Still, even though Salen and Zimmerman spend 700 pages explaining why it does not have to be so, more observations about meaningless play, and the methods with which to convert the meaningless into the meaningful, would provide for a stronger concept.
Salen and Zimmerman promise to give “clarity and form” to the design trade, and this is what they deliver.
Because Salen and Zimmerman posit an ideal, theoretical player, who by average knows how to play and who is familiar with a number of gaming contexts, “meaningful play” is always a possibility.
For a lowly game researcher, such as the author of this review, the first meeting with KatieSalen’s and Eric Zimmerman’s magnum opus is best approached with a quiet respect, mingled, of course, with a healthy amount of fear.
Salen and Zimmerman promise to give “clarity and form” to the design trade, and this is what they deliver.
Because Salen and Zimmerman posit an ideal, theoretical player, who by average knows how to play and who is familiar with a number of gaming contexts, “meaningful play” is always a possibility.
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