Games that i know well explanation rant...Blog...thing

"Paidea - Effectively "play" for pleasure."
"Ludus - Games contrained by rules with a clear outcome"
These are here so I don't have to turn my pages back and forth. They are not for your leisure, I'm lazy like that.

So what games do I play that I think are Paidea styled in nature, Pretty much all of them. A few that I play have story modes where they return to the normal aspect of Ludus but the rest however are pure madness. I play all of the halo games with friends where most of the time we run around rolling vehicles and building maps that would otherwise enrage other players not used to our gaming styles. We play phantasy star universe where the only real objective is to level and level thus creating a sandbox MMORPG that allows customisation of our avatars and further allowing us to become more individual than the game had planned for. We also play endless MMORPG's like runescape for example, where again the only real objective enforced is enjoyment. On runescape a player can spend an entire day killing cows to obtain equipment to train crafting or they could just knuckle down and kick some dragon tail, the choices are endless as is the game.

However, Some games that I play do have an objective to more than fun. Halo and the Left 4 Dead series all have campaign missions where the objectives are displayed on screen enforcing the player to do what the game wants. Though Left 4 Dead's objectives are more opaque compared to Halo as the brief is to get the survivors from A to B whilst killing as much of Z on the way. Dragonage is one of my favourite Ludus games as it gives the impression that it is in fact a Paidea based game. It offers the players plenty of choice and item combinations that the player feels as if the game will not end and that anything can happen at any time. The clever part is that the game is infact completely planned depending on which path the player takes to get to where, A bandit attack will always occur in the passing between Redcliff regardless of whether it is the first or last town the player saves. Selfishly ignoring the crys of the towns people will always occur with the game turning the town into a post apocolyptic nightmare because of the players choices. The game will always end after the last boss is defeated and the player can only kill a certain amount of enemies before they are labelled "maxed out" and the quest is the only option.

These games are all open to the tag of Ludus because they're objectives are made clear and the game will always finish. The player may well enjoy playing through the campaigns again and again but the game itself can't be picked up and put down at will without going through the game again etc. For the same reason though Halo could be described as a Paidea because of the campaign option where the player can customise they're equipment and play seperate levels for fun or for less time constraint.

Some games though (like Halo) can be open to both of the tags, personally I prefer these types of games with dedicated chill and relax or open a Red Bull and game your soul out options because they allow the player to control their level of interactivity with the game itself. Many a hour has been spent sipping energy drinks and promising myself that this was the last level before bed, It still takes a further 2 hours of negotiating to even put a movie on instead of the game let alone turn the cursed console off for the night and this is why the 2 work so well together! A beer and buds will always feel fun but a sugar high and a victory over the games hardest mission will always feel like a great relief to any dedicated gamer.

Once again i'm about to be lazy.
"Agon - Competition"
"Alea - Chance/Randomness"
"Ilinx - Movement"
"Mimicry - Simulation, Make-believe, Role-play"

As well as Paidea and Ludus other aspects create what the games objectives are and how well they interact with players. Agon is  a common factor in game as there is no true way to completely remove it from a game because no matter what score one person has another will try to beat it, and who can blame them? Noone wants to sit around hearing how Timmy and his friend blitzed the opposing team with a nerve shattering draw game, Imagine if every element of competition was taken out of the world. We would all be grey blobs with the same voice same speed same weight all consumed water and bread and shopped at one store. It would be insanity! The prime example of a game where competition is everything would be Halo, Players can frag their friend's, Fight off their reanimated corpse's or go through campaign as a team but there will always be an element of competition because one smart fellow will always make a break for the first kill or for the exit door and this is why the game works so well.

Alea is also an aspect of games that makes for a decent game. When a player kills a dragon after a ten minute long struggle they don't want to get the same amount of gold that they've recieved 4 trips ago, They want DIVERSITY. They want to get the fabled crown of kingship or bags of dosh to splash out on the town in bars with the tavern wenches. Randomness and chance are what make games less tedious and ever changing. Runescape drops are a common sign of this where Jagex add new items into the game to constantly get players to explore less favourited areas of the game.

Movement within gaming is a popular aspect that games induce into players. For example at a football game and your team scores, Do you sit there and smile? No! You jump up and hug the nearest person, You scream your favourite chant and recieve a migraine the next day from the deafening screams your father belts out in cheers. Its this element that gives the player the experience they want from a game with friends. A example of this is also on Halo where the player uses the energy sword, Many a time have I nearly headbutted someone when ive lunged with the sword and moved forward in such determination to kill the other players avatar with the sword, Its an unconcious feeling that moving the controller vigorously will help the player in the game.

Outside of video games (RPG Board games etc.) creating an image is important. This is where the simulation aspect has to come in and its also where the pressure of the game master comes in. When players sign up for a role play and end up sitting in a library with a bad story teller who doesnt know his orcs from his orks (Oh yes been there before) the game breaks down and the player enjoyment dies. A good roleplayer knows that the storyline and even the story teller is everything. An example is the story books provided for this reason by Dungeons and Dragons where they provide numerous elements of game play for any player.

Fuzz <3