Play as context, not content.

Maybe Roger Ebert’s instincts were correct. Maybe it’s not possible to escape the gravity of planet Game when designing interactivity. Maybe all interaction always turns into some kind of game.

Ever since reading Chris Crawford’s definition, when I say interaction I think conversation. Is a conversation a sort of game? It is, isn’t it? Like a lot of social behavior, it is governed by rules and ultimately quite playful. Even in serious situations like legal administration or funeral ceremonies, there is an element of play.

One could of course argue that the play aspect still serves the purpose of trivializing the matter. The customs and rituals surrounding law and death help us cope with the situation, by basically diverting our attention.

But they only offer this opportunity. The player does not need to accept this escape. He can still live through every emotion of the event while following the prescribed rules of behavior. In a way, the ceremony allows him to have a more personal, introverted experience of his emotions, since it formalizes the interaction with others.

So the trick seems to be to allow the playing to happen on a level where it doesn’t disturb the event. To use play as a framework, and not as an expression. Problems only occur when play gets the upper hand, when playing is done for the sake of playing.

So contrary to the general assumption in the videogames industry, play should not be challenging at all. Play should be easy, simple, strict, and well known (perhaps even rehearsed). It should create a formal context for the content. We should stop thinking of play structures in the form of challenges and rewards. But think of them as ceremonies and rituals instead. The challenges and rewards should come from the content, not the form. And that form can be quite abstract. It doesn’t need to express anything at all.

Play is the book and the language, but not the novel. Play is the table and the plate, but not the meal. Could it be that we have been mistaking the positions of horse and carriage?