Ilinx
Encyclopedia
Ilinx is a kind of play
, described by sociologist Roger Caillois
, a major figure in game studies
. Ilinx creates a temporary disruption of perception, as with vertigo
, dizziness, or disorienting changes in direction of movement.
Caillois identified several categories of play in Les Jeux et Les Hommes
(ISBN 978-2070326723; 1958, in English as Man, Play and Games ISBN 978-0252070334; 2001.) In the book, Caillois described the category of ilinx as games that:
Play (activity)
Play is a term employed in ethology and psychology to describe to a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with pleasure and enjoyment...
, described by sociologist Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois
Roger Caillois was a French intellectual whose idiosyncratic work brought together literary criticism, sociology, and philosophy by focusing on subjects as diverse as games, play and the sacred...
, a major figure in game studies
Game studies
Game studies or the new modern term "gaming theory" is the discipline of studying games, their design, players, and their role in society and culture more broadly...
. Ilinx creates a temporary disruption of perception, as with vertigo
Vertigo (medical)
Vertigo is a type of dizziness, where there is a feeling of motion when one is stationary. The symptoms are due to a dysfunction of the vestibular system in the inner ear...
, dizziness, or disorienting changes in direction of movement.
Caillois identified several categories of play in Les Jeux et Les Hommes
Man, Play and Games
Man, Play and Games is a 1961 book, and the seminal work of the French Sociologist Roger Caillois, a translation of Les jeux et les hommes . It is an influential book on the sociology of play and games, or rather in Caillois' terms sociology derived from play...
(ISBN 978-2070326723; 1958, in English as Man, Play and Games ISBN 978-0252070334; 2001.) In the book, Caillois described the category of ilinx as games that:
- "...are based on the pursuit of vertigo and which consist of an attempt to momentarily destroy the stability of perception and inflict a kind of voluptuous panic upon an otherwise lucid mind. In all cases, it is a question of surrendering to a kind of spasm, seizure, or shock which destroys reality with sovereign brusqueness."