Playframes : How Do We Know We Are Playing?

Celia Pearce

ISBN 10: 0262550814 / ISBN 13: 9780262550819

Published by MIT Press Ltd Dez 2024, 2024

About this Item

Neuware - An exploration of how we know we re playing and what happens when we don t.Playframes builds on the work of Gregory Bateson and Erving Goffman to take a deep dive into Bateson s primary question: How do we know we re playing In this book, Celia Pearce addresses this question by building a comprehensive theory of the specific mechanisms that metacommunicate the message "this is play." This "big tent" approach covers a broad swath of playframes, ranging from theme parks to cosplay, board and video games, and sports, and describes how spatial and temporal frames, as well as artifacts such as costumes and uniforms, toys, and sports equipment, let us know when a play activity is underway.Pearce teases out distinctions between ritual and play activities, including social practices in which they merge or are indistinguishable, as well as incidents of frame breach or misalignment, where participants perception of "what is going on" diverges. These principles are illustrated with a series of four topical studies that explore various scenarios in which play and non-play contexts are juxtaposed or blurred. These span from delightful (fan convention cosplay and simulated and virtual weddings) to confusing (virtual currency and bitcoin) to dangerous. Building on recent research, the book culminates with an in-depth analysis of the gaming roots of the January 6 Capitol insurrection and argues that playframe breach and deliberate misalignment were the major contributing factors.

Seller Inventory # 9780262550819

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Playframes : How Do We Know We Are Playing?
• Publisher: MIT Press Ltd Dez 2024
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0262550814
• ISBN 13: 9780262550819
• Binding: Taschenbuch
• Condition: Neu
• Dimensions: 229W x 153H x 28D millimeters 229 millimeters width by 153 millimeters height by 28 millimeters depth
• Weight: 414 grams

About this title

Synopsis

An exploration of how we know we’re playing and what happens when we don’t.

2026 Erving Goffman Award for Outstanding Scholarship in the Ecology of Social Interaction

Playframes builds on the work of Gregory Bateson and Erving Goffman to take a deep dive into Bateson’s primary question: How do we know we’re playing? In this book, Celia Pearce addresses this question by building a comprehensive theory of the specific mechanisms that metacommunicate the message “this is play.” This “big tent” approach covers a broad swath of playframes, ranging from theme parks to cosplay, board and video games, and sports, and describes how spatial and temporal frames, as well as artifacts such as costumes and uniforms, toys, and sports equipment, let us know when a play activity is underway.


Pearce teases out distinctions between ritual and play activities, including social practices in which they merge or are indistinguishable, as well as incidents of frame breach or misalignment, where participants’ perception of “what is going on” diverges. These principles are illustrated with a series of four topical studies that explore various scenarios in which play and non-play contexts are juxtaposed or blurred. These span from delightful (fan convention cosplay and simulated and virtual weddings) to confusing (virtual currency and bitcoin) to dangerous. Building on recent research, the book culminates with an in-depth analysis of the gaming roots of the January 6 Capitol insurrection and argues that playframe breach and deliberate misalignment were the major contributing factors.

About the Author

Celia Pearce is the author of Communities of Play (MIT Press) and IndieCade: A History. Her award-winning game designs include Virtual Adventures and eBee, an electronic quilt game, which won the 2017 award for Most Innovative Board Game at the Boston Festival of Independent Games. She is also a cofounder of IndieCade and Co-Executive Director of the Playable Theatre Project.