Physical games, digitaly enabled physical games, and discomfort

edited in General
I thought this article was really interesting.

http://www.copenhagengamecollective.org/2013/07/08/3871/

It lists a lot of interesting games, like Johan Sebastion Joust, and talks a bit about the discomfort they can cause due to the physical contact they encourage.

But also looking at how the physical contact is negotiated between players, and these games can make other players more sensitive to, or aware, other players' boundaries.

Games like:

Dark Room Sex Game

Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally OK Now (B.U.T.T.O.N.)

Magnerize Me

Fingle

Chicanery

Spin the Bottle: Bumpie’s Party

I think there are game designs in this space that could be uncomfortable in bad ways. I think Hugatron's mechanic of using discomfort as a lose condition might be cathartic for some, but potentially intimidating and unpleasant for others. (The article explains this better than I just did)

Which makes it a somewhat weird new exciting design space.

Makes me think of our 2AM Ninja game that we played on the street at AMAZE Johanesburg. We were all guys at that stage, but some girls from the neighboring club came up and joined us in this physical game. Everyone had a good time, and that was really liberating.

Douglas Wilson had some really thoughtful thoughts on issues of social rules.
Thanked by 2Merrik WelshPixie

Comments

  • I read the initial exchange that the CohenhagenGameCollective post is answering, back just after 'it' happened. I think my thoughts on reading it were similar to what CGC has outlined; it's your choice whether or not you play, it's your responsibility (I feel) to not only set your own boundaries and make those boundaries known but to also respect the boundaries of your gaming companion, and addressing uncomfortable issues very often helps not only to further understanding, but to shape better techniques in dealing with them by encouraging empathy and sympathy.

    It IS a 'weird new exciting design space', as you said, for sure. I think not only do the creators have somewhat of a liability to make sure their game is made in such a way that it pokes at comfort zones while retaining the player's ability to back out gracefully, but there's definitely some onus on the player to be acutely aware of their playmates' experience and to foster respect in that light.

    Speaking personally, socialising intimidates me and social contact with strangers even more so - but I'd be willing to participate in games like this both to help me get to grips (hur hur) with that intimidation and to potentially allow other more extroverted people to become more familiar with what it's like to suffer from social awkwardness/shyness. I'm quite confident in myself that I'd clarify when enough is enough. If I weren't, then I just wouldn't participate. That's my call and my decision, and by no means indicates that the game is a failure or is doing something wrong. I'm more inclined to think I'M the one doing something wrong if I enter into a situation that I don't want to be in.
  • Twister.

    But seriously though, I think that anything that makes people uncomfortable is disruptive, and disruptive is good for everyone - though it doesn't necessarily convert to commercial success.
  • WelshPixie said:
    Speaking personally, socialising intimidates me and social contact with strangers even more so
    I'm the same, as are a lot of game dev's I suspect. That's why these games excite me so much. Its a way of engaging with strangers without having to rely on words which so often fail me :)

    I've emailed The Collective to see if we can set up a copy of Dark Room Sex Game for the game party. Fingers crossed!


    Thanked by 1Bensonance
  • I've emailed The Collective to see if we can set up a copy of Dark Room Sex Game for the game party
    Someone please bring a beetroot for comparison, I'm interested in how red my cheeks can possibly get.
    Thanked by 2Merrik EvanGreenwood
  • edited
    This is an interesting space. Being uncomfortable is one thing but having the opportunity to be uncomfortable is another. What I mean to say is, where/when would you play this and with whom?

    Again, I don't mean to say that you shouldn't, rather that you might find it hard to get people to play along, don't you think?
  • Coming from a background of LARP and Tabletop roleplaying, this is hardly a new issue. I have encountered roleplaying games that were designed for the players to explore "uncomfortable" spaces (e.g. Kill puppies for Satan and Poisn'd). This is also a recurring theme in a lot of Nordic LARPs (this is mainly based on my readings, since I have not had a chance to play any).

    Either way, interesting article.
  • edited
    Merrik said:
    I've emailed The Collective to see if we can set up a copy of Dark Room Sex Game for the game party. Fingers crossed!
    They never replied :(
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