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.
I was talking to Dad today and he mentioned how our play directly relates to our lives and vice versus. We interact with real life issues through our games and stories and sometimes our games and stories point us to issues to think about. You were bouncing ideas for A Flower for Mara off of me and I could feel my experiences rise to front of my mind for me to draw on and it wasn’t really unpleasant.
I hope you pursue this idea to the end, Seth. There are things I want to say to people that won’t walk out of my mouth or haven’t had opportunity to. I think could give the opportunities and the space to say something without saying it and to express memories and sorrow that wouldn’t otherwise be expressed. I am actually hoping that it ends up being close to home.
Seth, I think that what you do as a game designer is very important to our culture today and for the church. I also hope you follow this idea through, even if creating this game requires more of you than you thought it would.
Perhaps when I see you later this month you could explain it more? I have a feeling that “A Flower for Mara” is a game that I’d be able to connect to.
Adiel,
I had indeed thought about you when working on this. It does seem to be something that would be up your alley. So, yeah, remind me when we’re in Erie, and I’ll explain. Maybe we can even playtest.