Playing close to home
2007-11-07A term that’s wandered across the pond from the Jeepformers is “playing close to home”. This means that you use the games to interact with your own experiences and emotions and to share them with your fellow players. It’s scary and powerful and dangerous and sometimes a very, very good thing. When it doesn’t blow up, that is. It’s not the only way to make the games meaningful, but I do think that it needs to be a tool in the toolbox.
Normally this is connected to playing the game. I have this sinking suspicion that designing A Flower For Mara is going to require designing close to home. I’m not sure I’m really looking forward to that.