I’ve always loved games. I love playing games as my primary method of interacting with other humans. It’s safe to say that I don’t really know how to just engage with people without some kind of artifice that gives me a reason to do so. I used to carry a video camera around with me and film things incessantly until someone finally told me it made them uncomfortable to alway be on camera and asked me if that was the reason I was doing it. To throw them off balance and second guess their own behavior? This is not why I was doing it. At least not directly, it’s possible that I was allowed to feel more comfortable around others when I had the camera in tow because they were less comfortable. But honestly, I think it was more just the idea that if I had something to focus on besides eye-contact that still gave me a reason to connect with them, it was a welcome intermediary from my perspective.
I suspect this is something that a lot more people do than even realize. Some people find more professional or socially accepted ways to interact with others through a filter or screen of some kind than by just honestly and openly communicating. They might be in sales and rely on a bag of tricks they can use to engage and connect with people for their job. They might be an artist who connect through their art. Even performing artists are connecting through their particular skillset. I’ve heard multiple stand-up comedians describe how uncomfortable they are at parties or regular social situations despite it largely being their job to command your attention and appear comfortable doing it. They can be “on” or “off” and their personalities show through very differently in those two states. And this artificial method of connection affords them the chance to give the kind of impression of themselves that they want to exude. And through it they are able to “fool” others and themselves into believing they are charming and witty and fun to be around. And maybe they are, I’m not here to say they’re not. My point is just that we are all looking for ways to connect.
I like to do it through playing games with people. And my preference is to be in the same room with them, sitting around a table, learning new rules of engagement, or honing strategies. I’ve discovered through playing games with my kids that winning the game isn’t the point for me. I don’t have anything to prove that can be demonstrated through superior gameplay. But I still like identifying strategies, comparing one against another and deconstructing why they work.
My wish is that through this site, I will have the opportunity to combine the need to be productive somehow with my urge to “waste” my time. I hope you’ll come along with me and we’ll waste a little time together. Wanna come play with me?
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