Designed for Play has been an incredible experience. I majored in Design undergrad, so I figured that I would have the necessary design background to succeed in this class, but it is clear to me now that designing for games requires a different approach. Before this class, I pictured game design as the process of designing the material elements of the game – the aesthetic choices that make up the board, cards, pieces, and even the story itself. I did not understand that game design also includes the mechanics of the game, the arc of the experience, the aesthetics of fun, and the creation of the magic circle.
Creating fun is one of the most challenging tasks we can set out for ourselves. It is daunting to predict when people will have fun: different people find different things funny, the elements that make a game feel magical are elusive, and no two rounds of the same game feel alike. If there is anything I’ve learned from this class, it’s that camaraderie, community, shared humor, and pure excitement are the key and unpredictable ingredients that lead to joyous interactions. For example, our team enjoyed the monster drawing and fighting game more than any of the other games we played in class, simply because the absurdity and jankiness made it completely enthralling. There is no accounting for taste. Sometimes the magic appears, and sometimes it doesn’t.
One thing I will take with me for the rest of my life is the concept of the aesthetics of fun. As a preschool teacher, I construct opportunities for play very often. But I have never thought about it in these terms. Since taking this class, I have intentionally considered which kind of fun I am hoping to create for the children in my classroom. I now try to balance my activities so that the children experience challenge, fantasy, community, and sensation fun, all within one day.
Another thing I have learned that I will carry with me into my future is the importance of communicating with my team members about the dynamics of the team. We had a couple instances of struggling/ storming in our team, but after one quick conversation, our dynamic vastly improved, and our creative flow flourished again. These interactions have shown me that being honest with the people around me about my needs – and respecting the values and inclinations that lead to other teammates’ priorities – is the best way to build an efficient and healthy team dynamic.
Overall, I found this class incredibly moving, and I feel inspired to create fun in all kinds of circumstances moving forward. Games do not have to be pieces on a board or controllers affecting pixels on a screen. Through our guest speakers and lectures focusing on topics from the ethics of games to the audio to escape rooms and holiday presents, it is clear to me now that games are all around us, seen and unseen, and leveraging their affordances to build community and sustain levity will build better lives. Our daily interactions can be opportunities for play, and I hope to explore the possibilities here in all that I do moving forward!
