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I love this thread. Reminds me of Nguyen's Games: Agency as Art. I especially love the idea that both losing and winning (and ideally all end conditions possible within the model) should be experienced to fully understand the game.

P H Lee 🪬@p-h-lee.bsky.social

following up on the last thing, i thought i'd talk a little bit about how i see systems of rules as art objects. basically, to me, a game system is an art object, but it is also an art object which can only be fully apprehended through play. the structure may be visible, but the themes will not be.

Brooks Barber

@rollplusfun.bsky.social

This thread gets so right that the participatory nature of games is only part of their uniqueness as an art form. The same could be said for many other arts, in the sense that art can only be fully appreciated when it has an audience. Games have this, but they invite players deeper.

20/7/26, 6:47 pm0 reposts0 likes

Brooks Barber

@rollplusfun.bsky.social

20 July

It's the combination of meaning-making through participation, raw systems on display, thematic resonance (or dissonance, when used intentionally), and the variability of outcome brought on by player agency that truly make games unique in what they can convey.