FCJ-134 Reflections on the Philosophy of Pervasive Gaming—With Special Emphasis on Rules, Gameplay, and Virtuality

Abstract

In this article I describe and discuss the ontology of new pervasive interfaces emphasising in particular so-called pervasive gaming. First, I examine the term gameplay in terms of rules and divide it into two levels. One has to do with the (more or less successful) amalgamation of rules and tactics, while the other one hinges on the balance between exploration based play and level-oriented gaming. Second, I scrutinise the act of playing (play-mode) and the act of gaming (game-mode). Thirdly, I reflect on the Deleuzian claim that the virtual is not opposed to the real but rather must be understood as the condition for actuality. I then use this conception of virtuality as a means to explain the relational structure of play that connects and yet is irreducible to gaming. As a whole, the article is an attempt to further legitimise the field of pervasive gaming theory: pervasive ludology; and, moreover, to lay out the foundation for what could be coined the meta-ludic architecture of pervasive games, i.e. that which constitutes the playability and epistemology of the post-screen paradigm.

Keywords

• Pervasive games
• gameplay
• game space
• ludology
• rules
• virtuality