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Being Playful
If we examine how the word "play" is used and concentrate on its so-called transferred meanings we find talk of the play of light, the play of the waves, the play of the components in a bearing case, the inner play of limbs, the play of forces, the play of gnats, even a play on words…. This accords with the original meaning of the word "spiel" as "dance," which is still found in many word forms. —Brian Sutton-Smith, The Ambiguity of Play We start with the largest of the three categories: simply being playful. The preceding quote from Sutton-Smith points to some of the many contexts outside of games, toys, and ludic behavior to which we can apply our general definition of "play." Like the "free play" of a gear, the instances of play identified by Sutton-Smith are all moments when a system is in motion, in a kind of dance. ("Spiel," the German word for play, originally meant dance, as Sutton-Smith points out.) Take Sutton-Smith's example of a "play on words." There are many kinds of wordplay, from the nonsense rhymes of Dr. Seuss, to the rhythmic intricacies of freestyle rap, to the semantic doubling of a children's riddle. In every case, the wordplay embodies free movement within a more rigid structure. If you will pardon the cheesy humor, consider the following joke: Q: Why is six afraid of seven? A: Because seven ate nine. The "play" of this particular joke rests in the fact that "ate" and "eight" are homonyms.Saying "seven eight nine" is merely counting, whereas "seven ate nine" becomes a genuine cause of alarm for our personified numerals. What is happening in this instance of play? Within the more rigid and fixed sets of linguistic meanings, the joke has managed to carve out a space of play, a movement in which unexpected characters come to life and express double meanings usually repressed within more utilitarian communication. The joke "plays" on our expectations of language. But without the larger context of conventional language use in which the joke takes shape, the joke would lose its humor and sense of play. The play exists both because of and in opposition to the structures that give it life. Even if we use some of Sutton-Smith's more abstract examples, such as the play of light, our definition of play still applies. Imagine light reflecting from your wristwatch to make a bright spot on the wall: we say that the light is playing on the wall. From within the structures of the physics of light, perception, and architecture emerges the unusual circumstance of a floating speck of light on the wall. The light playfully calls attention to itself, changing the relationship between your wristwatch and the architectural space. Your instinct is to play with the light, even for just a moment, to experience this new set of relationships between the movements of your body and the surface of the wall. The play of the light, and your play with the play of the light, is only made possible by the ordinary sets of experiential relationships that this instance of play transforms. Are these examples of "being playful" transformative as well? Possibly. Maybe the play of the light transforms your behavior: perhaps you make a habit of sitting in the same room at the same time the next day to enjoy the possibilities of the play. Or maybe telling the "seven ate nine" joke at dinner leads to an entire evening of math jokes that wouldn't otherwise have occurred. Every instance of play carries with it the seeds of transformative play.
How is this general understanding of being playful relevant to game design? When you are designing a game, you should maximize meaningful play for your participants at every possible moment. Often, this means thinking about how you can inject the proper spirit of playfulness into an otherwise ordinary behavior. You Don't Know Jack, for example, took the normally chore-like routine of entering in player names, loading game data, and outlining game rules and turned it into an entertainingly playful series of events that even experienced players of the game continue to enjoy. Could you make an entire game out of an experience that is typically ordinary or tedious? How about a game designed to be played while waiting in line? Or watching the news? Or driving a car? Once you understand that play is latent in any human activity, you can find inspiration for play behaviors and contexts anywhere.
