Critical Games Studies: Paidea vs Ludus - Continued

This is part two in the posts of my Critical Games Studies lectures. For this post I will be talking about Agon, Alea, Ilinx, Mimicry which are all types of games. These have come as part of the Paidea vs Ludus post from previous which can be found here.

Newman goes on to consider different aspects of games/gameplay, using terms which Cailois (2001) adapts from Huizinga (see Newman, 2004, pp.22-26)

Agon - Competition
 A competition game could be a game in which you compete with other players or computer AI to win a reward. A lot of games use this in modern day especially multiplayer/online games.

Some examples of a Agon game could be the FPS game Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 2, this game uses a competition of two opposing teams (based on the game mode) which have to complete objectives or eliminate the opposing tam to win. These games ar widely popular due to the competition in the games and also a lot of this style of game has moved into the Professional gamer industry increasing the competition to win prizes and to be the World's best.

Alea - Chance/Randomness
This would be a game which heavily relies on chance to play. A lot of board games use this as a vital tool, many using the game atom of dice in which the player can roll a completely random number every time.

There are many games using this but an example could be Monopoly for a board game or even parts of the game World of Warcraft which use this such as if you are trying to get an item when you are in a group.

Ilinx - Movement
Ilinx games heavily rely on movement for the game, the games try to effect perception by using movement of the game. Games which use this could be a lot of sports like football or rugby.

Examples of digital games could be the use of the Nintendo Wii, this is the revolutionary device which heavily involves the users movements to control the game.


Mimicry - Simulation, make-believe, role-play
These games are very popular the aesthetics of the game can usually attract the user very well. By creating a new world for the user to explore and adventure while changing the in game mechanics makes a very popular game.

games like this could be Sim City which is a popular game in which the user creates their own city and have to run it to keep their citizens happy. It is a fun simulation which is more of a game than a simulator.

Wrapping up
So with this it allows people to break down games into separate groups with this they can then continue to break down and analyse the entire game and understand all of it's mechanics.
 
That is all for part 2 of the Critical Games Design lectures. Part 3 to come soon.