Defining games: Caillois' terminology

In a previous lesson we had the opportunity to learn further about the categorization of video games. We learnt that it was important to decipher games from one another by looking at things such as the rules implemented in the games, alongside what the player actually does, objectives etc.

The idea mentioned above can be expressed through Roger Caillois' terminology, discussed by Newman J. The two main terms he mentioned were Paidia and Ludus. Paidia means to "Play for pleasure." whereas Ludus means "Limited by rules with a clear outcome to achieve".

Besides the Paidia and Ludus, Newman also talks about several other ways in which to categorize games by. These other 4 terms also know as Huizinga's four terms (an adaptation made by Cailliois).

The following terms look like this:

Agon (Competition)
Alea (Chance)
Illinx (Vertigo)
Mimicry (Simulation)

Using all the terms above makes life a hell of a lot easier when trying to decipher or generalize a game's Genre/Play style.

For example a relatively new video game such as Grand Theft Auto V (Developed by Rockstar North) can be easily defined within these categorizations. Since the game is both Sandbox and Story driven the game may be categorized slightly differently depending on how people view the game. For me, the game would fall under being a Paidia typed game as the open sandbox world that Rockstar have created is vast and possibilities of what you can achieve in this game feel endless. That being said it is also quite an interesting game as it lends it self from many real world elements. Agon, Alea and Illinx could technically all be defined within this game as it incorporates all the main factors that make up these terms. However with this being said the game would most definitely have to fall under Mimicry, as essentially GTA V is just a simulator, a simulation of real life. As for it being a Paidia typed game this will be more than true with the release of the game hits PC once the modding community gets its hands on it.