Adult play, psychology and design

Leeuwen, Lieselotte van; Westwood, Diane

doi:10.1080/14626260802312665

Cited by 39 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Van Leeuwen & Westwood (2008) provide an explanation to this finding, as they identify how negative socio-cultural attitudes have undermined the importance of play in later life. Adult play is often regarded as an inconsequential, shallow deviation from the work ethic.…”

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confidence: 96%

Towards a Gerontoludic Manifesto

Schutter

Abeele

2015

A&A

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Digital games have become an important part of the technoscape, not only for youngsters, but for players of all ages. Older adults are a large, currently still largely untapped market for innovative game research and development. However, the current discourse on games and ageing can largely be categorized into two themes. The first theme refers to digital games framed as a way for older adults to improve certain skills. The useful, pragmatic qualities, rather than the fun, hedonic aspects of games are emphasized. The second theme identifies the various age-related constraints that prevent older adults from playing. It focuses on the cognitive and physical limitations of older adults. Underlying both themes is a reductionist perspective on ageing as merely a process of decline and debilitation. In this article, we present a “gerontoludic” manifesto. Firstly, games should not be marketed solely as having the purpose of dealing with or mitigating age-related decline and focus on positive aspects of older age (adagio 1: growth over decline). Secondly, age-related adjustments should never interfere with the actual gameplay of the game (adagio 2: playfulness over usefulness). Finally, game researchers and game industry should put more efforts in understanding what differentiates elderly players, rather than seeing them as united in their age-related impairments (adagio 3: heterogeneity over unification). As this manifesto is a first step that needs further abutment by a wider community, we welcome debate and additions from game designers and researchers to further this manifesto and to move beyond ageism in games.

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confidence: 96%

Towards a Gerontoludic Manifesto

Schutter

Abeele

2015

A&A

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“…As van Leeuwen and Westwood (2008) point out, in the case of adults, play is most usually studied in therapeutic contexts. In contrast, WwSH has emphasised an alternative conceptualisation of play within a radical political context.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

‘We can do it imaginatively first!’: Creating a magic circle in a radical community education setting

McNicol

2017

Studies in the Education of Adults

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Working with Social Haunting was a community-based participatory research project that aimed to investigate how contested pasts carry affective meanings in ways that defy conventional forms of knowledge representation. The project illustrated the potential of the use of playful approaches within adult learning, and specifically within a radical community educational approach that draws on transformative learning theory. This article reports on a workshop (or Ghost Lab) in which members of Unite the Community in Barnsley used the medium of comics to explore and re-imagine serious political themes. In this context, the Ghost Lab method established a 'magic circle', within which it was possible to circumvent ideological differences and allow for the exploration of fictional realities that, while they have a basis in the real world, are not limited by conventional codes of practice, rules or structures. This approach appeared to allow participants space to explore not just the 'as if' or 'what if', but also what Bloch (1986) has called the 'not-yet', thereby conjuring with both personal and political historical alternatives that could have been taken, but were not. By transforming their personal and political experiences through the creation of comics, participants were able to reflect on these experiences and consider how they might be interpreted in different ways within a 'fictional reality'.

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“…In addition, individual differences as well as changes in structure and process of play during the life span might enable better understanding of why people play (Van Leeuwen & Westwood, 2008).…”

Section: Players' Experience Different Contexts and Different Meaningsmentioning

confidence: 99%

From Separation to Integration

Doh

Whang

2013

Games and Culture

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This research examined the identity development of Korean adult players in the online game world. Q methodology was used to investigate the subjectivity of self-development in Mabinogi (Massive Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game). Thirty-seven adult players sorted 57 behavior statements to reflect the changes in their behaviors from past to present. Three types of self-development were found: achievement-oriented development, control-oriented development, and relational development. The behavior patterns of these three types were compared to identify similarities and differences among them in terms of psychological meanings and values in the online game life. The results illustrate that the online game world can be defined as a new behavioral setting, made possible by digital technology, in which individuals are able to experience three different paths of identity development.

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Adult play, psychology and design

Cited by 39 publications

References 7 publications

Towards a Gerontoludic Manifesto

Towards a Gerontoludic Manifesto

‘We can do it imaginatively first!’: Creating a magic circle in a radical community education setting

From Separation to Integration

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