Description: This final work from a visionary game designer reveals how a surprising range of play-based experiences can unlock our imagination and help us capture the power of fun and delight.
Bernard De Koven (1941-2018) was a pioneering designer of games and theorist of fun. He studied games long before the field of game studies existed. For De Koven, games could not be reduced to artifacts and rules; they were also about experiencing fun. His final book, The Infinite Playground, is about the power of the imagination: the imagination as a playground, a possibility space, and a gateway to wonder. De Koven guides the readers through a series of observations and techniques, interspersed with games. He begins with the fundamentals of play, and proceeds through the private imagination, the shared imagination, and imagining the world--observing, "the things we imagine can become the world." Along the way, he reminisces about playing ping-pong with basketball great Bill Russell; begins the instructions for a game called Reception Line with "Mill around"; and introduces blathering games--Blather, Group Blather, Singing Blather, and The Blather Chorale--that allow the player's consciousness to meander freely. The Infinite Playground extends a play-centered invitation to experience the power and delight unlocked by imagination, offering a curriculum for playful learning.Review Quotes: This book is magical, sacred, beautiful, and inspired. It will reintroduce you to mysterious joys of play you may have long forgotten. It will reveal to you surprising powers of gaming that will help you make a better future. Read this book now. Keep it as a treasured favorite forever.
- Jane McGonigal, author of New York Times bestsellers Reality Is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World and SuperBetter: The Power of Living Gamefully
- Tracy Fullerton, Director, USC Game Innovation Lab