The most useful resource to me as a game design teacher is my three year old son, Brighton. For toddlers, all of life is playful, and even now he is stomping around the dining room in his underwear, climbing on chairs, singing impromptu songs, and telling me “look, daddy, I’m a superdog!” I’m enjoying re-learning some of the things I’ve forgotten over the years about how to play and have fun.
I think it was Bernard Suits who coined the term “lusory attitude” to describe the willingness of game players to take roundabout, complicated paths to goal-achievement. Brighton is certainly in possession of the lusory attitude; rather than simply stepping down from the chair onto the floor, he chooses instead to flap his arms wildly, recite an impromptu bit of dialog, then dance his way down to the floor.
Today the boys and I spent a lazy Saturday playing around the house. While mom cashed in on a well-deserved nap, we worked our way through an episode of Scooby Doo, a book about telling time, an impromptu Lego-building contest to see who could build the tallest ship, and a digital art session using Tux Paint on the computer. Brighton is not yet very good with a mouse, but after a few tries, he was able to click and drag lines and shapes onto the palette and change colors. He is already a better artist than his father. Now I just need to start him on writing some code…
This playful, lazy Saturday was great; here’s hoping tomorrow is just as good.
Lusory is one of my terms of the week. After 6 years old its all about finding that chair again….and finding excuses to flap out wings.
Remember these Saturdays.
Scooby Doo will never seem as good.