21st century game design – Chris Bateman

Having read this book initially with the intention of looking at sounds and player experiences, I stumbled upon what I believed to be a more interesting section on game classification. I would like to bring it into our project if at all possible. Basically the writer looks at the work of sociologist Roger Caillois, who identified four distinct categories of play, back in 1958.

Agon :- (Competition) This means a collection of games whose primary motivation is to test the players abilities against others. So we are talking competition here, the writer uses for example children competing to see how long they can hold their breath under water.

An example of a modern day game using elements of Agon would be an online First Person shooter, such as Counterstrike

Alea :- This means chance. It is seen as the counterpart to Agon. Each competitor has an equal chance of winning and the player is more passive.

An example of a modern day game using elements of Alea would be Mario Party

Mimicry :- This means simulation. It is based on forgetting, or shedding your personality to assume another. The essence of mimicry is in pretending to be someone or something else.

An example of a modern day game using elements of Mimicry would be World of Warcraft

Ilinix :- This means vertigo. It consists of momentary attempts to destroy the stability of perception and inflict temporary pain upon yourself.

An example of a modern day game using elements of Ilinix would be Resident Evil

I believe that there is some merit in taking a look into his work and seeing how it would apply to modern day games design, given that his work was done in 1958? Obviously tying it into ludology and narratology, for example, trying to come up with ludemic and narratological ways of designing games under each category.

We could do a huge research into the current games in the Market, classify them into the four areas above and identify trends within certain genres and try to identify which games and classifications appeal to certain people.