mindfulness

Mindfulness is a philosophy and a way of being that I have found myself gravitating towards for quite some time. As I have practiced focusing on my awareness in my daily life, it was inevitable that it would find its way into my professional efforts as well, first manifesting as an attention to detail, and over the years broadening out to encompass the whole of my work product.

It is grounded in the belief that everything, even the smallest and most minute particulars, can and do carry meaning and purpose and that nothing is lost. Game development, and in particular design, is a conversation between those who make the game, and those who experience it. As game developers, we are constantly striving to improve the quality of that communication because to do so is, I believe, how we reach through the screen and effect the player on a deeper level.

Like other forms of media who have come before us...novels, television, and cinema for example, we seek to bring out emotions in our audience, because it is those stories, the stories which are woven with the tapestry of our own feelings, that resonate within all of us.

Mindfulness in game design puts the player first, because it recognizes that they are who we are trying to empathize with, and in turn whom we hope can empathize with us via the stories and experiences we create.

From our earliest days, as fellow tribespeople telling each other stories around the warm glow of the fire, we have sought this connection to one another. This need is central to our well being, and it drives the mindful game designer's decisions and process.

It is also grounded in the basic mutual respect, inclusiveness and dignity of us as human beings, shying away from designs that promote gate-keeping and discriminatory behaviors, feeding into our darker selves. Instead it idealizes the fostering of community, fairness and empathy as the pillars of good design.

And most of all, mindful game design is learning to listen to your mind, but to act with your heart.