Transcript Lecture: Homo Ludens

04 Homo ludens
Games and Play
 today: games and play
 the difference between games and play?
Games and Play
 English = “to play a game”
 French = “on joue a un jeu”
 German = “man spielt ein Spiel”
 Two ways to consider the relationship:
(1) play includes games
(2) games include play
Play Includes Games
Examples of play:
 Manhunt (also a game)
 professional football match (also a game)
 kicking a ball round a park (probably a game)
 playing on a kids’ see-saw (a game?)
 two chimps chasing each other (a game?)
 child singing a nursery rhyme to herself (a game?)
‘Play’ is thus broader than ‘game’ (a formal kind of play)
Games as a Subset of Play
Games Include Play
Characteristics of games
(from Week 1; remember Wittgenstein):
 competitive
 rule-based
 skillful
 luck
 playful
 etc.
‘Game’ is broader than ‘play’ (one component of games)
Play as a Subset of Games
Blurred Boundaries
 ‘play’ and ‘game’ are related
 they share family resemblances
 characteristics of these concepts overlap
 use depends on context
 definition depends on your perspective
 neither is ‘better’ than the other
 Any Questions?
Animal Play
 Chimpanzee Diary: an example of animal play
Theories of Play
 Johann Huizinga
 Dutch anthropologist and historian
 Homo Ludens (1938)
What is Play For?
 play is widespread across cultures and species
 so what is play for?
 e.g. sight = avoid obstacles, find food, etc
 e.g. hearing = communicate, avoid predators, etc
 e.g. aggressive instinct = fight off rivals, protect young
 e.g. social instinct = form alliances, find mates, etc
 so why did play evolve? some theories…
Explanations of Play
 to discharge excess energy
 an outlet for harmful impulses (safety value)
 satisfies a need for relaxation (chill out)
 restores energy (recharge batteries)
 satisfies an innate ‘imitative instinct’ (e.g. fighting)
 trains the young (both physically and mentally)
 teaches physical and social restraint (learn limits)
 to exercise physical and mental faculties (unused)
 indulges a desire to compete and dominate
 to fulfil wishes and desires
 boosts feelings of personal value (self-confidence)
 Any Questions?
Exercise: What is Play For?
In your groups:
(i) Rank the different explanations of play which
Huizinga provides according to how important they
have been for human evolution and
personal development;
(ii) think of an example of each from your own experience;
(iii) think of any additional explanations of play.
Huizinga on Play: Homo ludens
 play is so important to humanity that:
 Homo sapiens = Homo ludens
 ludus = ‘game’ or ‘play’ (hence Ludo)
 Homo ludens = ‘playing man’ or ‘Man the Player’
or ‘Man the Gamer’
 why does Huizinga think this?
Huizinga on Play
 Huizinga: these theories all ask the wrong question
 assumption = play is for something else
 i.e. play has a function other than itself
 but what is play in itself?
 what does it mean for the player?
Aesthetics of Play
 these accounts ignore the aesthetics of play
 two meanings of ‘aesthetic’:
(1) Ancient Greek: ‘perceived by the senses’ (scientific)
e.g. how do we experience sight, hearing, taste, etc?
(2) 18th Century: ‘artistic taste’ (artistic)
e.g. what makes a good piece of art, music, TV?
e.g. why do we like certain films, plays, games?
Aesthetics of Play
 mechanistic, biological accounts ignore:
 sensory element: how we experience play
 taste element: why we enjoy play
 Huizinga: “So far so good, but what actually is the fun
of playing? Why does the baby crow with pleasure? Why
does the gambler lose himself in his passion? Why is a
huge crowd roused to frenzy by a football match?”
Aesthetics of Play
 to truly understand play we must look at:
 the intensity, the absorption, the fun of play
 you can’t provide a logical, mechanistic, biological
explanation of fun
 next week: ‘Pleasure, Pain and Play’
Play and Culture
 play is a “primary category of life”
 common to many species and all cultures/civilizations
 play is integral to culture
 play and culture are intimately interwoven:
 language, law, war, knowledge, poetry, art, et al.
 for more, see Homo ludens (in library)
 Any Questions?
Characteristics of Play
 4 key elements of play:
(1) play
(2) play
(3) play
(4) play
is voluntary
is outside ordinary life
has fixed boundaries
promotes social groups
(1) Play is Voluntary
 you can’t force someone to play
 people play because they enjoy it
 must be free not to play
 play is superfluous: you never need to play
 never a task or duty
 done during leisure time: can be postponed/suspended
E.g. Noughts and Crosses
(2) Play is Outside Ordinary Life
(i) play is an unreal interlude in our lives: a temporary,
separate sphere of activity
(ii) play is not serious: ‘only pretending’/‘only for fun’
(iii) play is absorbing: people take play seriously
(iv) play is external to material interests and biological
needs: you don’t profit from play
E.g. Olympic Games: an interlude, unimportant, taken
seriously, no reward
(3) Play has Fixed Boundaries
(i) boundaries of time: play begins and ends (duration)
(ii) boundaries of space: e.g. card table, board, screen
(iii) precise rules and order: deviation from the rules =
play-world collapses, e.g. spoil sport
E.g. Football: 90 minutes in 2 halves, football pitch,
strict rules of play
(4) Play Promotes Social Groups
(i) Social Groups. Sharing play = social bond:
friendships, groups, clubs, clans, etc
(ii) Secrecy. Sense of belonging = ‘insiders’ and
‘outsiders’: members keep to themselves,
e.g. computer gamers
(iii) Disguise. Players assume a disguise or mask:
play a part, become someone else during play
E.g. Rugby team or chess club:
group identity, clique, silly names/kit
Summary
Huizinga says that play is:
“a free activity standing quite consciously outside
‘ordinary’ life as being ‘not serious’, but at the same
time absorbing the player intensely and utterly. It is an
activity connected with no material interest, and no
profit can be gained by it. It proceeds within its own
proper boundaries of time and space according to fixed
rules and in an orderly manner. It promotes the formation
of social groupings which tend to surround themselves
with secrecy and to stress their difference from the
common world by disguise or other means.” (p. 13)
 Any Questions?
Exercise: Applying Play
In your groups:
 choose a digital game you have played, and analyse it
in terms of Huizinga’s 4 characteristics of play
 nominate a spokesperson to present your account to
the rest of the class (2 minutes)
 consider the following questions:
(1) does Huizinga’s account fit your digital game?
(2) are Huizinga’s 4 characteristics elements of a
definition, or family resemblances?
The Magic Circle
 Huizinga’s understanding of play: ‘the magic circle’
 play is an interlude outside ordinary life with fixed
boundaries of time, space and rules
 magic circle = game’s special context or ‘frame’
 can be physical: e.g. pitch, board, screen
 can be psychological: e.g. arm wrestling, eye-spy
 playing game = entering the magic circle
 you cross a boundary
The Magic Circle
 why magic circle?
 an enchanted zone: special rules apply
 e.g. Chess inside and outside magic circle
 magic circle: a safe area
 you can ‘fight’ and ‘kill’ people here (safely)
The Lusory Attitude
 the magic circle from the player’s perspective
 deciding to play a game = choosing to enter
the magic circle
 this requires a certain attitude or state of mind…
The Lusory Attitude
 games are inefficient
 Huizinga = no material benefit
 actually a waste of energy
 E.g. Boxing: soft gloves, limited rounds, etc
inefficient ritual, unnecessary obstacles
The Lusory Attitude
 accepting these conditions makes game play possible
 the players adopt a ‘lusory attitude’ (from ludus):
 agree to adopt this route to objective
 a contract between players
 adopt arbitrary, inefficient rules to enjoy the play
 Any Questions?
The Game (1997)
 The Game (1997) illustrates the magic circle
and the lusory attitude
 dir. David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club)
 Michael Douglas = Nicholas Van Orton
 self-centred, rich businessman, has everything
The Game (1997)
 48th birthday present from brother (Sean Penn)
 prepaid game from Consumer Recreation Services
 “life changing experience”
 physical and psychological tests
 nature of game unclear
 integrated into normal life
 what is game and what is real?
Film Clip: The Game
 clip is from early in the film…
The Magic Circle in The Game
 increasingly confusing
 drama = disintegration of the magic circle
 no clearly defined boundary or frame
 airport: who is part of the game?
 enchanted zone and real world mesh
Lusory Attitude in The Game
 Van Orton unsure of the boundaries of the magic circle
 can’t adopt a true lusory attitude (safety of circle)
 seems to be both inside and outside the magic circle
 what happens is frightening and disturbing because
of his attitude/understanding
Gaming Journal
 play: one or more games
 read: background reading, magic circle & lusory attitude
 describe: magic circle and lusory attitude
 apply: to your own gaming experience:
~ explain how you adopt a lusory attitude whilst
playing your chosen game, and thus
~ how you enter into the magic circle
Further Reading
 Games and Play: Salen and Zimmerman (2004, p. 70-83)
 Theories of Play: Huizinga (1970, Ch. 1); Sutton-Smith (2001);
Stephenson (1988)
 Huizinga on Play: Huizinga (1970, Ch. 1); Salen and Zimmerman
(2004, pp. 32, 75); Poole (2000, pp. 11-14, 165-66)
 Magic Circle & Lusory Attitude: Salen and Zimmerman (2004, pp.
76-77, 92-99); Huizinga (1970, Ch. 1); Sniderman (1999)