Paidea and Ludus in videogames

Paidea and Ludus are two words coined by Frasca in 2001, used to describe two specific gaming styles.

Ludus refers to a play style that most people probably think of first when told about video games, simply, you play to accomplish a goal. This could refer to any number of goals, from an ultimate goal, such as "Escape from Black Mesa" to smaller in-game goals such as "find a switch to open the door". These are examples of Ludus, but a game with these things in them is not necessarily a "Ludus game". Let me explain this in a sec.

Paidea is a style of gameplay closer resembling a toy than a game, it's a style which basically gives you the game's elements and lets you mess around with it, such as Garry's Mod, a mod for Half-Life 2 that allows you to play with the game engine. The fact you can edit it freely without having to unlock anything is what makes it paidea; Any goals in Garry's Mod are ones you set yourself, such as pitting yourself in a massive fight and seeing if you can come out winning. Games like Creatures and The Sims are also Paidea, and they can go on potentially forever, but the amount of editing you can do is slightly more limited by the game, as it's supposed to take skill to keep it running.


The afformentioned Creatures is essentially a freeform game, but the rules in place make it so much fun to explore. As well as setting your own goals, you can gradually learn how the game works in order to get better, for instance, getting creatures to live longer, discovering more areas around the game world by getting your creatures to look around... It creates a game with a lot of diversity and secrets that keeps you playing it. Discovering these secrets, however, is optional, since you can play with the game any way you want. That's what makes it Paidea.

But, can't you play any game the way you want? Could you essentially play Crash Bandicoot, and see how many times you can die creatively? Instead of trying to beat it? Yeah, good luck with that. You'll see a lot of the game that way.

Could you essentially play, say, Lego Star Wars, and instead of working your way through the game, just fight your teammates instead and steal all thier studs? You can indeed. That's because Lego Star Wars operates on a weird hybrid level between the two. There is Ludus there, there are levels built into the game which you can find tokens in, mess around in, or complete to unlock more levels. Most people will play this way, but I find the real fun when playing it is to try and be creative and have fun with your friends in the sandbox. For example; in Lego Star Wars II, If you are a Gonk Droid, enemies will ignore you. Unfortunatley you also move very slowly. This lead to some very tense, and humourous moments, as me and my Brother strolled very slowly past Darth Vader during a tense battle.

Another game that works somewhere between the two extremes is Worms, the strategy game. In multiplayer mode, it can be fun to behave unexpectedly instead of trying to win the game. Just dig a big hole and make a house for your Worms. Then have the other team get sick of you and nuke it. At the same time, there's plenty of Ludus in there, since the objective is to win, but the game doesn't force this objective on you. You can also edit what sort of weapons and game scheme you use before you begin, showing the game is not too concerned about what you get up to once it kicks off.

These are two examples I'm familiar with, but there are a lot more.

Good examples of games that heavily rely on Ludus

Super Mario Brothers, Crash Bandicoot, Mario Kart, Final Fantasy
None of these games allow you to just run off and do as you please. Some, in the case of Final Fantasy, even punish you for it (You need to level up before you can explore in some areas. This is the same for most RPGs) However it's worth noting these games are not necessarily restrictive. There is still room for you to explore the gameplay and be creative. (If there wasn't it would basically be a film)

Good examples of games that heavily rely on Paidea

The afformentioned Creatures, Garry's Mod, and the Sims.
The Sims' creator, Will Wright, works almost exclusively on this form of game, and once said, in reference to Spore, "I didn't want to make players feel like Luke Skywalker or Frodo Baggins. I wanted them to be like George Lucas or J.R.R. Tolkien."

Good examples of games that fall between the two

Grand theft auto, which gives players a free-roaming world to tear up how they please, the afformentioned Lego Star Wars (swinging further toward Ludus) and Scribblenauts (swinging further toward Paidea).


Personally, I find both important. it's appreciated when a Ludus game allows for Paidea, as it's irritating getting stuck and having nothing else to do, no way to practice or not feel like you've wasted your money on a "getting stuck" simulator. Likewise it's good when a Paidea game includes Ludus elements, to give you something to do and achieve with meaning.