PlayM

atters

Playful

Th

ink

ing

Mig

uel

Sicart

jesperjuul,

Ceoffrey

Long,

andW

iuiamU

ricchio,editors

The

Artof Fuilure:A

uE

ssayon

thePaiti

ofPlayingV

ideoG

ames,

Jesper

Juul,2013

Unceitainly

inG

ames,

Greg

Costik

yan

,2013

PlayM

uiters,M

iguelS

icart,2014

The

MIT

Press

Cam

bridge,M

assachusetts

London,

England

1Play

15

ieII—

S:

Think

aboutplay,

and

what

itm

eansto

you.

What

comes

tom

md?

Apastim

e?G

ames?

Chlld

hood

activi

ties?T

heopposite

ofvork

?A

sourcefor

leaming?

What

you’d

ratherbe

doingnow

?

Think

again:H

owm

uchdo

youknow

aboutplay?

Let’s

startw

ittia

simple

exercise.L

istyour

dailyactivities,

thetasks

that

structureyour

day,from

work

toleisure

tothose

thin

gs

youhave

todo

that

areneither,

yetyou

haveto

dothem

.

How

doyou

dothese

tasks?1fyou

arehap

py

andw

ellrested,

youm

ayapproach

yourday

ina

playfulw

ay,enjoying

what

you

do.H

appinessm

aygive

youtim

eto

pLay,to

livein

adifferent

way.

The

temptatio

nof

enjoyingand

livinglife

thro

ugh

play,of

havingfun,

isalw

ayspresent.

To

playis

tobe

inth

ew

orld.P

layingis

aform

ofu

nd

erstand

ingw

hatsurrounds

usand

who

we

are,and

aw

ayof

engaging

with

others.Play

isa

mode

ofbeing

hum

an.

We

livein

excitingtim

es.Y

oum

ight

haveen

countered

the

argum

ent

that

games

arenow

everywhere1;

that

intellectuals,

artists,policym

akers,and

institu

tions

aregam

esfor

seriousand

trivialpurposes.

You

mig

ht

havealso

readth

atgam

esw

illbe

“thedom

inan

tcultural

formof

the

XX

IC

entury.”2T

hereis

even

13

.

2C

hap

ter1

Play

Is3

talkam

onggam

edevelopers

ofthe

hventy-firstcen

tury

being“the

ludic[as

in,play-centric]

century.”31

disagree,to

acertain

extent.G

ames

don’tm

atter.L

ikein

theold

fable,w

eare

thefools

lookingat

thefinger

when

someone

poin

tsat

them

oon.G

ames

arethe

finger;play

isthe

moon.

What

istm

eis

that

playis

adom

inan

tw

ayof

expressionin

ourFirst

World

societies.W

eplay

games,

bu

talso

witli

toys,m

i

playgrounds,w

ithtechnologies

anddesign.

And

playis

no

tlust

theludic,

harmless,

encapsulated,an

dpositive

activityth

atp

hi

losophershave

described.4L

ikeany

oth

erform

ofbeing,

playcan

bedangerous;

itcan

behurting,

damaging,

antisocial,co

rrupting.

Playis

am

anifestatio

nof

hum

anity

,used

forexpressing

andbeing

inthe

world.

To

un

derstan

dw

hat

playis,

1propose

herea

portabletheory,

orrhetoric,

ofplay.

Insteadof

derivingan

un

derstan

din

gof

playfrom

aparticular

objector

activity,like

war,

ritual,or

games,

1see

playas

aportable

toolfor

being.It

isn

ot

tiedto

objectsb

ut

bro

ught

bypeople

toth

ecom

plexin

terrelations

with

andbetw

eenth

ings

that

formdaily

life.W

hypropose

atheory

ofplay

now?

Inour

culture,playfiulhas

become

apositive

word.

The

auth

or

ofth

e2011

biographyof

SteveJobs

usesplayfiulas

aw

ordof

praisefor

thedesign

ofA

pplecom

puters,originally

conceivedto

contrastw

ithdulI

corporatem

achines.5A

pple’s“playful”

designappropriated

cuesfrom

anu

nd

erstand

ing

ofplay

asa

personalexpression:

beauty,co

unter

culwral

politics,and

moral

values.T

hatis

thevalue

andplace

ofplay

inour

culture.

Despite

itsim

portance,w

eare

stilltrying

tou

nd

erstand

playw

ithm

odelsinherited

fromthe

past.O

urtheories

arem

ostlyderived

fromth

ew

orkof

Dutch

culwral

histo

rianJo

han

Huiz

inga,w

hofam

ouslycoined

theconcept

ofH

omo

Ludens.6

This

bonkis

no

tw

rittenin

thetrad

ition

ofH

uizinganplay,

un

der

stoodas

afair

contestth

atcreates

aseparate

world

with

rules

that

arenever

questio

ned

.T

henature

ofplay

1am

advocating

forhere

isdifferent

fromth

atof

Huizinga.

1am

no

tgoing

tooppose

playto

reality,to

work,

toriw

alor

sportsbecause

itexists

inall

ofthem

.It

isa

way

ofbeing

inth

e

world,

likelanguages,

thought,

faith,reason,

andm

yth.7

And

playis

no

tnecessarH

yfun.

Itis

pleasurable,but

theplea

suresit

createsare

not

always

submissive

toen

joym

ent,

hap

pi

ness,or

positivetraits.

Playcan

bepleasurable

when

ithurts,

offends,challenges

usand

teasesus,

and

evenw

henw

eare

not

playing.Let’s

no

ttalk

aboutplay

asfun

butas

pleasurable,open

ingus

toth

eim

mense

variationsof

pleasurein

thisw

orld.

Playcan

bedangerous

too:Mit

canbe

addictingand

destructive

andm

aylead

todifferent

typesof

harm—

physicalinjuries,

lost

friendships,em

otionalbreakdow

ns.Play

isa

dancebetw

eencre

ationand

destruction,behveen

creativityand

nihilism.

Playing

is

afragile,

tenseactivity,

proneto

breakdowns.

lndividualplay

isa

challengeto

oneself,to

keepon

playing.C

ollectiveplay

isa

bal

ancingact

ofegos

and

interests,of

purposesan

din

tentio

ns.

Play

isalw

ayson

the

vergeof

destruction,of

itselfan

dof

itsplayers,

andth

atis

preciselyw

hyit

matters.

Playis

am

ovem

ent

between

orderan

dchaos.9

Like

tragedy,it

fulfillsits

expressivepurpose

when

itm

anagesa

fragile,oscillating

balancebetw

eenboth

.

This

echoesthe

conceptof

darkplay,’°

exploringth

eboundaries

between

playan

dnot

play,betw

eenperform

anceand

secrecy.1’

Dark

play,w

ithits

poten

tialdangers

andexhilarating

resuits,is

ano

ther

example

ofth

enature

ofplay

asa

way

ofbeing

inthe

world—

adangerous

one.

Playis

carnivalesquetoo.’2

Play

appropriatesevents,

struc

Wres,

and

institu

tions

tom

ockth

eman

dtrivialize

them,

or

11—

le

4C

hapter1

PlayIs

5

make

them

deadlyserious.

The

carnivalof

the

Middle

Ages,

with

itscapacity

tosubvert

conven

tions

and

institu

tions

ina

suspensionof

time

andpow

er,13w

asa

symptom

offreedom

)3C

arnivalesqueplay

takescontrol

ofth

ew

orldan

dgives

itto

thepiayers

forth

emto

explore,challenge,

orsubvert.

Itexists;

itis

partof

thew

orldit

turnsupside

down.

Through

carnivalesqueplay,

we

expressourselves,

takingover

thew

orldto

laughat

itan

dm

akesense

ofit

too.

ThinL

aboutthe

famous

Tw

itterbot-n

ot-b

ot

Izorse_ebooks.’5Initially

aspam

bot,th

ena

pieceof

auto

matic

foundart?

andfinally

apiece

ofperform

anceart,

Horse_ebooks

isth

eperfect

example

ofcarnivalesque—

dangerousplay

andplayfulness

inthis

ageof

com

putin

gm

achinery.B

ytaking

overa

socialsitu

ation

and

technoLogy,

this(not)-bot-com

e-artpiece

playedw

ithour

expectations,broke

ourhearts,

andshow

edus

anew

way

ofseeing

thew

orldand

un

derstan

din

gourselves.

Horse_ebooks

was

appropriatedby

aperform

anceartist

toexplore

newhorizons

byim

perso

natin

ga

twitter

botin

Marina

Abram

ovic-inspireddura

tionalarts.

By

fakingbeing

abot,

theartist

JacobB

akkilateased

ourperception

ofT

witter

and

the

technologiesto

which

we

relinquishour

entertain

men

t.T

hesense

ofbetrayal

that

some

feItw

henH

orseebouks

was

revealedto

beh

um

ancan

beu

nd

erstood

onlyas

anexam

pleof

carnivalesquedark

playand

thew

aysin

which

itcan

painfullyenrich

ourlives.

This

isak

onot

atheory

ofplay

tiiro’aghgam

es.G

ames

don’tm

atterth

atm

uch.T

heyare

am

anifestation,a

formof

andfor

play,just

not

the

onlyone.

They

arethe

strongestform

,cu

ltur

allyand

economically

do

min

ant.

But

they

arepart

ofan

ecol

ogyof

playthingsand

playcontexts,

fromtoys

toplaygrounds,

frompolitical

actionto

aestheticperform

ance,th

rou

gh

which

playis

usedfor

expression.T

hisbook

exploresthis

ecology,from

con

ven

tion

alco

mputer

andboard

games

tosports,

activism,

criticalengineering,

interactio

ndesign,

toys,and

playgrounds.

Playis

theforce

that

tiesthese

culturalexpressions

togeth

erand

makes

them

matter.

1am

aware

ofboth

my

ambition

andthe

obviouslim

ita

tionsof

what

1can

do.M

me

isa

romantic

theory(or

rhetoric)of

play,based

onan

ideaof

creativityand

expressionth

athas

been

developedin

thehighly

postromantic

culturalen

viro

nm

ent

of

theearly

twenty-first

centu

ry.

1w

ritethis

theoryof

playas

a

reactionto

theinstrum

entalized,m

echanisticth

inkin

gon

play

cham

pio

ned

bypostm

odern

cultureindustries.

This

isa

theory

that

actsas

acalI

toplayful

arms,

aninvocation

ofplay

asa

strug

gleagainst

efficiency,seriousness,

and

technicaldeterm

inism)7

1f and

when

thisera

passes,m

ytheory

will

berendered

obso

lete.B

utright

now,

we

needto

thin

kabout

playm

attersand

reclaimplay

asa

way

ofexpression,

aw

ayof

engagingw

iththe

world—

notas

anactivity

ofco

nsu

mptio

nbut

asan

activityof

pro

ductio

n.

Like

literature,art,

song,an

ddance;

likepolitics

and

lovean

dm

ath,play

isa

way

ofengaging

and

expressingour

beingin

thew

orld.

Infact,

playis

aftn

dam

ental

partof

ourm

oralw

eil-being,of

the

health

yan

dm

atureand

complete

hum

anlife.

Through

play

we

experienceth

ew

orld,w

eco

nstru

ctIt

and

we

destroyit,

and

we

expLore

who

we

arean

dw

hatw

ecan

say.Play

freesus

from

moral

conven

tions

butm

akesth

emstil)

present,so

we

areaw

are

ofth

eirw

eight,presence,

andim

portance.

We

needplay

preciselybecause

we

needoccasional

freedom

anddistance

fromour

conven

tional

understan

din

gof

them

oral

fabricof

society.P

layis

importan

tbecause

we

needto

seevalues

and

practicethem

and

challengeth

emso

theybecom

em

ore

than

mindless

habits.

ii—

6C

hap

ter1

Play

Is7

We

playbecause

we

arehum

an,

andw

eneed

tou

nd

erstand

what

makes

ushu

man

)8n

ot

inan

evolutionaryor

cognitivew

aybut

ina

hum

anistic

way.

Play

isth

eforce

that

puilsus

together.It

isa

way

ofexplaining

thew

orld,others,

and

ourselves.P

layis

expressingourselves—

who

we

want

tobe,

orw

how

edon’t

want

tobe.

Play

isw

hatw

edo

when

we

areh

um

an.

Sow

hatis

play?

Fora

longtim

e,m

yday

hasbeen

stmctu

redaro

und

play.L

egobricks

andtoy

carsprecede

my

breakfast,as

Drop7

andSpellT

ower

lullm

eto

sleep;N

obyN

obyB

oyhelps

me

wait

bythe

printer,and

Desert

Bus

accompanies

me

inacadem

icm

eetings.M

ylife

takesplace

inth

etim

ebehveen

play.T

hisis

perhapsthe

reason1believe

that

playarticulates

time—

that

aday,

aw

eek,a

mo

nth

,and

ayear

arejust

arbitrarysegm

entsth

atw

euse

tokeep

trackof

the

times

we

play.

Let

me

foolishlytry

todefine

what

playis19

Play,like

anyoth

erhum

anactivity,

ishighly

resistantto

formalized

un

der

standing.S

ince1

will

failtoo

intrying

todefine

it,1

want

todo

sow

itha

minim

aldefin

ition

ofplay,

aware

ofits

own

fragiie

con

nectio

nw

itha

presenttim

e.2°Let’s

start,then,

byu

nd

er

standingw

hatplay

is.

Play

iscoiitexh:al.21

Ina

colloquialu

nd

erstandin

gof

play,th

atco

ntex

tof

playis

theform

allyb

ou

nd

spacedeterm

ined

byth

em

lesan

dthe

com

mu

nity

ofplay.

But

con

text

ism

oreco

mp

licated;

it’sa

messier

network

ofpeople,

rules,negotiations,

loca

tions,and

objects.Play

hap

pen

sin

atangled

world

ofpeople,

things,spaces,

and

cultures.

An

obviousexam

pleis

providedby

sports.T

helaw

sof

soc

cerdeterm

ine

thespace

inw

hichthe

game

shouldbe

officiallyplayed:

a“natural

orartificial”

surface,“according

tothe

mies

of

1

the

com

petitio

n”

(law1).

But

ifw

eare

tounderstan

dsem

ipro

fessionalsoccer,

theco

ntex

tshould

alsoinciude

the

stadiumor

trainin

ggrounds

opento

spectators,as

well

asth

elocation

of

the

groundsin

thelarger

urbanspace.

Itis

not

thesam

eto

play

pickupgam

esof

soccerin

poorneig

hborh

oods

asit

isin

more

afiluen

tones:

them

aterialityof

thegam

echanges,

and

sodo

the

interp

retations

ofth

em

iesand

eventhe

playsty

les.

Contex

tcom

prisesth

een

viro

nm

ent

inw

hichw

eplay,

the

technologiesw

ithw

hichw

eplay,

andth

epoten

tialco

mpan

ions

ofp

lay»

Contex

tis

thenetw

orkof

things,people,

and

places

neededfor

playto

takeplace.

Aplayground

isa

pureplay

con

text:a

separatedspace

devoidof

anyoth

erfu

nctio

nality

than

beinga

contex

tfor

playing.B

utit’s

alsotw

eth

atalm

ostany

spacecan

become

aplayground.

How

dow

eknow

that

aparticular

contex

tis

aco

ntex

tfor

play?O

ftenthere

arecues

embedded

inobjects

that

signalth

ata

space,th

ing,

orcollective

arethere

toplay.

Masks

anddisguises,

merry-go-rounds,

and

com

puter

controllersall

poin

tto

the

idea

that

playis

possiblein

that

context.Players

interp

retspaces

and

situationsas

poten

tiallyopen

toplay

when

they

perceivethose

cues•21

Artificially

createdobjects

orsituations,

then

,can

signalplay.

Playhappens

mostly

incontexts

designedfor

that

activity.25It

is

imp

ortan

tto

un

derstan

dth

atplay,

unlikeoth

erform

sof

expres

sion,can

bedesigned.26

Itis

not

designedexclusively

inthe

Bau

haus-inspiredtrad

ition

ofa

creatorw

hoshapes

anobject

fora

function,27but

ina

weaker

sense:designed

asm

ediatedby

thin

gs

createdto

facilitateth

eem

ergenceof

play.

This

isw

hyplay

and

computers

getalong

sow

ell.A

su

niv

er

salm

achines,com

putersneed

tohave

instm

ctions

designedfor

them

50th

eycan

executean

activity.S

imilarly,

playrequires

a

8C

hap

ter1

Play

Is9

certainelem

ent

ofdesign,

material

orco

ntex

tual

orboth

,so

we

knoww

ecan

play,or

we

canbe

playful.T

hisis

why

playthrives

inthe

ageof

com

putin

gm

achinery.

Aw

ayof

un

derstan

din

ghow

thesecontexts

aredesigned

isto

thin

kabout

rules.F

romthe

strictlyobserved

mies

ofpro

fessional

sportsto

thefluid

andunstable

mLes

ofchiidren’s

games,

playand

mIes

gotogetheL

28R

ulesare

theform

alin

stmm

ents

that

allowthe

creationand

sharedidentification

ofa

contex

tof

play.A

llcontexts

ofplay

havem

iesof

some

type.

Much

basbeen

written

onth

enature

ofm

ies,and

Itis

notm

yin

tentio

nhere

toexplain

ordebate

what

rulesare.

Playis

derived,m

ediated,and

situatedby

theuse

ofm

ies.A

mle

deter

mines

where

we

play,w

henw

estop

playing,an

dw

hen

we

canreenter

the

playcontext.

Am

leis

written

ona

pieceof

paperor

inseveral

linesof

code,u

ph

eldby

areferee

ora

pieceof

circuitryor

agroup

offriends,

oreven

histo

iyand

spaces,like

housem

ies.R

uLesare

facilitatorsth

atcreate

aco

ntex

tof

play,fram

esw

ithin

which

playtakes

place.29H

owever,

mLes

areonly

oneele

ment

ofthe

contex

tof

pla

,and

notth

em

ostim

portan

t.T

heyare

necessarybut

notsufficient

forplay

toexist:

playersand

acertain

will

toplay

areneeded

toengage

inplay.3°

More

impor

tant,rules

arenot

sacred.3’T

heyare

nodesin

thecom

plexnet

work

ofthe

contex

tof

play,servants

tothe

actionof

playing.R

ulesare

ano

ther

propth

atcan

betargeted

bythe

transfo

rma

tivecapacities

ofplay.32

Traditionally

mies

havebeen

seenas

theonly

imm

utableeL

em

ent

ofplay.

1fmies

were

broken,play

would

finishand

whoever

brokethe

mies

would

bem

orallyguiity.33

More

modern

takeson

playsee

them

iesas

more

flexibleand

interpretive.34D

iscussingan

din

terpretin

gm

iesis

acm

cialpart

ofth

eplay

activity.T

hisnegotiation

consolidatesthe

con

text

ofplay.

Akey

ingred

ient

of

playingis

thin

kin

g,

man

ipulatin

g,

changing,and

adaptingm

ies.R

ules,sen’ant

tothe

context,evolve

while

we

playto

addressthe

necessitiesof

particularplay

situations.

Play

isalso

anactivity

intension

between

creationand

destmction.35

Playis

always

dangerous,dabbling

with

risks,cre

ating

and

destroying,and

keepinga

carefulbalance

between

both

.Play

isbetw

eenthe

rationalpleasures

oforder

and

creationan

dthe

sweeping

euphoriaof

destm

ction

and

rebirth,behveen

theA

poilonianand

the

Dionysiac.36

ForN

ietzsche,tragedy

summ

edup

two

collidingtensions

in

Greek

culture:th

eculture

oforder

andthe

cultureof

dm

nken

disorder,the

artof

scuiptureand

theart

ofm

usic.W

hileart

istsm

ovedbetw

eenboth

,the

genreof

theG

reektragedy

effectively

merged

bo

th.

The

orderan

dsobriety

ofth

eA

pollonianw

astensely

opposedby

the

embodied,

passionate,irrational,

and

irreverentD

ionysiacarL37

The

ApoL

lonianan

dD

ionysiactendencies

explainhow

play

ersnavigate

theco

ntex

tof

play.W

henpiaying,

we

stmggle

to

make

senseof

the

world

byconstm

cfingour

actionsw

ithina

context.T

hatstm

ggleis

notonly

with

theobstacles

andneeds

that

playim

poseson

us,but

alsow

iththe

perm

anen

ttem

pta

tionsth

athap

pen

inplay:

thetem

ptatio

nof

breakingth

econ

text,brealdng

them

ies,co

rmptin

gplay.

or,on

theopposite

side,letting

goof

allthe

eiements

ofrationality

and

stwctu

rean

dle

tting

ourseivesloose

inthe

into

xicatin

gpleasures

ofplay.

Lego

providesan

example

ofthis

tension.W

henbuilding

som

ethin

gw

ithout

following

anypians

orin

stmctio

ns,

1so

me

times

feelthe

temptatio

nto

buildthe

tallestpossible

stmcture,

lustto

seeit

fail.1

pilepieces

ontop

ofpieces,

inprecarious

bal

ance,just

toreach

thehighest

possiblepoin

t.1

then

lookat

my

oeuvreand

push

It.The

pleasureof

thew

astedtim

e,of

the

pieces

L.

10C

hap

ter1

Play

Is11

scatteringas

they

hit

thefloor,

isthe

pleasureof

destructiveplay—

theD

ionysiacen

din

gto

my

Apollonian

world

building.Play

isthis

strugglebebveen

orderand

chaos,behveen

thew

illto

createand

thew

illto

destroy.uPlay

asan

affirmation

ofhum

anity

occursbecause

we

haveto

striveto

balanceit—

totie

ourdem

onsand

make

them

coexistw

ithour

passionfor

order39w

ithout

fallingin

the

mindless

focusth

atlures

ustow

ardstm

ctured

play.4°W

eplay

bytaking

onlym

oderatelyseriously

theA

pollonianstrucw

resof

thegam

ean

dn

ot

lettingthe

into

xicat

ingdestruction

depriveus

ofth

evirtues

ofsu

bm

itting

toorder.

How

dow

ekeep

the

tensio

nbetw

eenthe

Apollonian

and

theD

ionysiacin

order?H

owdoes

playm

anageto

explorean

dexpress

with

ou

tspiraling

intoits

own

destmction?

Inclassic

theoriesof

play,the

answer

would

beth

atplaying

isa

pretense,requiring

aparticular

attitud

edecoupled

fromreality,

soit

would

always

bepossible

forparticipants

todisengage

with

theactiv

ity.41B

utplay

isno

tdetached

fromth

ew

orld;it

livesand

thrivesiii

thew

orld.So

howdo

we

playbetw

eenexcessive

orderand

compulsive

destruction?

Playm

anagesth

atbalance

hecauseit

isa

carnivalesqueactiv

ity.42T

hecarnival,

asR

ussianphilo

sopher

Mikhail

Bakhtin

describedIt,

isan

outco

me

ofthe

expressivecapacity

ofplay,13

managing

thecareful

relationsbetw

eencreation

anddestm

ction.N

Bakhtin’s

carnivalis

more

than

thetim

ein

which

thepow

erin

stitutio

ns

ofth

eM

iddieA

gesallow

theco

mm

on

peopleto

expressthem

selvesth

rou

gh

satireand

humor.45

The

carnivalforeshadow

sm

odernity—the

riseof

acritical,

self-aware

indiv

idual,

abody

with

am

md

no

tsub

jectto

institu

tions

determ

ined

froman

oth

erw

orld,but

fromrationality

itself.

Carnival

IetsIaughter,

no

tfun,

hap

pen

.B

ytem

porarilydis

missing

the

oppressiveforces

ofth

eestablishm

ent,lau

ghter

takesover

and

allows

fora

bodilyform

ofknow

ledgeth

atcreates

tmth

,and

it’sfree.

Laughter

requiresfreedom

,an

open

ing

fromthe

institu

tional

world,

butit

alsocreates

freedom.

Modernity

couldbe

aconsequence

oflaughter,

ofth

epossibility

ofex

pres

sionafforded

inth

ecarnival.47

Laughter,

criticalan

dhurtin

gan

denjoyable

and

deeplyem

bodied,m

akescarnivals

matter.

Laughter

and

thecarnival

giveus

anin

strum

ent

againstseri

ousness,restoring

the“am

bivalentw

holeness”th

atis

oppositethe

institu

tions

we

livein-38

Gam

esare

anexam

pleof

carni

valesquebehavior

that

leadsto

afestive

liberationin

searchfrom

freedom,

expression,and

tmth.49

Som

egam

es,like

B.U

.TT

ON

.,w

ithits

rowdy,

physicalperform

ativity,or

eventh

eearly

Grand

TheftA

utotitles

andits

fascinatingrenderings

ofpossible

worlds,

po

int

tothe

importan

ceof

carnivalesqueIaughter

inth

econ

structionand

experienceof

play.5°A

gain,the

resultis

not

fijnb

ut

laughter—pleasurable

but

risky,and

poten

tiallyharm

ful.P

layis

carnivaiesque.It

findsequilibrium

between

creationan

ddestm

ction

inthe

embodied

laughter.It

alsopresents

anum

ber

ofcharacteristics

that

embody

thiscarnivalesque

tensions.Plak’

isappropdaffi’e,

inth

atit

takesover

theco

ntex

tin

which

Itexists

andcan

no

tbe

totallypred

etermin

edby

suchcontext.

From

theco

ntex

tof

useof

atoy

toa

game,

froma

ritualto

aplayground,

contex

tbecom

esservant

tothe

activityof

play-ing.51

Tw

ophysical

games

canserve

asexam

ple:the

game

Ninja

isoften

playedin

publicspaces,

fromparking

lotsto

theco

rnm

on

areasof

schoolsand

dorms

(figure1J)u

The

mIes

ofN

mnja

aresim

ple:players

make

acircle,

stayingat

arm’s

length

fromeach

other.A

tth

eco

unt

ofthree,

playersm

akea

nin

japose,

paims

extended.T

hegoal

ofth

egam

eis

tohit

anyoth

erplayers’

openpaim

s,an

donly

the

paims.

1f you’rehit,

youhave

toleave

the

game.

The

game

contin

ues

untilonly

one

playeris

left.T

he

12C

hap

ter1

Play

Is13

catch?it’s

aturn-based

game,

andonly

onesw

iftm

oveof

attack

and

defenseis

allowed—

nostopping,

noflurry

ofgestures,

justone

move

toattack

orto

defendin

eachtu

rn.

Ninja

makes

play

erstake

overa

location,form

inga

circieth

atsoon

losesits

form

and

spreadsaround

thespace,

effectivelyco

nquerin

gIt.

But

Ninja

alsoappropriates

the

spacein

asociocultural

way:-w

hat

usedto

bea

parkinglot

becomes

abattiefield,

reclaiming

the

groundfor

pleasure.A

ndin

the

publicspace

ofa

schoolor

aw

orkplace,N

injacan

reclaimth

eim

portan

ceof

laughterto

sur

viveth

elong

daysof

work

andobligations.

Ninja

appropriates

the

spacesit

takesplace

bym

eansof

itsspraw

lingnature.

Am

oreaesthetically

orien

tedapproach

isprovided

byJohan

Sebastian

Jor:st,53also

aphysical

game,

inthis

caseau

gm

ented

thro

ugh

theuse

oftechnology:

Joustisa

nongrap

hics

videogam

ein

which

playershold

aP

laystationM

ovecontroller

intheir

hands.T

heplayers’

movem

ents

aredeten

nin

edby

thetem

poof

music:

1fit

isplayed

ata

hightem

po,players

canm

ovequickly,

andif

itis

playedat

aslow

tempo,

onlycareful

movem

ent

isallow

ed.T

ow

inJoust,

playersneed

toshake

anyo

ther

players’

controllersso

much

that

they

areelim

inated.T

hein

tensity

of

theshaking

ism

easuredby

thecontrollers’

accelerometers

and

relatedto

thetem

poof

the

music,

with

the

resultscalculated

bythe

computer.

Joustdoesnot

appropriatethe

contex

tby

thesheer

num

ber

ofplayers

butby

acareful

weaving

ofdifferent

aestheticcues.

The

PlayS

tationM

ovecontroller

that

playersw

ieldhas

aglow

ing

LEDth

atgives

playersin

form

ation

aboutth

estate

ofthe

game.

Figure

1.1

Ninja

takesover

ITU

niversity.(P

hoto

byFlickr

userJoaoR

amos.

CC

-By

NC

2.0.http

://ww

w.flick

r.com

/ph

oto

s/joao

ramo

s/56

214

65

81

4/sizes/o

/.)

1

e1—ed

14C

hap

ter1

Play

Is15

Joustis

alsoa

music

game,

50

ithas

tobe

heard,n

ot

justseen.

And

the

game

performs

likea

dance.S

eeingJozistbeing

playedis

likew

itnessingan

impro

mptu

dancew

ithm

agicalcandlelight,

reinterp

reting

mu

nd

ane

locationsof

playinto

performance

spaces,m

esmerizing

playersand

spectatorsin

achoreography

ofm

ovinglights

andplayftil

exhilaratio

n(hgure

The

playobject,

beIt

agam

eor

atoy,

isjust

aprop

forplay.

Regardless

ofall

thein

tentio

ns

andm

eaningsem

beddedin

thedesign

ofplay

ohjects,play

will

always

farceus

tocontexw

aLize

them

eanin

gof

thethings

involvedin

playing.Play

appropriatesthe

objectsit

usesto

come

into

existence.55Pia;’

isdisniptive

asa

consequenceof

beingappropriate.

When

ittakes

overth

eco

ntex

tin

which

playtake

place,it

breaksthe

stateof

affairs.T

hisis

oftend

on

efor

thesake

oflaughter,

for

enjo

ym

ent,

forpassing

pleasures.B

utlike

alloth

erpassing

plea

sures,play

canalso

disruptivelyreveal

ourconventions,

assum

p

tions,biases,

and

dislikes.In

dism

ptin

gthe

normal

stateof

affairsby

beingplayful,

we

cango

beyondfun

when

we

appro

priatea

contex

tw

iththe

inten

tion

ofplaying

with

andw

ithin

it.A

ndin

that

move,

we

revealth

ein

ner

workings

ofthe

contex

t

that

we

inhab

it.

Au

interesh

ng

example

ofthe

poten

tialdism

ptivenessof

play

isthe

activistperform

anceC

amoveL

56In

Cam

over,players

are

encouragedto

destroyC

clv

cameras

ina

specificurban

envi

ronm

ent

andare

awarded

poin

tsfor

doingso—

thepoin

tsare

made

availableand

visibleon

aw

ebsite.T

hispolitical

(andille

ga])action

usesgam

elikeelem

ents,such

aspoints

orth

ecreation

ofa

sharedplay

com

munity

that

evaluatesthe

players’perfo

r

mance,

toco

mm

unicate

apolitical

message.

Cam

overdism

pts

theurban

contextth

rough

violentand

dangerousplay,

engaging

with

thepolitical

situatio

nin

theurban

spacew

herethe

playis

takingplace.

As

anin

terven

tion

thro

ugh

play,C

amover

usesthe

appropriativenatu

reof

playto

make

aco

mm

entary

onsocial

andpolitical

actionsas

they

takeplace.

The

dismptive

natu

reof

playallow

sus

tounderstan

dthe

per

ilsof

playas

weLl.

By

disru

ptin

gthe

contex

tin

which

ittakes

place,play

isa

creative,expressive

force.B

utthis

forcehas

its

dangerstoo.

Dark

playis

anexploration

ofthe

wild

sideof

play

inw

hichplayers

decideto

engagein

anactivity,

likeC

amover,

toforce

anem

otio

nal

responsein

thosew

hodo

not

recognize

they

areactually

playing.57T

hedisruptiveness

ofplay

isused

to

shock,alarm

,an

dchallenge

conventions.58

The

disruptivenessof

playcan

beextended

tom

ored

ang

er

ousrealm

sto

o.

Playcan

dism

pt

ourm

entalbalance.

Itcan

beaddictive

thro

ug

hgam

bling,for

example,

buyinglottery

e1—0S:d

Figure

1.2

isJo

ust

seriousduelers.

(Photo

byB

ennettF

oddy.http

://ww

w.fo

ddy

.net.)

16C

hap

ter1

PaayIs

17

ticketsor

playingslot

machines

designedfor

temptin

gour

baseim

pulsesw

itha

calculatedchain

ofw

insan

dlosses.6°

The

dis

ruptivenessof

playm

eansth

atsom

etimes

it’sn

ot

thew

orldw

elook

atth

rough

thelens

ofplay

butan

abyss—the

pro

found

co

nfradictions

and

risksth

atour

fragilem

indsaccept

taking.1f

we

areonly

mildly

tempted,

we

become

spoilsports,cheaters;6’

ifw

eare

deeplyenthralled,

we

loseourselves

inplay.

Playis

disru

ptive,

andit

canbe

dangerousth

rough

itsdisruptiveness.

Play

isautotelic—

anactivity

with

itsow

ngoals

andpurposes,

with

itsow

nm

arkedduratio

nan

dspaces

and

itsow

nco

nditio

ns

forending.62

This

isa

com

mon

po

int

with

con

ven

tional

un

der

standingsof

play.63H

owever,

the

boundariesof

autotelicplay

arenot

formally

rigid;there

isno

dear

demarcation

bebveenthe

world

ofth

egam

eand

thew

orldat

large.64Play

isautotelic

inits

context,but

itis

alsonegotiated.

Itsautotelic

natu

reis

always

beingdiscussed

andnegotiated.

We

playby

neg

otiatin

gthe

pu

rposes

ofplay,

howfar

we

wan

tto

exten

dth

einfluences

ofthe

playactivity,

and

howm

uchw

eplay

forthe

purposeof

playingor

forthe

purposeof

personalexpression.

Play

hasa

purposeof

itsow

n,but

the

purposeis

no

tfixed.

Play

activitiescan

bedescribed

asdiachronically

orsy

nch

ron

icallyautotelic,

focusingon

howthe

purposeof

playevolved

tho

ug

hthe

playsession

orlooking

atw

hatparticular

purposea

particularin

stance

ofplay

hadin

aparticular

session.W

ecan

startplaying

with

apurpose

and

decideto

changeour

goalsm

idw

ay,either

aloneor

inneg

otiatio

nw

ithothers.

Playnegotiates

itsautotelic

goalsan

dpurposes

aspart

ofplaying.

Let’s

lookat

anexam

ple:th

epurpose

ofplaying

agam

elike

Vesper.5

that

allows

playersto

make

onlyone

move

aday.65

We

don’tplay

itfor

theaction

orfor

thew

ayit

entertain

sus.

Ves

per.5gives

usa

ritualth

atis

playtoo.

We

playit

toexplore,

to

learnab

out

ourselves,because

we

findit

interesting,because

it

hasm

eanin

gfor

usan

dw

elet

itin

ourlives

everyday:

onem

ove

andth

ena

hven

ty-fo

ur-h

our

wait.

This

exercisein

patience—a

game,

yes,in

which

we

playm

oreth

anjust

thegam

e—is

alsoa

com

pan

ion,

atim

edexcuse

forplaying

everyday.

Itspurpose

is

toexist,

tolet

usplay,

andthe

purposeof

playingw

ithit

isn

oth

ingelse

than

justplaying.

Playing

Vesper.5

isalso

neg

otiatin

g

why

andhow

we

playthis

game.

Play

iscreative,

inth

atit

affordsplayers

differentdegrees

of

expressionin

heren

tin

the

playactivity

itself.P

layingis

both

acceptingth

erules

ofth

egam

eand

performing

with

inth

em

accordingto

ourneeds,

personality,and

constitu

tion

ofa

play-

ingcom

munity.

Playis

the

actof

creativelyengaging

with

the

world,

with

technologies,contexts,

and

objects,from

games

to

toysand

playgrounds,exploring

them

thro

ugh

ludicin

terac

tion.

Playcreates

itsobjects

and

comm

unities.T

oplay

isto

make

aw

orld,th

rou

gh

objects,w

ithothers,

forothers,

and

for

us.It

isa

creativew

ayof

expression,shared

but

ultim

atelyper

sonal.P

laycreates

(itself)th

rough

objects,m

ies,players,

situa

tions,an

dspaces.

Agood

example

ofthis

typeof

expressionis

thedev

elopm

ent

oftactics

ingam

es.W

henplaying

agam

e,players

developta

c

tics,th

atis,

temporally

basedin

terpretatio

ns

ofthe

contex

tof

playsuited

forparticular

modes

ofin

teraction

toward

particular

goals;som

eof

them

may

bea

partof

the

game

andsom

eare

purelypersonal.

The

tacticsare

theon-the-fly

creativein

terpre

tation

ofa

game

thro

ug

hth

eactivity

ofplaying

it.

Finally,

playis

personal.E

venw

hen

we

playw

ithothers,

the

effectsof

playare

individual,attach

edto

ourow

nsen

timen

tal,

moral,

and

politicalm

emories.

Who

we

areis

alsow

hoplays,

thekind

ofperson

we

letlose

when

we

play.O

urm

emories

are

ieII—ICS:

18C

hap

ter1

com

po

sedof

these

instan

cesof

play,th

ev

ictories

and

defeats,but

alsoth

esh

aredm

oments.6

Play

isnot

isolated

inour

event

fullives;

in[act,

itis

astring

with

which

we

tieour

mem

oriesand

ourfriendships

together.Play

isa

traceof

thecharacter

that

definesus.

Playis

findingexpression;

Itis

lettingus

understan

dthe

world

and,through

that

understan

din

g,

challengingthe

establishm

ent,leading

forknow

ledge,and

creafingnew

tiesor

break

ingold

ones.B

utultim

atelyw

hateverw

edo

inplay

staysw

ithus.

Playis

asingularly

individualexperience—

shared,yes,

butm

eaningfulonly

inth

ew

ayit

scaffoldsan

individualexperience

ofthe

world.

Through

play,w

eare

inthe

world.68

Playis

likelanguage—

aw

ayof

beingin

the

world,

ofm

akingsense

ofit.64

Ittakes

placein

acontext

asa

balancebetw

eenere

ation

and

destm

ction

,betw

eenadherence

toa

stmctu

reand

the

pleasuresof

destmction.7°

Playing

isfreedom

.7’Play

isbeing

inthe

world,

thro

ug

hobjects,

toward

others.72W

eplay

not

toen

tertainourseL

vesor

tolearn

orbe

alienated:w

eplay

tobe,

and

playgives

us,th

rou

gh

itscharacteristics,

thep

ossib

iityof

heing.A

sS

artreput

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hat

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