🦃 Note: No newsletter next week. I’ll be back in your inbox the following Friday. Happy Thanksgiving! Gobble gobble to you and yours.
The tagline of this newsletter is “making games can be as fun as playing games.” But what is “fun?” How do you define it? How can making games be as fun as playing them if we don’t even know what fun is? Oh no!!!
Honestly, I never thought about the question much. The old adage about pornography is “you know it when you see it.” As far as I was concerned, I knew fun when I felt it. There’s a feeling you get when you’re having fun that’s unmistakable. According to a book I just read on the subject, the nature of fun hasn’t been studied that much scientifically, so a science writer decided to create her own definition, based on experiments she conducted with a wide range of field testers.
The book I recently finished is called The Power of Fun by Catherine Price. She has an interesting theory, which is that in order to have “True Fun” (as opposed to the “Fake Fun” of mindlessly scrolling social media or eating a whole bag of Wheat Thins alone at 11 am, which is something I regularly did in college), you must be experiencing the following three feelings simultaneously:
• Playfulness – Being lightheaded and free. Acting without purpose or self-consciousness, solely for enjoyment.
• Connection – Being bonded in the moment. Most often, connection occurs with another person or a group.
• Flow – Being totally involved. In a state of focus, not noticing the passage of time.
These three feelings combine into True Fun, in the same way that the powers of the Planeteer rings combine into Captain Planet. For those of you too young to remember Captain Planet, it was a cartoon about a superhero who used their incredible power to stop looters and polluters. I know, I know. Unbelievable premise, right? Can you imagine a world where looters and polluters face consequences for their actions? *Sad Rimshot*
While certain activities can sometimes facilitate True Fun, no activity is a guarantee of True Fun. For example, you might experience True Fun on a trip to Disney World, where you hop on ride after ride, form happy memories with your family, and before you know it you’re hugging each other watching the fireworks sparkle over Cinderella’s Castle. Or everyone in your family might be bored to tears in an interminable 3 hour wait for Rise of the Resistance, all of you on your phones texting other people about Florida’s disgustingly hot weather.
The book encourages readers to “audit” what kinds of activities inspire True Fun in the reader, with the hope of discovering new ways to increase their True Fun. For example, if I listed out my daily activities and found that I get into a playful flow doing my morning stretch routine to music, then I might consider a workout class to add the element of connection and see if that sparks True Fun. For the record, I do not get into a playful flow when I exercise. I get into a state of mild annoyance at how stiff my joints are in the winter.
My goal with Equip Story has been to put process over product when making games. To shift my art practice toward projects where the process is fun, as opposed to making art where the end goal is profit. Finally, I have a way to measure my progress! And what could be more fun than measuring things?! This metric of Playfulness (P), Connection (C), and Flow (F) seems like a reasonable way to measure fun, so I’m taking a look at my creative projects in 2025 to recall the elements that brought me the most enjoyment. Let’s see if I learn anything about what makes creative work fun for me. (I’m leaving out projects that are still ongoing, like All-Cards, because that process isn’t over yet.) True Fun activities in bold.
* Designing the Initial Prototype – [F] – I got into a nice flow state creating a prototype in Ink. We ended up throwing it out so Gwen could build a proper engine in Godot, but it was a good design exercise for me.
* Writing Marx Brothers Dialogue – [P, C, F] – I amused myself writing Marx Brothers style gags and got into a solid flow during the writing process. Gwen, my partner on the project, gave me a lot of enthusiastic feedback. I’d call this the “True Fun” of the project.
* Final Development Session – [C, F] – Gwen and I worked together one last time before the jam deadline to iron out the kinks in the design. There’s definitely a bond that is forged by collaborating on a project with a looming deadline, and we established a solid rhythm working together. I wouldn’t describe the session as playful, because we were attempting to beat the clock, but it was fun watching Horsefeathers together after we finished.
Adopt-a-Ghost Blueprint (Theme Park Class)
* Drawing the Blueprint – [P, F] – I had a rough start trying to learn Blender for this project. I got into my groove when I decided to hand draw my diagram with Procreate, which tapped into my childhood love of cartooning. Though I eventually presented the diagram, the “connection” element felt disconnected from the design process.
* Programming the Game – [F] – I think I get into an even deeper flow programming than I do writing. When I’m writing, I get into a nice groove, but when I’m programming, it’s like I’m under a hypnotic spell.
* Sourcing the Videos – [P] – It was challenging finding enough funny royalty free videos for the game, but when I found a good one it was very enjoyable. Similarly, I have a great time going to a used bookstore or thrift shop and sifting through junk to find ridiculous treasures.
* Presenting my Slide Show – [P, F] – I do enjoy performing every so often. The five minutes or so I was talking at the party about the history of VCR board games went by quickly and I established a playful report with the crowd.
* Designing New Cards – [C,F] – This prototype was based on a card game I’d created, but a whole new set of easier-to-program card abilities were needed due to the time constraints of the jam. I collaborated closely with Dylan, our studio’s level designer and resident prototyper, to make a new set of cards that would work well. I got into a flow state designing the cards and inputting them into Unity.
* Programming the Game – [C, F] – I spent many hours in a trance designing and implementing Motion Picture. There were moments in development when my flow was painfully broken, but I connected with Gwen as she walked me through how she solves problems, and we enjoyed very good pizza afterwards.
* Demoing the Game – [C] – I was very proud to present Motion Picture to my friends, who inspired the game. I was a little too nervous and frustrated with bugs to be in a playful mood, but I feel like we connected as friends over the prototype as I watched them play it.
Worst Movies Ever Played (Season 3)
* Playing the Game – [P, C, F] – I loved the evenings I spent with Patrick and Brent playing the TTRPG Straight to VHS and recording it for the podcast. Technically, this is a list about things I did in 2025, and we recorded the episodes for Season 3 in 2023-24, but since it was legitimately True Fun, I’ll allow it!
* Uploading the Episodes – [C] – Rather than emailing me a zip file, Patrick came over and we uploaded the episodes to our hosting service together, putting the finishing touches on the episode descriptions and tying up loose ends. We had deep conversations about life and creativity, too. It was a nice hang with an old friend!
* Making a Puppet – [P, C] – I had a great time in the puppetry workshop. The instructors were kind and everyone was so excited to bring a puppet to life, myself very much included. Picking out fabric, learning to sew, glueing on eyeballs, it felt like play. Arts and crafts time for adults. Once I learned how to hand sew, I could feel the beginnings of a flow state. With more experience, I think I could get there.
* Learning to Puppeteer – [P, C, F] – This was the most True Fun part of the experience. As the instructor gave us puppeteering tips, we lip synced with our puppets to 70s rock songs together. My puppet Brandon was rocking out! I loved being in a room of people happily lip syncing with their puppets. What a great day.
Keeping It Sacred: 5 Year Anniversary Event
* Punching Up the Script – [P, C, F] – Even though Amanda and I punched up the script together after work, we had a blast making each other laugh and debating what jokes were appropriate for a rabbi’s award ceremony. The time flew by. Any chance I get to write with Amanda, I take it. No one makes me laugh like she does.
* Hosting the Show – [P, C] – We brought authentic energy and enthusiasm to the ceremony, which the rabbi called out afterwards. I definitely felt the enjoyment and appreciation from the congregation. I never got into a real flow, though, possibly because of awkward last minute cuts to the script, but it was a very enjoyable experience.
This was a surprisingly revealing exercise! It felt like when you take out all your stuff to organize it. Now I’ve got a bunch of thoughts scattered around on the floor about 2025 that I need to organize. I’m going to take some time to reflect and consider what are the elements of a project that are True Fun for me. More soon!
🎲 Your Turn: What’s something you’ve done in your life that was True Fun? It could be a creative project, a good memory, or a regular activity. (Outside of my art practice, I have True Fun going to Meow Wolf exhibits.) Is it weird to audit your fun? Or does it make sense to get analytical on fun if it helps lead to more fun? I’d love your thoughts! Reply directly to this email or leave a comment by pressing the orange button below.
Leave a Reply