“I recognize the value of building an established discipline, and of crafting a shared set of principles that define game design as a profession. But, I also think that in our efforts to define and legitimize our practice as a professional discipline we sometimes forget the history we inherit, the legacy of games made by communities of players, games made by amateurs, by dilettantes, by mathematicians, mothers, scientists, gym teachers, shepherds, inventors, philosophers, eccentrics and cranks.
And in honor of this tradition I would like to suggest other verbs for us to describe where games come from, alternatives to the overconfident precision of the word “design”. Words like invent, discover, compose, write, find, grow, perform, build, support, identify, copy, re-assemble, excavate and preserve.”
brainfood
Just been informed by Eldest that there are over 150 wookie words for “wood” but none for “artist”.
Season’s greetings!
Apologies if we have missed anyone on the Christmas card list. Things have been a tad up and down recently with the situation with Mum, poets going out, the funeral, the build going on and what not.
But Dad’s with us for Christmas now and the children are all in their new rooms, so it’s all systems go.
Hope all is well with you and yours and that everyone has a wonderful time over the holidays.
Love
The Greers.
x
Two Eyes and New Glasses.
Back at work with new glasses. They’re so good I can see that idea you just had.
Your second eye of the day.
A Message to Young People from Andrei Tarkovsky
“I don’t know… I think I’d like to say only that they should learn to be alone and try to spend as much time as possible by themselves. I think one of the faults of young people today is that they try to come together around events that are noisy, almost aggressive at times. This desire to be together in order to not feel alone is an unfortunate symptom, in my opinion. Every person needs to learn from childhood how to be spend time with oneself. That doesn’t mean he should be lonely, but that he shouldn’t grow bored with himself because people who grow bored in their own company seem to me in danger, from a self-esteem point of view.”
via BrainPickings
My Autumn’s Done Come
Happy Birthday Mr. Lynch
image via
Yesterday, as well as being New President Day, it was the birthday of illustrious film maker David Lynch.
I recently finished reading his book “Catching the Big Fish“, a very personal account of his approach to creativity, and the role that meditation plays in it.
I have often felt that techniques like meditation may result in bland art, due to lack of “pain”, a deluded idea partly inspired by Captain Kirk (I’ll explain another time). Mr Lynch is a very good example of how this is not the case.
In the book he writes:
“Anger and depression and sorrow are beautiful things in a a story, but they’re like poison for the film maker or artist. They’re like a vice grip on creativity. If you’re in that grip you can hardly get out of bed, much less experience the flow of creativity and ideas. You must have clarity to create. You have to be able to catch ideas.”
Here is a little seen, very short film by Mr Lynch:
movie via Attentiondeficitdisorderly Too Flat
Belated birthday greetings to you, Mr Lynch.
Paul Greer 