Argumentum

Term

Belongs to the term

Ludic Argumentum: A Ludic Argumentum is the fictional justification that gives action in a game its urgency - why one must act.

Stack

What it is about

The Argumentum stack collects patterns by which a game grounds in its fiction why one has to act. An argumentum has two parts: a premise, the initial situation that makes action necessary, and an urgency, the reason why now. “The village is threatened by a dragon” – “the dragon attacks in three days”. Urgency without a premise creates stress without meaning; a premise without urgency is interesting but gives no impulse to act.

The 18 cards come in two parts. The 13 argumentum types are transferable patterns that travel between games: Rescue, Retribution, Discovery, Power Struggle, Duty & Honour, Transformation, Loss & Search, Growth & Flourishing, Survival, Balance, Mystery, Liberation and Community. Each card names its premise and its urgency – for Balance, for instance: something has fallen out of balance, and the longer one waits, the harder it is to restore. The last five types were added in the second version of the stack so that not only the narrative patterns of Western hero stories are represented.

Three reflection cards precede the types: Premise & Urgency explains the two parts. Degree of Control asks how much you set and how much arises in play – from the assigned mission to the reason players give themselves in a sandbox. Optionality asks whether your game needs an argumentum at all: Chess, Go and Tetris create urgency from their rules alone. A separator card and a blank card belong to the stack.

How to use it

Method: (1) Introduce with Premise & Urgency. (2) Use Optionality to check whether the game needs an argumentum – if the rules create the urgency on their own, the stack can end here. (3) Lay out all 13 type cards. (4) Choose one or two types in the team that fit the game idea, and put premise and urgency into your own words. (5) Use Degree of Control to clarify how much of it the game prescribes. (6) Use the backs for cross-references and transfer the result to the worksheet.

Note for facilitation: Teams readily reach for Rescue and Retribution. Encourage them to play through the other types as well – especially Duty & Honour, Transformation, Growth & Flourishing, Balance, Community and Liberation. A simple test: how does the game idea change if “save the village” becomes “bring the village back into balance”?

Time: 15 to 20 minutes.

Sequence: after the Desiderata, before the Frame or in parallel with it. Afterwards the Narrational Structure stack is recommended; the back of each Argumentum card names the narrative scaffolds that fit it.

Relations

The argumentum is a standing situation, not a sequence: “Ganon threatens Hyrule”. The order in which it is told is described by the Narrational Structure stack; the premise suggests which scaffold fits. The argumentum grounds the task, the objective determines when it is fulfilled: “Save the village” – “the dragon has no hit points left”. The Activities say what one does; the argumentum, why it matters – gathering resources is an occupation, with “the colony must survive the winter” it becomes urgent. To be distinguished is Motivation: the argumentum is the reason the game offers, motivation the reason a person brings. Whether the offered why takes hold is decided with the players.

Narratio
Objectives
Activities
Motivation
Desiderata
Frame: Thematic · Atmospheric · Genre · Situational · Social · Spatial · Temporal Modi

cards

The cards

AR-01 Rescue Someone or something is in danger – a person, a community, a world. The danger escalates; if action is not taken now, irreversible loss looms.

AR-02 Retribution A wrong has been committed – a person, a community or a principle has been violated. The perpetrator might escape, the wrong might be forgotten or normalized.

AR-03 Discovery Something unknown beckons – a secret, a place, a truth waiting to be found. The unknown might vanish, access might close, or others might get there first.

AR-04 Power Struggle Two or more parties struggle for influence, control or supremacy. The balance is unstable – whoever does not act now loses their place.

AR-05 Duty & Honour An obligation exists – towards a community, a principle or a higher order. The community needs you; failing the duty has consequences – for you and others.

AR-06 Transformation The agent (or character) must change: grow, heal, mature, find a new identity. The opportunity to change is time-limited; the window is closing.

AR-07 Loss & Search Something precious is lost – a person, a place, a memory, a part of one's own identity. The trail goes cold, the memory fades; what is lost might vanish forever.

AR-08 Growth & Flourishing A community, a world or a game must be created, cultivated or brought to flourish. Resources are finite, competition looms, or the opportunity to build is time-limited.

AR-09 Survival Your own existence – or that of your group – is immediately threatened: cold, hunger, enemies, illness, catastrophe. Death approaches; every decision could be the last.

AR-10 Balance Something has fallen out of balance – an ecosystem, a community, a cosmic order, a relationship. The imbalance worsens; the longer one waits, the harder the restoration.

AR-11 Mystery Something inexplicable has happened or exists – a crime, a phenomenon, a disappearance, an anomaly. The truth might be obscured, traces blurred, the riddle deepened.

AR-12 Liberation Constraint, oppression or unfreedom exists – physical, social, psychological or systemic. The window for freedom is closing; the oppression intensifies.

AR-13 Community Isolation, fragmentation or alienation exists – people are separated, connections are missing or broken. Connections break further, loneliness grows, the community threatens to dissolve.

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