1. Homo ludens 2.0 : Play, media, and identity

Abstract

A playful specter is haunting the world. Since the 1960s, when the use of the word "ludic" became popular in both Europe and the US to designate playful behavior and artifacts, playfulness has become increasingly a mainstream characteristic of modern and postmodern culture. In the first decade of the 21 st century we can even speak of the global "ludification of culture" (Raessens 2006; 2014). Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind in this context is the immense popularity of computer games, which, as far as global sales are concerned, have already outstripped Hollywood movies. In the US, 8-to 18-year-olds play on average an hour and a half daily on consoles, computers and handheld gaming devices, including mobile phones (Rideout et al. 2010, 2-3). This is by no means only a Western phenomenon. In South Korea, for example, about two-thirds of the country's total population frequently plays online games, turning computer gaming into one of the fastest growing industries and a key driver for the Korean economy (Jin 2012). 1 Although perhaps most visible, computer game culture is only one manifestation of the process of ludification that seems to penetrate every cultural domain (Neitzel and Nohr 2006). In our present experience economy, for example, playfulness not only characterizes leisure time (fun shopping, game shows on television, amusement parks, playful computer, Internet, and smartphone use), but also those domains that used to be serious, such as work (which should above all be fun nowadays), education (serious gaming), politics (ludic campaigning), and even warfare (computer games like war simulators and interfaces). According to Jeremy Rifkin, "play is becoming as important in the cultural economy as work was in the industrial economy" (2000, 263). 2 Postmodern culture has been described as "a game without an overall aim, a play without a transcendent destination" (Minnema 1998, 21).

Artgames vs. Game Art – Diskurse und Strategien der Computerspielkunst zwischen spielbarer Rhetorik und unspielbarer Ästhetik

“…Dies zeigt einerseits an, dass diese Definition zu weit ist und auch Systeme beschreibt, die keine Computerspiele sind. Andererseits gibt es Positionen, nach denen wir im Zeitalter der Ludifizierung von Kultur leben, in welchem kulturelle Systeme, die von Laien nicht als Spiel betrachtet werden, immer schon die Form von Spielen haben [13,36]. Diese Idee schreibt die berühmte These des Kulturhistorikers Johan Huizinga, "daß [sic!]…”

Психологічна трансформаційна гра «My Dao» як ефективний метод роботи психолога

“…На певному етапі розвитку суспільства ігрові практики все більш явно проявляються в неігрових контекстах, а ігрова логіка починає цілеспрямовано використовуватися для вирішення певних завдань, зокрема ділових, управлінських та навчальних. В сучасній науці ці процеси описуються терміном "іграїзація" або "гейміфікація" (Frissen et al, 2015). Nicholson (2015) пропонує модель "значущої гейміфікації -RECIPE" для трансформативного довгострокового впливу на поведінку клієнтів, засновану на внутрішній мотивації.…”

Simple Hide-and-seek at its Core: Play Features and the Game of Geocaching

“…In characterising the modern socio-cultural situation, it is claimed that a casual revolution is taking place in the world (Juul 2009), games become the most important cultural genre (Aarseth 2003) and we perceive the ludification of contemporary culture (Frissen & de Mul & Raessens 2013). This has become possible because the nature of work and, as a result, the distinction between work and leisure have changed.…”

“…In a sense, the play mood is quite easy to get into due to the play drive we have naturally (see Frissen & de Mul & Raessens 2013: 78 and references), or because of our readiness to behave playfully in certain situations. The question is if the geocacher's state of mind resembles the state of mind which arises while playing any other game.…”