Play is not always cheerful

Take a look at this trailer for Limbo, an incredible new indie game from Playdead Games:

I was utterly absorbed in it late into the night.  The premise of the game is both very simple and a complete mystery. It begins with a little boy waking up in the middle of a dark forest. He is clearly searching for something, but what is never made clear.  Made very clear is the fact that this strange world is extremely dangerous, and for the entire game you struggle to keep this poor lost little boy alive.

Limbo is dark, violent, macabre, and, at times, completely terrifying.  It is also one of the most playful experiences I've had in quite a long time.

If that strikes you as a paradox, I would argue that you need to expand your definition of Play.  In my experience, most people associate play with being light-hearted, even silly.  Silly play is great and important, but play can also be serious, even dark.  Dark play pushes us into often unfamilar emotional territory, which I think can be incredibly beneficial.  Much like an unused muscle loses its ability to be controlled properly by the brain, unexplored emotions and states lose their ability to be regulated.  We all experience states of fear, anger, melencholy and rage from time to time, but without proper emotional regulation we can lose ourselves in the negativity.

Watch children playing. At some point, you will observe them creating a pretty violent scenario.  Cops & Robbers, Kill the Carrier, or "War" (as we used to call it), children seem naturally drawn to some level of violence.  Rather than being a cause for concern, we should recognize its value - these kids are learning how to control and regulate their emotions. Children deprived of this kind of play grow up to be murderers.  There are, of course, limits. For example, I would never let a child play Limbo.  But I think most kids in a healthy environment do a pretty good job of self regulation.

This is another rich vein of subject matter that I will tap into more. In the meantime, if you have access to Xbox Live, download Limbo.  If you don't have an Xbox, find someone who does, and download Limbo.  Play it at night with all the lights turned off and the sound up. Enjoy the darkness.*

Seriously, kid... stay on the boat.

*Fifth Ape is not responsible for any nightmares you may have as a result of this experience.

Comments

[Josh]

looks awesome!