What is a Game? anutara 1.1
Finite & Infinite Constraints
What is a Game? Why do we like to play certain games and not others? What makes a game hold our interest? Why do some people play games but don’t call them games? And why do some people seem to live a game-less existence?
each of us must try to answer these questions and more for ourselves. attempting to answer is a kind of play in itself.
i will try to answer for myself, where i am now in my life, and also, why i’ve always had a push-pull relationship with gaming & play in this society.
included is a template i made, a questionnaire (with personal examples) to help people explore what they enjoy, don’t enjoy, and want more of in their gaming/play. this version is geared toward role playing games, otherwise known as rpgs or ttrpgs (the tt is for table top, to distinguish from video games).
along the way i’m going to spill out some of my current desires and imaginings as i work on the design of my own indie rpg. this sub-blog is highly WIP (work in progress)
Brief Historical Timeline of my life in games
Comic Books, Board Games, Video Games, Role Playing Games, Card Games
This is where i started out (age 3-21)
Improv, Theater, Dance, Movement
This is where i went (age 28-38)
Nondual Play, Gamification of Experience/Perception, Death Practice/Deathclown
This is where i’m at (age 38-43)