Week 2

Through the readings, the main thoughts that I kept thinking about were the types of fun and play. As I read, I was interested in looking at the different types that the authors mentioned. However, one quote that stood out to me the most was this:

"This kind of fun is common to all kinds of fun. It’s the medium in which all other kinds of fun gel. It’s just fun. It has nothing to do with anything else. And yet, like all kinds of fun, it heals, it brings us back from wherever we were to where we actually are. It brings us, as they say, back to our senses, to our bodies. It brings back wonder, awe, peace, fascination, love, stillness, harmony. Pure, plain fun." (DeKoven ,191)

I am someone who tends to analyze everything, even without realizing it sometimes. I really appreciate this quote as I feel like it brings simplicity the forefront of my mind. Fun is sometimes just fun. Nothing more than that.  Another quote that I liked was also from Dekoven.

"When we are playing together, despite our differences, we celebrate a transcendent sameness, a unity that underlines the illusion of our separateness. You could call this an act of love – an enacted love that lets us keep the game going. Many acts of love, in fact, many acts of compassion, caring, trust, assurance. " (DeKoven , 163)

As I read this, I thought about the people I have met due to play of some sort. The group of people I know does not consist of the same type of people. We all come from different backgrounds and have different experiences, but play/fun have brought us together. I also like how Dekoven compares love to the unity that occurs.

I also found some ideas within the chapter readings that I liked. One thing that I had never thought about was the difference between “chance” and “uncertainty”. The example of this that stood out to me was basketball. 

"Though there is no chance in basketball in the strict sense (we don’t roll a die in the game or randomly generate the game’s elements), there is plenty of uncertainty. At what angle will the ball come off the rim? Will a teammate be waiting in the corner for a pass? Will the other team run to the goal to rebound the ball? Everything the opponents do requires analysis and reaction and thinking about what is the best way to achieve the goal of scoring more points." (Macklin and Sharp, Chapter 2)

This got me thinking for specifically about how to utilize chance and uncertainty and how they can operate separately. The one last thing that stood out to me was the different types of play talked about in chapter 3. I first read about the types of fun, and then read about the types of play. I enjoyed being able to make connections between the two. What I noticed most was the focus on the experience that the player gets from the different types of play. This also connected to what we talked about in class, especially at the end when it talked about how we should play games as a designer.

“Instead of thinking about your own experience, think about what created that experience.” (Macklin and Sharp, Chapter 3)