In this chapter, Salen and Zimmerman really emphasize this idea of meaningful play, and they explain it as, "learning to create great game experiences for players- experiences that have meaning and are meaningful" (Salen and Zimmerman, pg. 60). The two authors give examples of this meaningful play such as, "the intellectual dueling of two players in a well-met game of chess" or "the improvisational, team-based balletics of Basketball" (Salen and Zimmerman, pg. 60). Each of these instances relate to play in the form of a game. In my mind, meaningful play can be seen in many different forms or experiences, but has the common goal of gaining personal (physical, emotional or educational) development while participating in an entertaining game. However, like Salen and Zimmerman note, play does not necessarily come from the game itself, but rather from the way the players interact with the game in order to play it.
An example from my personal life comes from a childhood filled with card and board games played with members of my family. Any time my parents found themselves with an hour of free time in their days, they would encourage us to join them in playing a round of 31 (my favorite card game of all time), or 30 minutes of UNO or Trouble. Their point in doing this was to act like a teacher, and take on that role to stimulate our brains to think creatively or strategically, rather than just allowing us to play with Polly Pockets or kick a soccer ball around all day. The point behind playing these games was to participate in meaningful play, team based games that allowed for that personal development and family bonding. This allowed me to become closer to my parents while learning how to play strategic games and have fun all at once.
Hi Caleigh, You did a great job of explaining the concept of meaningful play in relation to the definition Salen and Zimmerman give. As you said, meaningful play is how people use an entertaining game to continue their personal development. I also appreciated that you mentioned that meaningful play doesn't come from the game itself but how we as players interact with the game. In the article Salen and Zimmerman state, “One of the difficulties in identifying meaningful play in games is the near infinite variety of forms that play can take”(Salen and Zimmerman, 60). This quote makes me think about how every game that I can think of I can make an argument for why it should be considered meaningful play, so are there any examples of games that are not meaningful play?
ReplyDeleteHi Caleigh! I agree with Alix that you have done a really good job of explaining the idea(s) behind meaningful play and what they can look like based on the reading as well as your own interpretation. I think that the concept of taking part in play is actually more powerful when we realize that the player is what has the ability to make it meaningful. I enjoyed learning more about what kind of meaningful play you took part in as you were growing up. I think that oftentimes what we are surrounded by when we are at pivotal times in our lives (like children growing into young adults), things tend to stick with us. It's interesting to hear how your parents always encouraged you to join them in playing 31 whenever you guys had free time and now it is your favorite game - I'm sure that comes from all of the great times you have had associated with playing that with your family. Great job!
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