Ductus

Term

Belongs to the term

Ludic Ductus: The Ludic Ductus is the shape of experience over time in a Ludic Process: how intensity, mood and complexity develop over the playing time - crescendo, wave, plateau, implosion.

Stack

Wie entfaltet sich das Erlebnis über die Zeit?

cards

The cards

DU-01 Crescendo The intensity builds up continuously over the entire playing time – a steady rise to the climax. No let-up: resources grow scarcer, decisions more consequential, the pressure rises steadily.

DU-02 Wave A regular alternation between phases of high and low intensity – a rhythmic exchange of tension and relaxation. The relaxation phases give room for recovery, reflection and strategic reorientation.

DU-03 Plateau The intensity stays relatively constant over the course – an even intensity after a short build-up. No dramatic build-up, no relaxation phases; flow states arise when the demand stays evenly just above the comfort level.

DU-04 Eruption A long phase of lower intensity that imperceptibly thickens until a tipping point is reached and the dynamic suddenly flips – a slow build-up, a sudden tipping point. The tension arises from knowing that something is brewing.

DU-05 Spiral Cyclic patterns that intensify with each repetition – recurring cycles with escalation. Each cycle brings higher stakes, more complex decisions or scarcer resources; the familiar gives orientation, the escalation prevents monotony.

DU-06 Implosion The game begins at peak intensity and then grows calmer, more reflective, slower – high initial intensity, gradual settling. The challenge lies not in the build-up but in processing and ordering; an opposite pattern to Crescendo.

DU-07 Pulse A very fast, regular alternation between short moments of high and low intensity – a quick micro-rhythm, the heartbeat of the game. Not long-drawn waves but a breathless staccato; the rhythm itself becomes the experience.

DU-08 Jo-Ha-Kyū A three-part structure: a slow, ceremonial beginning (*Jo*), gradual acceleration and intensification (*Ha*), a fast, concentrated climax and an abrupt ending (*Kyū*). The slow beginning has its own aesthetic value – it is not "less intense" but deliberately ceremonial.

DU-09 Rasa The experience is shaped not as an intensity curve but as a sequence of mood qualities – a sequence of flavours instead of a tension curve. Nine basic rasas: love, comedy, sorrow, anger, heroism, fear, disgust, wonder, peace. The question is not "how exciting?" but "what flavour does this moment have?"

DU-10 Griot Themes are introduced, left, taken up again, varied, overlaid – cumulative layering into a growing web without a climax. Intensity arises not from sharpening but from accumulation and participation; players help shape the course.

DU-11 Cyclical The experience follows circular movements: recurring patterns in which the endpoint leads back to the beginning – return and renewal, not as repetition but as renewal with a changed context. What returns is familiar; what has changed is the player themselves.

DU-12 Rupture A deliberate violation of the established Ductus pattern – an intentional break in the course. The expectation is built up and then broken. Not a standalone base pattern, but a modifier: rupture can be applied to any base pattern (a broken Crescendo, an interrupted Wave, a disturbed Plateau).

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