play

Gamification: What’s Play Got to do, (Got to do) with it?

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Gamification def Gamification What 8217 s Play Got to do Got to do with it

When I was researching my definition of gamification, I had a few major dilemmas. One of the main ones was the use of Game-Like over Play-Like.

Just as a reminder, I define gamification in the following way:

The use of game design metaphors to create more game-like and engaging experiences

However, it was very nearly:

The use of game design metaphors to create more play-like and engaging experiences

I have spent time previously explaining how I see the differences between play and games, you can read loads more here. At it’s most basic, the difference revolves around rules and goals. Games have extrinsically imposed rules and goals, where play doesn’t (or, at least, has far less). It is free form in its nature and from the outside looks like it has no purpose (but of course it does!). Read More ...

What Pure Joy Looks Like

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Anyone who has read my blog will know that my daughters are an inspiration to me on a regular basis. All of me research into play was initiated by watching them as was my little adventure into fun. Today I wanted to share with you an important lesson – what pure joy actually looks like.

The girls in a hurricane simulator at the London aquarium !

Posted by Andrzej Marczewski on Monday, 28 September 2015

This video was taken of my daughters at the London Aquarium in a hurricane Simulator. For £2, you lock the kids in for about 30 seconds and it simulates winds of around 80mph. Why? Because it is fun! It serves no purpose, there is no higher meaning, it is just (for some) an enjoyable experience.

It is good to be reminded that not everything needs to have a purpose to be important. That simple £2 investment gave my children an experience that cheered them up after a lot of walking and that created smiles and memories that are priceless. Read More ...

It’s time for you to grow down a little

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One of the really obvious things that has come out of looking into play and fun, is how resistant us grown ups are to letting go and doing things that seem, on the surface of it, to be of no value.

I think it is time for use to grow down a little and learn to let go and enjoy moments of silliness, fun and play. Not everything has to earn you money or respect or power to be worthwhile. Sometimes you have to do things that are just done to may you happy – nothing more nothing less!

https://youtu.be/QsSMkN2iz5s Read More ...

A framework for creating play-like systems

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Separating Games from Play and using it

All of this research into play and talking about play has been for a reason. I wanted to try and open up the idea of making more play-like experiences rather than more game-like experiences. I was trying to introduce some of the basics that separate games and play. For this there are three important differences between play and games that we need to keep in mind.

  • Games have prelusory goals – ie, goals that you must achieve that have been set by the system.
  • Games have rules that define how you have to achieve the prelusory goals (Lusory Means).
  • They also have rules that create challenges to achieve the goals. Rather than going from A to B in a straight line, you have to overcome obstacles and solve puzzles going A to Z to E to B and back again! (Constitutive Rules)

In play, the goals are often less defined or not consciously apparent. Whilst there may be rules that dictate how play progresses (social rules, physical rules and so on), there are not that are there to deliberately challenge you or make things harder. Read More ...

Introducing Lusory Attitude

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As I have been researching play, there is a term or really a word and concept that has been hard to ignore. Ludic. It comes up a lot in papers and articles about play. It comes from the Latin for play and is defined as;

Showing spontaneous and undirected playfulness.

Let me set the scene. You are in a system that follows the path outlined below.

  • You start with a tutorial. It sets the context for what you are doing as well as giving you the basic skills you need to start.
  • You are given a set of tasks to complete and goals to achieve.
  • Next you start grinding, completing the simpler tasks as you develop your skills and learn more about the system.
  • As your level of skill increases, new challenges become available and new goals are set. These may require you to learn new skills and increase your abilities.
  • Along the way there are surprises and unexpected events. You will meet new people, some will be friends and you will need to work together with them to a bribe certain goals and some won’t!
  • All the while you will be collecting experience and currency as you complete new challenges.

I’ll come back to that. Ludic turns up in various forms when academics speak about play. Here are a few examples.

  • Ludos: this is the original Latin for play
  • Ludeme: this is a concept that Raph Koster speaks about. In their simplest form a ludeme is a unit of play.
  • Prelusory goals: goals set by the game.
  • Lusory means: rules set by the game.
  • Lusory attitude: a playful mindset. An understanding that you are entering play.

The last three are from Bernard Suits definition of a game from his seminal book The Grasshopper: Games, Life and Utopia. Read More ...

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