Mimicking Gamers: Understanding Gamification Through Roger Caillois

Abstract

The recent rise of gamification lead to a revival of the traditional game studies debate on the relationship between games and society, a key theme since Huizinga, Caillois, and Suits. Yet quite surprisingly, the works of these three authors, Caillois in particular, have mainly been used to establish notable antecedents, not been reevaluated nor discussed. The following pages will first explain the reasons behind these overlooking, taking advantage of the gamification debate to compare the actual theories on the relationship between games and society, subsequently recalling Caillois' position, pointing out analogies and differences between the present and past stances. Secondly, this article will discuss the reasons to introduce the thought of Caillois in the current debate, showing compatibility between his theories and contemporary reflections, suggesting the possibility to use them to understand gamification, by observing the long-term analogies between games and societies and the role performed by mimicry.

Recommendations for Implementing Gamification for Mental Health and Wellbeing

“…Games and gamified systems necessarily depict real-world processes through processes of abstraction, analogy, and imitation (Juul, 2013;Idone Cassone, 2016). These processes can range from simple, abstract loops of achievement and reward (e.g., completing a task to earn points), to more concrete experiences that vary depending on the type of game.…”

“…While not all types of play are present in every game, every game contains one or more of these types of play. Referring to this framework, one can see that most mainstream applications of gamification, such as the “PBL triad” (points, badges, and leaderboards; Chou, 2015 )—as well as commonly mentioned game elements such as progress markers, achievement-based rewards, and so on—rely mostly on agon ( Sicart, 2014 ; Idone Cassone, 2016 ). There is much room for designing and implementing gamification that takes advantage of the appeal of alea , mimesis , and ilinx , particularly in a way that supports intrinsic motivation ( Helmefalk et al, 2020 ) and promotes innate satisfaction with the activities the gamified service is intended to encourage ( Sicart, 2014 ).…”

Beyond entertainment. Dinamiche culturali all’origine della gamification

“…Tale fenomeno ha però al tempo stesso generato opinioni divergenti e contrastanti: a partire dalla questione della sua definizione, passando per il suo rapporto con altri fenomeni contemporanei e, naturalmente, producendo spesso valutazioni e giudizi opposti sul fenomeno. Nonostante fosse stato presentato in chiave ironica da Jesse Schell's nel suo Ted Talk "When games invade real life" del 2010, il termine è stato rapidamente riscoperto e diffuso da esperti e compagnie di marketing, e solo in seguito ne sono state proposte diverse definizioni (Deterding et al 2011, Fuchs 2014, Huotari e Hamari 2012) o parziali nuovi termini (Raessens 2014, Ortoleva 2012), che presentavano caratteristiche, delimitazioni e genealogie differenti (v. Idone Cassone 2016).…”

The Principle of Division in Roger Caillois’s Man, Play and Games

“…He also provides a more elaborate theoretical framework for recent work that looks at play from the perspective of cultural studies to ask about the broad social and political consequences of the proliferation of videogames. Studies of the rise of gamification, the blurring of labor into play, and the queer economies of video games all draw on Caillois (Brock, 2017; Cassone, 2017; Goetz, 2018). Beyond his specific work on games, Caillois’s theories of mimesis inform a diverse array of contemporary fields.…”