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[Fuji]

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As a kid I was pretty socially awkward, but I was really into games, and more specifically, I was really into the rules. I’d read the manual, the dungeon master guide, and the back of the box top to Scrabble, and daydream about the moment where that specialized knowledge would be needed.

“Oh you want to trade in letters? That’s easy. Place your unwanted tiles face down, then select your new tiles from the bag, and then place your unwanted tiles back in the bag.”

As you can imagine, I was pretty annoying, and I’d get frustrated easily when people take too long for their turn, or started chit-chatting on the side, or when they would inevitably gang up on me. When I’d get frustrated, I’d leave, I’d quit—which is certainly one way to change a game… if you want no one to like you.
I was a spoil-sport. The game theorists say that we dislike spoil-sports even more than we dislike cheaters, because at least cheaters are still in the game, they still pretend the boundaries of the game are real by trying to hide their cheating.

I would leave because I was focused on the wrong thing. These games were social, and because I was bad at being social, I thought that by knowing the rules really well I could level the social playing field. Knowing the correct way to trade in your tiles is infinitely easier than making the girl next to you laugh, but that’s why you’re playing the game, isn’t it?

That’s what I really didn’t get as a child. The rules are just there to carve out a potential space, but it’s what happens in that potential space that really matters. It’s all about the taking too long for a turn, the chit chat on the side, and the ganging up on me; it’s about what it means to be social.

Online in the past few years there’s been this explosion in social applications, platforms, and services, and each one has its own rule set and each one carves out its own potential space. … But so often when you go to these places you find people arguing about the rules of how to potentially do something. It can feel like we built a million baseball fields, and we become so obsessed in how to build them, that sometimes we forget to play the game.

When I think about game changing, I don’t really think about what I do, which is basically to build potential spaces. I think about some of the people who occupy these spaces—the people that shift the focus away from the rules and towards genuine human experience; the people who use these platforms … to keep on trying to figure out what it really means—to be social.

[l3ardoc]

Wow. This is absolutely beautiful.

Thank you for that video. It left me with a warm fuzzy feeling at the end.

[deliciouslydown]

I dont get it. Sorry. Blond.

[Tazer2death]

Yea i kinda zoned out like I do in class, i hope i didnt miss something hilariously funny.

[l3ardoc]

The end is so inspiring.

Just the idea of people using the flower program to communicate, which is to use it beyond it's original purpose, is absolutely amazing. Coupled with the fact that these people are so understanding of one-another, it actually gives me hope in the human race again.

I don't know how to tell you how happy I feel when I watch the end of that.


With Love
|Icarus| - <3

[Fuji]

As a kid I was pretty socially awkward, but I was really into games, and more specifically, I was really into the rules. I’d read the manual, the dungeon master guide, and the back of the box top to Scrabble, and daydream about the moment where that specialized knowledge would be needed.

“Oh you want to trade in letters? That’s easy. Place your unwanted tiles face down, then select your new tiles from the bag, and then place your unwanted tiles back in the bag.”

As you can imagine, I was pretty annoying, and I’d get frustrated easily when people take too long for their turn, or started chit-chatting on the side, or when they would inevitably gang up on me. When I’d get frustrated, I’d leave, I’d quit—which is certainly one way to change a game… if you want no one to like you.
I was a spoil-sport. The game theorists say that we dislike spoil-sports even more than we dislike cheaters, because at least cheaters are still in the game, they still pretend the boundaries of the game are real by trying to hide their cheating.

I would leave because I was focused on the wrong thing. These games were social, and because I was bad at being social, I thought that by knowing the rules really well I could level the social playing field. Knowing the correct way to trade in your tiles is infinitely easier than making the girl next to you laugh, but that’s why you’re playing the game, isn’t it?

That’s what I really didn’t get as a child. The rules are just there to carve out a potential space, but it’s what happens in that potential space that really matters. It’s all about the taking too long for a turn, the chit chat on the side, and the ganging up on me; it’s about what it means to be social.

Online in the past few years there’s been this explosion in social applications, platforms, and services, and each one has its own rule set and each one carves out its own potential space. … But so often when you go to these places you find people arguing about the rules of how to potentially do something. It can feel like we built a million baseball fields, and we become so obsessed in how to build them, that sometimes we forget to play the game.

When I think about game changing, I don’t really think about what I do, which is basically to build potential spaces. I think about some of the people who occupy these spaces—the people that shift the focus away from the rules and towards genuine human experience; the people who use these platforms … to keep on trying to figure out what it really means—to be social.

[BubbRubb]

you should try TTRP. every friday me and my girl host a game night by playing either Scion, D&D, or Changling. we have about 6-7 ppl over and make a potluck out of it. we can never stay on track for more than 15 minutes, because we are all a bunch of goofballs. i can only imagine what it would be like to have the LA team play for one session

[CounterErrorist]

you should try TTRP. every friday me and my girl host a game night by playing either Scion, D&D, or Changling. we have about 6-7 ppl over and make a potluck out of it. we can never stay on track for more than 15 minutes, because we are all a bunch of goofballs. i can only imagine what it would be like to have the LA team play for one session

Can I eat dice now?