Research: Callois' Classification of Games in Video Games

Making this chart, I had to consider how I'd apply Callois' classifications to modern gaming genres. I decided that Mimicry as a concept, playing at being something else, is fundamental to the RPG genre (and even video games as a whole), in that all RPGs are letting the player pretend to be someone else, somewhere else. Ilinx is an idea which I think goes hand in hand with the horror genre, deliberately scaring or unsettling the player for the thrill. For most games, Agon is also a major element, particularly in player-versus-player combat but also in general when the they are pitted against computer-controlled enemies, effectively in competition against a machine, even if the player is perceiving individual enemies. This also comes into play somewhat with arcade-style games, where the competition would be against others for the highest score. As for Alea, this is less of an element in video games in comparison to traditional card or board games, but can come into play through some AI elements.

When placing these games into the categories, I feel there is some overlap, hence the Venn diagram. Okami and The Legend of Zelda series are games which I feel place more of an emphasis on simulating a world for the player to explore than on the combat or on scaring the player. Telltale's The Walking Dead is similar, but has sequences which deliberately put the player under pressure or aim to scare them, being closer to the horror genre. Dishonored, while still building an amazingly detailed world and allowing the player the role-playing element through its chaos system, focuses more on the skill of the player in achieving victory against enemies than on world exploration. Alien: Isolation is an interesting one, I think, because of its random AI element, presenting the players with a much harder to predict enemy and thus making the game all the more unsettling.