PLAY I do not think that word means what she thinks it means (Gaming)

by Ragashingo , Official DBO Cryptarch, Monday, November 04, 2013, 15:02 (4036 days ago) @ SonofMacPhisto

That was... interesting.

I think the author is right in that not everything needs to be made to make people happy. That "interactives" (my word here) can be about the designer's point of view and about imparting something to the person doing the interaction. It's a valid point. What I take issue with is calling these "interactives" games, and the people doing the interaction "players."

The first definition of play, the one I think of when referring to playing a game, is to "engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose." There is a huge disconnect from this typical meaning of play (and thus player) and what this author was referring to. She didn't want players to play with her creations, she wanted serious people to interact and learn from them. I find the rest of the article a bit nonsensical because my definition of play and player do not relate to what she was describing. If one accepts that she isn't really talking about games, play, or players, then the article loses most of its meaning.

I also take a bit of issue with the "rant" about game characters usually being white, heterosexual American men. Not that she is somehow wrong about that, but because it didn't have anything to do with what it means to play, or something being player centric. I felt she was mixing in a second issue (do video games too often portray stereotypical heroes... or something like that) in the middle of a piece supposedly about what it means to play or be player centric.

So yeah, I think she misdefined play and player which, for me at least, overshadowed her true point that "interactives" can be about more than play. They can have a serious, non-fun, not meant to entertain point. I don't think the article really even discussed or relates to the state of the video game industry or AAA games or any of that, except for the odd midstream rant about stereotypical video game heroes.

Or maybe Cody Miller said it better:

She is gravely misinterpreting what video games are and why people play them then.