Play and Gameful Movies: The Ludification of Modern Cinema

Abstract

The aim of this article is to advance a conceptual framework of ludification by separating out current thinking to incorporate two noninteractive cinematic areas—playful aesthetics and gameful narratives. Ludification is usually associated with the construction of ludic identities and cultural practices in the usage of new media or with application of game elements in nongame contexts known as gamification. This overlooks, on the one hand, the influence of cinematic aesthetics on computer games and, on the other hand, the extent to which play aspects and computer game elements imprint and transform the narrative compositional structures of modern cinema. The present study’s investigation will present an expanded conceptualization of ludification, classified by playfulness and gamefulness through interactive/noninteractive properties, aesthetic forms of expressions, and narrative compositions under the respective headings of gamification and cinemafication. These efforts unearth five traits of computer game influences on contemporary cinema presented under the headings, (1) play worlds, (2) ludified quests, (3) controller and interfaces, (4) play experience, and (5) game structure.