We as humans are social beings. One of the first ways for us to understand the world was through playing. Our parents introduced us to the idea of “school,” where we met other children, socialized, and played. At that age, when we play, we don’t go around thinking, “What is the goal?” We just do it because it is fun. Children play for the experience, the enjoyment. Play is rarely solitary; it is shaped by rhythm, response, and shared attention. A seesaw captures this idea particularly well. It functions well when two bodies participate. One side goes down, the other goes up. The experience exists not in a single body, but a relationship between them.
In this project, we explore play as a social human trait by designing two creatures whose experiences, movements, and behaviors depend on one another. Highlighting that a play emerges through a shared effort, imbalance, and response from others.
This project examines play as a human trait within the context of Artificial Creatures by building two bots connected by a seesaw. Rather than focusing on the play as an internal emotion, we approach it as a social act that emerges through interaction, dependency, and response. We did this by shifting the focus from the object to the creatures, showing that human-like qualities can be perceived through shared action, not just through an understanding or intention.