Week 1: The Concept of Play

This week our lecture was conducted using Adobe Connect, an online tool which allowed the lecture to be recorded. Adobe Connect also happened to have an integrated chat panel which allowed everyone in the class to hold discussions about whatever they liked; this week the class talked about the concept of play.

The conversation started when someone used reading as a form of play. Unfortunately I can't remember their explanation of how this was play, but regardless of why, I don't believe reading is playful.

Since then there has been at least one blog that I've read that questioned whether or not reading is playful, and commented on the fact that perhaps it has to do with a user's state of mind. They used a loading screen that displayed lore, or reading the information displayed by a text-based game as an example of a blurred line between something being playful or not.

My personal view on the matter is that reading in and of itself is not a playful activity. It may be an immersive activity that elicits an emotional response, and it may be intrinsically satisfying to read, but the reality is that the reading material is there for your consumption or it is being used to provide feedback in a creative or literal way. Even when the reading is contained within the context of a dynamic environment in which you control, the activity of reading is not playful. There is no interaction with the words on the screen and you cannot change them by interacting with them. The content is there to immerse you further into the game and make your playful actions more meaningful.

Text-based games require you to read because otherwise you would have no idea what is going on when you tell the game you're going west. In the same way you have to look at a video game to know what is happening on screen. Same thing goes for sound based games that require you to listen for feedback.

In terms of games like Mass Effect where you decide what to say in conversations, or Heavy Rain where you "change" the ending of the game, this is still consumption of media. Control of said media doesn't make it playful activity. The media is just being presented to you in a different way or different order. Like a movie being edited right in front of you.

I think the reason why there was so much discussion is that play is often confused with the idea of "fun". The lines become blurred because often playful activity is "fun" or "enjoyable." For the sake of anyone reading this, I won't get into what I believe "fun" is exactly. For now I'll just define "fun" as intrinsically satisfying experience.

The concept of play, in my opinion requires interaction to achieve a goal, whether the goal be made up or given and we must be careful not to confuse a playful activity with an "enjoyable" one.