LudoScience

Differentiate between Play and Game...Julian Alvarez | 01-07-2019 | 11:22

Here's a question posed by one of our DIU Apprendre par le jeu students:

“I'm currently following the MOOC on serious games offered by the Erasmus University of Rotterdam: https://www.coursera.org/learn/serious-gaming Very interesting, by the way...

I'm coming up to week 2, which deals with the psychological approach to games, and here's what it says about the difference between “play” and “game”:

Game are specific form of play, but not all play can be considered a game. The first difference is that rules in a game are more rigid and commonly linked to a specific goal; however, this is not necessarily the case in play. A game usually has a competition element, while in play you cannot win or lose...

So we're not really on the usual distinction between activity (play) and object (game).

What do you think?”

This is an interesting question, because it invites us to take stock of these English-speaking terms.

Let's start with Play.

Play is the activity of playing. In this context, play is akin to paidia (according to Caillois): we indulge in a fun activity with rules that change as we go along.

But play is also a verb that means to play something. To play a game, for example.

So what's the link between play and game?

Game, to begin with, is a game device with precise rules and objectives. This refers, for example, to a board game.

The rules are fixed (or modifiable at the margin) and the objectives are set for all participants. Otherwise, the game cannot be played. Unless it's agreed that objectives can be modified.

But as with Play, Game is also an activity. It refers to Ludus (according to Caillois). When we indulge in such an activity, it's because we're in competition. This is also true of sport, particularly when we play a match. Clearly, fun is no longer the only component, as winning or losing comes into play.

Game can also be a verb. In the sense of playing with a system, which refers to the notion of manipulating. This is a more abstract level.

Does Ludus (Game) exclude Paidia (Play)?

There's nothing to stop you enjoying yourself during a game. So play can be summoned during a game.

For example, if you're playing a Time's up game, you can have fun imitating or miming while respecting the rules.

Similarly, when a soccer player scores a goal, the little dance he or she may do after accepting the point can also be seen as fun. Paidia and Ludus are not exclusive.

In the English language and in the context of video games, we find the notion of gameplay, which marries these two dimensions.

The gameplay of a video game aims to define not only how the game is played (rules, objectives), but also the fun (pleasure, amusement) that the device is intended to generate...

But what's missing from this exploration is the notion of a device dedicated solely to fun, without any objectives.

This is where we find the Toy. You can play with a toy. In other words, I play this toy. Which is different from I play this game.

In conclusion, to sum up:

Play (Paidia): an activity / a verb (to play) / fun

Game (Ludus): an activity / a game device with rules / a verb (to manipulate)

Toy : toy (device without objective)

Gameplay: a noun for the design of a game device (especially a video game) to explain its rules, objectives and how to have fun with it.

As for verbs, we can list the following cases:

To play a game

To play a toy

To game a system

To design a gameplay