Devlog week 2- 3377

The word ‘play’ carries different meanings and experiences to everyone around the world. Some individuals may think of folk games such as freeze tag or beer pong, where others may think of video games such as Madden or the board game Monopoly. In the article about Eric McMillan, his creativity changed the way people experience play through creating and designing theme parks with his practice and skills. McMillian believed that “...play wasn’t a frivolous distraction from learning, but something essential to childhood and indeed humanity” (Hune-Brown). He had a plan of action to produce a project that addressed human needs and changed the way play is experienced in water parks. According to Sicart, “Through play we experience the world, we construct it, and we destroy it, and we explore who we are and what we can say” (Sicart, Play Matters, pg.5). From class, I learned that it takes bravery to play a game because if you are unfamiliar with the game, you have to learn the rules, both known and hidden, and the various ways to play. The process of a game design requires six specific elements for the game design to be successful. The six elements include actions, rules, goals, objects, playspace, and players. Even though games should always have these elements, the players are who is responsible to follow or change the set rules of the game that were originally learning more about the opponent. The game we designed involves fixed objects on the ground (cones or cups) that each player tries to hit with another object (bean bag or ball). If an object on the ground is hit, player one has to shout to player two an identity question. Some identity question examples are: “What is your favorite food?” or “What is your pet peeve?” This game does not involve competition, but it is meant to promote interaction and ways to learn between two individuals that are unfamiliar with each other. The end goal of this game is to create “...this kind of collective sense of safety and openness tend to be those that are most intentionally designed to be fun” (Koven, A Playful Path). Similarly, the ‘number’ game we played as a class was designed to allow the players to have fun through interactions, thinking backwards, and remembering a long number. This game was fun to play, easy to learn, and was inclusive to all players in the class.

Hune-Brown, Nicholas. “From Ball Pits to Water Slides: The Designer Who Changed Children’s Playgrounds for Ever.” The Guardian, 23 Sept. 2020,

www.theguardian.com/news/2019/aug/09/ball-pits-water-slides-playground-design-eric-mcmillan-childrens-village-ontario-place-toronto. Accessed 5 Sept. 2021.

Koven, De Bernard. A Playful Path. Null, Lulu.com, 2014. Accessed 55 Sept. 2021.