing to fulfill just playing to play.Whereas there are other
modes where there is more of an aim like getting as many points as possible in
one minute etc.
Emergence in any kind of game is something
that the game designer did not plan or purposefully input into the game. It’s
when specific variables in a game meet and create a reaction that wasn’t
orginally thought of but the computer/console almost creates itself. There are so many examples where this happens
in games and it’s sometimes referred to as a ‘glitch’. An example in Spryo The Dragon (
action/platform game made by Insomniac games first game released in 1998), in
one specific game called Spyro:Year Of The Dragon where in the background you
could see hills or clouds depending on the level and setting. Using the right
combination of buttons to jump and fly it was possible to land on the
background as an object instead of it being far in the distance as it was
supposed to be. This didn’t allow the game to be any easier nor did it serve
any purpose whatsoever however it definitely was not a feature that was
designed to be a part of the game. However the fact that the player does not
gain anything through the emergence, nor do they lose anything, it is
questionable that it can even be called emergence.
A
ludic game can also be narrative, the two qualities can co-exist. A game developer can create a game with a
strong and meaningful story line but also with strong ludic aspects like
mechanics that work along side the story and sophisticated gameplay.
‘The
work of the so-called ludologists does not reject narrative, nor does it want
to finish narrative elements in video games’ – Gonzalo Frasca 2003, Digital
Games Research, Ludology
This ludologist
explains that the study of Ludology is not the opposite of narratology and that
they can exist together in the same game, even complement each others elements.
Bibliography
Fresca, G. (2003). Ludology.
Retrieved 05 2013, 16, from Ludology :
http://www.ludology.org/articles/frasca_levelUp2003.pdf
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