Yesterday I was sitting in the coffee shop reading Miguel Sicart’s latest book, Beyond Choices: The Design of Ethical Gameplay and giggling at the passage that read
Cocktail parties are terrible places for doing philosophy. Yet when a polite stranger asks me what I do, I end up awkwardly explaining what ethics is, and how it relates to morality, what the meaning of being good to each other is, and how all this connects to games. This is not small talk.
And then a woman who appeared to be in her mid-70s came up to me and asked me what I was reading about. So I tried to explain to her what it was and then address her follow up questions about what it was that I do and how it was all connected. It was a conversation that fairly quickly spun out into biblical passages about not teaching warlike behavior and counterarguments of analysis of warlike behavior and Christian Crusades. And then we went our separate ways to read and drink caffeinated beverages. Rather than making an enemy I was surprised that she thanked me for taking the time to talk to her and bid me a fond farewell when she left.
More and more, I realize that talking to people about my work is important and that contrary to my belief all kinds of people are interested in what we have to say about games (even if it is only as far as their own interests extend). It also helps me to remember that even when we think (or even they think) that they are totally unreceptive to games and education (or the very existence of games) that they can sometimes at least come to a better understanding of why games are important. And in hindsight the only thing that I really regret is that I didn’t invite her to visit us her at NYMG so that she could see the diversity in the topics that we cover here. Our work gives us a chance to bring more folks into the fold….or at least stop them from trying to destroy us. If I’m really lucky she and I may again one day share a table and have a good discussion.
