The ludology is dedicated to the study of the game from the union of different disciplines or sciences that allow to explain the impact that this type of pastime has at a cultural level in society.
Ethnologists, psychologists, computer scientists, teachers and many other types of specialists have been in charge of studying and researching about games and everything that is around them: such as cultures, player behaviors, the importance in learning processes and many other phenomena.
Video game competition. Source: Peter Kaminski from San Francisco, California, USA, via Wikimedia Commons.
Ludology is a rather recent phenomenon, but it does not focus on a single type of game, it studies all the types that exist: from sports, to video games, through those that have to do with boards, cards, chance, recreational or educational, etc.
The word ludology is born from the combination of two terms, one from Latin and the other from Greek. On the one hand there is the word ludus, which means game in Latin, and on the other there is the word logos which in Greek means knowledge. It comes off or has to do with playfulness.
At present much of the study and analysis that is done in ludology has to do with video games or online games, since they are increasingly present in all areas of human life.
History
The term ludology as such became popular in 1999 thanks to the publication of different works focused on the theme of the game. Uruguayan Gonzalo Frasca (1972), researcher and game designer, was one of the most important characters in allowing us to understand and develop everything that has to do with ludology.
Before, some authors had already made reference to ludology, but without much impact. For example, in the early 1980s, the psychology professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (1934) wrote Humans Matter. Some interpretive problems of comparative ludology. In his work it is clear that he is not the one who introduces the idea of ludology, but that it is an area that has already been dealt with in the past.
There are older references on ludology. In the 1950s, Per Maigaard spoke about ludology at a sociology conference. His idea was that games were an important part of people's lives and therefore should be an activity studied by sociologists.
Maigaard also dared to define the term ludology as the science of games and as an area of sociology and all the sciences.
It was in the 90s when the term ludology began to be accepted, although the game was initially analyzed as a means to achieve something and not as an independent activity.
Psychologists delved into ludology to understand the behavior of human beings, while sociologists to establish the impact it generated on human relationships. Then, the pedagogues focused on how the game could be used for educational processes.
They were not the only ones to be interested in ludology, many other disciplines studied this area and how it affected human behavior.
Etymology
The word ludology was born from the union of two words. To begin with, the term ludus was used, which comes from Latin and means game. On the other hand, the word logos, which in Greek means knowledge.
The use of the word ludology is very broad since it does not refer to a specific game, but rather encompasses the study of all games. Of course, it should not be confused with the area of mathematics that studies game theory, as it is a branch that is more linked to the economy and certain processes that have to do with decision-making.
Currently the normal thing is that the term ludology is not used, especially at the popular level, but rather refers to the study of games directly. This could possibly be due to the similarity of the word with gambling, two totally different terms although closely linked in some cases.
Main games he is dedicated to
Play science encompasses all kinds of games. Almost all the activities that have to do with play fall within this area of study.
Currently, due to the importance and development of video games, this type of game focuses almost all the analysis of the different sciences, but this is only a part of ludology. Actually, the study of games covers all kinds of activities, from sports, board games, cards, etc.
Furthermore, ludology does not distinguish on the purpose or functionality of the games. They can be educational, historical, recreational, with rules, symbolic, etc.
goals
The most important purpose of ludology is based simply on understanding games and their impact. Then, it depends a lot on the science that studies this aspect of the human being to understand what is the approach that can be given.
For example, games have been studied a lot thanks to anthropology, psychology or sociology. In general, all these sciences seek to analyze how games work.
Game console controls. Source: pixabay.com
The social sciences, for example, work to determine the impact of games on society. For this they rely on the use of surveys or experiments that are based on observation.
In the case of scientists who are more focused on the humanistic area, ludology focuses on understanding meanings. Its form of study is often more linked to interpretation and the use of comparisons.
There are many other focuses and in the end they can all be related to each other. In some cases, such as at the industrial or engineering level, ludology is more projected to the part of video games, to the use of computers, how it affects the development and use of artificial intelligence.
In the case of video games
Due to its popularity, many now believe that ludology has to do exclusively with video games. For many specialists, this branch of games could have a specific field called ludotics, which has a much more direct impact on symbols, robotics or cybernetics.
In this way, the term ludology would continue to be linked to a much broader scope and would encompass all kinds of activities.
References
- Bogost, Ian. Unit Operations. MIT Press, 2008.
- Harrigan, Pat, and Noah Wardrip-Fruin. First Person: New Media As Story, Performance, And Game. The MIT Press, 2004.
- Holmevik, Jan Rune. Inter / Vention. Mass., 2012.
- Järvinen, Aki. Games Without Frontiers. VDM Verlag, 2009.
- Reblin, Elizabeth Anne. To Build The Impossible. University Of Texas, 2015.