The Infinite Playground
A Player's Guide to Imagination
Publisher: MIT Press
Date of Publication: 21 June 2022
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Product details:
| ISBN13: | 9780262543866 |
| ISBN10: | 0262543869 |
| Binding: | Paperback |
| No. of pages: | 208 pages |
| Size: | 196x125x20 mm |
| Weight: | 204 g |
| Language: | English |
| Illustrations: | 1 B&W ILLUS. |
| 0 |
Category:
Long description:
In his final work, a visionary game designer reveals how a surprising range of play-based experiences can unlock our imagination and help us capture the power of fun and delight.
Bernard De Koven (1941 2018) was a pioneering designer of games and theorist of fun. He studied games long before the field of game studies existed. For De Koven, games could not be reduced to artifacts and rules; they were about a sense of transcendent fun. This book, his last, is about the imagination: the imagination as a playground, a possibility space, and a gateway to wonder. The Infinite Playground extends a play-centered invitation to experience the power and delight unlocked by imagination. It offers a curriculum for playful learning.
De Koven guides the readers through a series of observations and techniques, interspersed with games. He begins with the fundamentals of play, and proceeds through the private imagination, the shared imagination, and imagining the world observing, the things we imagine can become the world. Along the way, he reminisces about playing ping-pong with basketball great Bill Russell; begins the instructions for a game called Reception Line with Mill around ; and introduces blathering games Blather, Group Blather, Singing Blather, and The Blather Chorale that allow the player's consciousness to meander freely.
Delivered during the last months of his life, The Infinite Playground has been painstakingly cowritten with Holly Gramazio, who worked together with coeditors Celia Pearce and Eric Zimmerman to complete the project as Bernie De Koven's illness made it impossible for him to continue writing. Other prominent game scholars and designers influenced by De Koven, including Katie Salen Tekinba , Jesper Juul, Frank Lantz, and members of Bernie's own family, contribute short interstitial essays.
Bernard De Koven (1941 2018) was a pioneering designer of games and theorist of fun. He studied games long before the field of game studies existed. For De Koven, games could not be reduced to artifacts and rules; they were about a sense of transcendent fun. This book, his last, is about the imagination: the imagination as a playground, a possibility space, and a gateway to wonder. The Infinite Playground extends a play-centered invitation to experience the power and delight unlocked by imagination. It offers a curriculum for playful learning.
De Koven guides the readers through a series of observations and techniques, interspersed with games. He begins with the fundamentals of play, and proceeds through the private imagination, the shared imagination, and imagining the world observing, the things we imagine can become the world. Along the way, he reminisces about playing ping-pong with basketball great Bill Russell; begins the instructions for a game called Reception Line with Mill around ; and introduces blathering games Blather, Group Blather, Singing Blather, and The Blather Chorale that allow the player's consciousness to meander freely.
Delivered during the last months of his life, The Infinite Playground has been painstakingly cowritten with Holly Gramazio, who worked together with coeditors Celia Pearce and Eric Zimmerman to complete the project as Bernie De Koven's illness made it impossible for him to continue writing. Other prominent game scholars and designers influenced by De Koven, including Katie Salen Tekinba , Jesper Juul, Frank Lantz, and members of Bernie's own family, contribute short interstitial essays.
Table of Contents:
BEGINNING BEFORE THE BEGINNING xi
Foreword: Press Play xi
Celia Pearce
Introduction: Editing Bernie xvi
Holly Gramazio
What
-if
-ing xix
Rocky De Koven
INTRODUCTORY 1
Pre
-posthumous 1
The University of Imagination 5
Something to Play: Prui 7
Imagining a New World 11
Jesper Juul
Every Now and Then 12
Lee Rush
A Million Ways to Play with Bernie, at Least 14
Gonzalo Frasca
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PLAY 17
Something to Play: Reception Line 17
Occupy Fun 19
Occupy Play 21
Something to Play: J Accuse 23
The Well
-Played Game 25
Having Fun Together 28
Something to Play: Tag 30
Changing the Game 31
When Can We Play? 33
Getting People Playing 35
Something to Play: Eclipse 36
After You ve Played 38
Imagination and Possibility 39
Something to Play: Sound Travel 41
Compassion for the Play of Others 43
Sebastian Quack
A Lifetime of Play 45
Frank Lantz
Girls Own This Playground 48
Katie Salen Tekinba
THE PRIVATE IMAGINATION 51
Strengthening the Imagination 51
Something to Play: Silly You and Serious You 52
Something to Play: Walking Games 55
Failure of the Imagination 57
Something to Play: Blather 59
Flowing with Imagination 61
Something to Play: Making Faces 63
The Imagined Audience 64
Something to Play: The Orchestra and the Conductor 67
Slow Play 70
Tracy Fullerton
Ever Since 73
Adriaan de Jongh
Roll with It 74
Greg Trefry
THE SHARED IMAGINATION 77
Something to Play: Darkroom 78
The Collective Imagination 80
Coliberation 82
Something to Play: Group Blather 87
Of Me and We 89
Something to Play: Signifying Nothing 92
Risking Coliberation 95
Something to Play: Moving Pictures for the Community Theater 97
Encouraging Coliberation 99
Something to Play: Zen Counting 101
Something to Play: Handland 102
Tilt
-Mate 104
Ian Bogost
Focus on the Fun 106
Zack Wood
Play Sets Us Free! 108
Stephen Conway
Come Out & Play 110
Catherine Herdlick
THE WORKING IMAGINATION 113
Something to Play: Singing Blather 114
Daydreams and Doodles 115
Something to Play: Drawing Together 116
Imagination and Creativity 118
Making Imagination Real 119
Something to Play: Foley a Capella 122
Imagination and Science 123
Strengthening the Group Imagination 126
Why Imagine? 127
Something to Play: The Label Game 129
Play, Imagination, and Business 131
Something to Play: The Orchestra Game 133
Enter the Dragon 136
Mary Flanagan
Coliberation 139
Douglas Wilson
Like Many of My Generation 141
Akira Thompson
BEING IN THE WORLD 143
Imagination s Role in Creating the World 143
Something to Play: The Blather Chorale 145
The Ecological Imagination 147
Something to Play: Ways of Bee
-ing 148
The Compassionate Imagination 150
Something to Play: There Must Be a Good Reason 153
The Moral Imagination 154
Having Fun Together 157
Something to Play: Passing Humanity 158
Imagination and Endings 160
We, the Prui . . . 163
Colleen Macklin
Stepping Aside 165
John Sharp
A Lightening 166
Tassos Stevens
A LACK OF CONCLUSION 169
Quitting Is Heavenly 172
Elyon De Koven
Afterword 174
Eric Zimmerman
FURTHER READING 177
CONTRIBUTORS 183
Foreword: Press Play xi
Celia Pearce
Introduction: Editing Bernie xvi
Holly Gramazio
What
-if
-ing xix
Rocky De Koven
INTRODUCTORY 1
Pre
-posthumous 1
The University of Imagination 5
Something to Play: Prui 7
Imagining a New World 11
Jesper Juul
Every Now and Then 12
Lee Rush
A Million Ways to Play with Bernie, at Least 14
Gonzalo Frasca
THE FUNDAMENTALS OF PLAY 17
Something to Play: Reception Line 17
Occupy Fun 19
Occupy Play 21
Something to Play: J Accuse 23
The Well
-Played Game 25
Having Fun Together 28
Something to Play: Tag 30
Changing the Game 31
When Can We Play? 33
Getting People Playing 35
Something to Play: Eclipse 36
After You ve Played 38
Imagination and Possibility 39
Something to Play: Sound Travel 41
Compassion for the Play of Others 43
Sebastian Quack
A Lifetime of Play 45
Frank Lantz
Girls Own This Playground 48
Katie Salen Tekinba
THE PRIVATE IMAGINATION 51
Strengthening the Imagination 51
Something to Play: Silly You and Serious You 52
Something to Play: Walking Games 55
Failure of the Imagination 57
Something to Play: Blather 59
Flowing with Imagination 61
Something to Play: Making Faces 63
The Imagined Audience 64
Something to Play: The Orchestra and the Conductor 67
Slow Play 70
Tracy Fullerton
Ever Since 73
Adriaan de Jongh
Roll with It 74
Greg Trefry
THE SHARED IMAGINATION 77
Something to Play: Darkroom 78
The Collective Imagination 80
Coliberation 82
Something to Play: Group Blather 87
Of Me and We 89
Something to Play: Signifying Nothing 92
Risking Coliberation 95
Something to Play: Moving Pictures for the Community Theater 97
Encouraging Coliberation 99
Something to Play: Zen Counting 101
Something to Play: Handland 102
Tilt
-Mate 104
Ian Bogost
Focus on the Fun 106
Zack Wood
Play Sets Us Free! 108
Stephen Conway
Come Out & Play 110
Catherine Herdlick
THE WORKING IMAGINATION 113
Something to Play: Singing Blather 114
Daydreams and Doodles 115
Something to Play: Drawing Together 116
Imagination and Creativity 118
Making Imagination Real 119
Something to Play: Foley a Capella 122
Imagination and Science 123
Strengthening the Group Imagination 126
Why Imagine? 127
Something to Play: The Label Game 129
Play, Imagination, and Business 131
Something to Play: The Orchestra Game 133
Enter the Dragon 136
Mary Flanagan
Coliberation 139
Douglas Wilson
Like Many of My Generation 141
Akira Thompson
BEING IN THE WORLD 143
Imagination s Role in Creating the World 143
Something to Play: The Blather Chorale 145
The Ecological Imagination 147
Something to Play: Ways of Bee
-ing 148
The Compassionate Imagination 150
Something to Play: There Must Be a Good Reason 153
The Moral Imagination 154
Having Fun Together 157
Something to Play: Passing Humanity 158
Imagination and Endings 160
We, the Prui . . . 163
Colleen Macklin
Stepping Aside 165
John Sharp
A Lightening 166
Tassos Stevens
A LACK OF CONCLUSION 169
Quitting Is Heavenly 172
Elyon De Koven
Afterword 174
Eric Zimmerman
FURTHER READING 177
CONTRIBUTORS 183
