How does a person experience PLAY? Play experience design (PXD) beyond toys, games & objects

#PlayExperienceDesign #PXD

When people hear the word play, they often think of toys and games. As a result, many assume that play occurs only when we interact with these products. However, the experience of play is not confined to a toy, a game, or any object.

A toy does not create play on its own. A game does not create play on its own.

Rather, these are media that can enable play.

Play is ultimately a state of mind that emerges from the right combination of

• actions we perform

• the meanings we create, and

• the way we engage with a situation.

And so, play can be experienced through many different actions such as moving, making, imagining, listening, watching, pretending, solving, arranging, competing, collaborating, exploring, or by simply entering a playful state of mind, which can be triggered by different events. Yet, none of these actions is inherently playful.

Walking is not automatically play, but a child may turn walking into play by hopping in a repetitive pattern or by landing on certain tiles, or maybe even pretending that certain sections of the floor are lava.

Making is not automatically play, but a person experimenting with paper and origami, curious about what all can emerge, may experience playfulness through the act of making.

Solving is not automatically play, but a puzzle, when approached with curiosity and exploration can feel playful. But, the same act can feel entirely different when performed under pressure.

Arranging is not automatically play, but a child sorting her coloured blocks or creating patterns may experience the activity as play.

Watching is not automatically play, but looking at clouds and imagining shapes, creatures, or stories can transform passive observation into a playful experience.

All this suggests that play is not defined 'just by the object' being used or 'just by the action' being performed. Instead, play emerges when certain conditions come together.

• The activity is entered into voluntarily.

• There is freedom to explore, experiment, interpret, or express oneself.

• The participant feels able to make choices and influence what happens.

• Mistakes and unexpected outcomes are accepted as part of the experience.

• The activity allows room for imagination to develop personal meaning.

• The focus is on engaging with the experience itself, rather than merely completing a required task.

When these conditions are present, ordinary actions can become playful. Therefore, play is not simply something we find in toys or games. It is a way of experiencing the world.

Play is not an object. Play is not an activity. Play is a way of experiencing an activity. Play is a state of mind that an experience can intentionally (by design) or unintentsionally lead a person into.