Ludemes, ‘game as language’, and other metaphors

Sep 28, 2024

Dive into the intriguing world of ludemes and their significance in game design! The hosts explore the term's origins and its connections to linguistic concepts like phonemes. Discover how metaphors like 'game as language' reshape our understanding of gameplay and player experiences. The conversation also touches on the evolution of language alongside genetic adaptation, and the crucial role of metaphors in establishing academic legitimacy. Get ready for a fascinating blend of games, culture, and language!

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INSIGHT

Origin of 'Ludeme' Explained

The term "ludeme" derives from Latin ludus (game) combined with a structuralist suffix akin to phoneme or morpheme.
It signifies a fundamental unit in game structures, similar to linguistic units in language systems.

ANECDOTE

Chess Knight as Ludem Example

Raph Koster explains that chess pieces' representational aspects aren't ludems, but their movement rules are.
This distinction separates game mechanics from thematic decoration, focusing on the core gameplay elements.

INSIGHT

Inclusive vs Exclusive Ludeme Definitions

David Parlett accepts thematic elements as ludems, unlike Costa who excludes them.
This inclusiveness results in a broader definition where almost everything in a game might qualify as a ludem.

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In this episode we try to wrap our heads around the concept of 'ludemes'. Hosts Dr. Ibi and Dr. Joe discuss:

The origins of the term 'ludeme'
Different games scholars' and game designers' definitions of ludemes
Comparisons between ludemes, memes, genes, and linguistic concepts such as phonemes and morphemes
Underlying metaphors used to describe games as systems, such as ‘game as language’ and ‘game as organism’
The ‘language as organism’ metaphor in historical linguistics
The economy of metaphors in academia

Contains some strong (and other type types of) language.

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📚 Resources:

Bojin, Nis. 2010. ‘Ludemes and the Linguistic Turn’. Futureplay '10: Proceedings of the International Academic Conference on the Future of Game Design and

Technology, Vancouver, 25–32. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1145/1920778.1920783

Browne, Cameron. 2021. ‘Everything’s a Ludeme. Well, Almost Everything’. Proceedings of the XIIIrd Board Game Studies Colloquium (BGS 2021), Paris.

Available at: https://sorbonne-paris-nord.hal.science/hal-03737317/document

Depaulis, Thierry. 2019. ‘On the Origins of the Word ‘Ludeme’ (French Ludème)’. In Browne et al.,

Foundations of Digital Archaeoludology. Report on Dagstuhl Research Meeting, Saarbrucken, 23–26. DOI: https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.1905.13516

Available at: https://arxiv.org/pdf/1905.13516

Koster, Raph. 2005. Conference notes for ‘A Grammar of Gameplay (Game Atoms: Can Games be Dia- grammed?)’. Game Developers Conference (GDC ’05), San Francisco. https://www.theoryoffun.com/grammar/gdc2005.htm

Koster, Raph. 2006. 'A bit on how I think games work' https://www.raphkoster.com/2006/03/05/a-bit-on-how-i-think-games-work/

Koster, Raph. 2006. Comment made March 7, 2006 at 2:44 pm

https://www.raphkoster.com/2006/03/05/a-bit-on-how-i-think-games-work/#comment-3827

Koster, Raph. 2006. Comment made March 7, 2006 at 4:26 pm

https://www.raphkoster.com/2006/03/05/a-bit-on-how-i-think-games-work/#comment-3836

Parlett, David. 2006. ‘What’s a ludeme?’ https://www.parlettgames.uk/gamester/whatsaludeme.html

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