Play as Social Function

[Wormwood]

This is a split from Classifying By Social Function and is related to some discussions I started a while ago, Technical Play and the one word GNS.

John asked me to clarify what I mean by play as a social function. In this sense Play is a set of behaviors which reflects other social and life behaviors but with a function of learning and building social bonds. While, Play has the overt purpose of fun, it has ultimately a learning-focused function for the players. Since social bonds can be construed as informational in their own right, Play is essentially a social behavior used to learn and experience other social and non-social situations.

This is why Celebration or Competition appear to occur within Play, because these social functions are mirrored in Play, and that Play then allows the players to learn more about these social functions.

It is perhaps extreme, though likely not inaccurate, to describe all RPG behavior as Play, and to distinguish between different types of Play (such as creative agendas or technique patterns) as simply patterns in the content being learned by the players. This content may include references to other social functions, but Play no more falls within them than winning Monopoly makes you rich.

I look forward to comments or criticisms of this viewpoint,

  -Mendel S.

[contracycle]

John asked me to clarify what I mean by play as a social function. In this sense Play is a set of behaviors which reflects other social and life behaviors but with a function of learning and building social bonds. While, Play has the overt purpose of fun, it has ultimately a learning-focused function for the players. Since social bonds can be construed as informational in their own right, Play is essentially a social behavior used to learn and experience other social and non-social situations.

I agree with only one caveat.  I think the 'building of social bonds' aspect is one of many features of life explored through play.  But I have seen children play alone for hours with a stick, and did so myself as a child.  IMO it is best seen purely as a self-teaching behaviour without any special status granted to the fact that some of the things the play explores are social behaviours.  It seems to me the explorer is exploring them as being as just as external to them as any other fetaure of the material world.