Today, we will be analyzing Assassin's Creed Black Flag through the lens of Roger Caillois's types of play and Johan Huizinga's elements of play.

I have included a chart with the types of play for better understating the terms used in this article

One game that I play often is Assassin’s Creed Black Flag. In essence this game is set up to be a game within a game from the story perspective. You are playing the game as a character that is in turn playing through the memories of an individual in a simulator. So, right off the bat, we are immersed in double mimicry. We are a fictional character acting inside of another fictional character. The game story sets this up to be like your job and there are objectives. This is true, but you are free to move about this world; that is, both the game world, and the simulation within the game world. You are the person playing and are free to play this game, and so is the make up of the gameplay. You can do almost whatever you want and go almost wherever you want within the game’s set parameters. Rule four from Huizinga makes this clear. Both story lines of this game have clearly defined parameters on what is acceptable and what is not. As the game progresses, the location and boards of the parameters shift and grow. But the parameters of the game’s logic and basic concept of “play” stay true. To be honest, despite all the achievements and thousands of missions and all the upgrades, the game is entirely unproductive; nothing but a bunch of ones and zeros. Hours upon hours of sailing the Caribbean and being a pirate boss, and for what? It is funny to think about, but just about all video games have this quality to them. I guess one could argue that games do build thinking skills and make your brain solve puzzles; so yes, nothing of material value that one can physical grasp. Mentally, you may learn a thing or two but we don’t realize when our brains are myelinating and when they are not.

The gameplay within the game can be serious at times but also completely ridiculous and embracing the multiple facets of vertigo. The game features a unique sense of having to get to the highest point in an area to become more familiar with that particular area and to travel there in future gameplay. Besides virtual height vertigo, the game involves sailing, parkour elements, as well as intense hand-to-hand combat battles; these can all seem dizzying to a player. The game, because it is a game, is separate from real life and has no serious consequences except a head ache if you stare at the TV too long. The gameplay involves a lot of chance. You never know who or what you will encounter in the game. You can make split second decisions and change the outcome to events in real time. There is some competitiveness with online gameplay but you are the sole figure in the game. One may feel competition against others in game characters but in the end you reign victorious.

The game bounces back and forth between Ludus and Paidia. In regards to Ludus, the game has a learning curve. It takes some time to understand how to maneuver your character and where they can jump, or how much can they fight before desynchronizing from the gameplay. It is difficult and annoying at times, but you don’t give up. If you cannot defeat a certain boss or mission, you can always go back to it and in the meantime partake in an entirely different one. This is where the game's sense of Paidia comes through. Most of what the game has to offer is up to choice. You can choose to go anywhere within the defined set of boundaries. You can attack anyone and anything. You can explore, you can fight, you can sail, and you can play checkers until you’re blue in the face. Or you can do neither of these things and not even play the game. This game can effectively blend elements of improv inside of a defined structure. It features weather systems, animal systems, NPCs, and all sorts of obstacles that make each gameplay experience unique. This being said, Huizinga’s fifth trait, uncertainty is abundant in the game play. It is what makes it challenging. When you sail you don’t know if bounty hunters will attack, or a storm could hit and you lose half your crew. All is uncertain and keeps the gameplay interesting for hours on end. Together, Black Flag is able to balance out both Huizinga’s and Caillois’ traits of what define a game.