Paidea vs. Lupus [ED]

"What is a videogame? Rules, Puzzles and Simulation"


Paidea:


Paidea is essentially playing a game just for the fun of it. In the game there are no rules or outcomes and the player just plays for the fun of it. In these games the player normally would have self-defined goals such as creating a building in simcity as said in the article.


One example of a game that is defined by Paidea is Garrys Mod on the source engine. It is a game that lets the users create what they like using materials and textures used in other source games. There are mods on the game that creates rules and pushes it into Ludus such as races to build and racing games using vehicles built by the user. The fact that the game allows the user to create whatever they want gives the player a freedom to create a competitive game if they wish using the game's freedom as a canvas.


Ludus:


Ludus is the polar opposite of Paidea, the game has rules and set definitions of what it takes to win or lose the game. Making the game competitive takes away the freedom of Paidea but gives the player a rule-set in which they follow to win the game.


An example of a game that is Ludus is Quake. There are rules to follow, other sources that can power-up or damage the player during the game and a simple way of winning the game. The game always has a winner and a loser, depending on the game-mode it is normally who gets the most frags, which allows the player to aim toward something, while planning to pick up power-ups to beat the opponent. These factors make the game competitive with a definitive outcome using rules.


There can be some objections to the Paidus/Lupus theory as I mentioned above, Garrys Mod can be modded to incorporate user made game-modes such as racing, shooting or quick building. This gives a Paidea game Ludus ideas, as it has clear rules on how to win and what to do to get there, which is a good example of how both can be used in one game.