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Apr 05

Passive & Active Senses with Media

by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Active / Passive Media, Active / Passive Senses, Awareness / Understanding, Sense: Hearing / Ear, Senses: Seeing / Vision, Senses: Speaking / Communication, Senses: Touch / Nerves
In an earlier post I listed the seven human senses that interact with games. I also explained that not all of them are essential to engaging with games with Taste & Smell being two of the seven that can be left out. This leaves five essential senses: Seeing, Hearing, Touching, Speaking, and Awareness. The five senses are employed when we use engage with any media, entertainment, or art. We need all five senses when we read a book, watch a movie, or play a game. Yet, the degree that they are used does differ which helps explain why games are unique. There exists a continuum of passivity to activity that marks how games are different from media like books, music, and shows (including movies, television, and cinema). To help explain why games are different, I divide the five senses into Passive and Active categories. Passive Senses are defined by their latent information gathering done through the visual and audio senses. Active Senses differ from Passive Senses because they require action and communication. Let’s begin by discussing the two Passive Senses: P1) Seeing: Games, books, and shows all share the need for the Seeing Sense. A video or computer game cannot […]
Mar 15

Human Senses & Games

by Chris Billows in Playstates Theory 0 comments tags: Awareness / Understanding, Introduction, Sense: Hearing / Ear, Senses: Seeing / Vision, Senses: Smell / Taste, Senses: Speaking / Communication, Senses: Touch / Nerves
It is documented that animals have play behavior, but it is only Humans that play games. In order for all animals to play they do so through their range of senses. There are the obvious ones such as sight, hearing, and touch but there are some that are more subtle or so powerful we tend not to think of them. Using ancient Buddhist psychology’s insight into the human condition, I thought it would be useful to evaluate how this list of senses interacts with games. What follows is a list of seven senses that most human beings have. I will describe each one and then list how it relates to games.   (I) Seeing through our Eyes     This is the primary sense used when it comes to games. A video or computer game cannot be played unless it can be seen since all games are played on some kind of screen with projected images. I can think of one rare exception, but in this case the exception does not make the rule.     (II) Hearing through our Ears     The secondary sense used when it comes to games. Some of the earliest games (played on main […]
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