{"id":181,"date":"2025-12-01T14:57:58","date_gmt":"2025-12-01T14:57:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/?p=181"},"modified":"2025-12-01T16:40:33","modified_gmt":"2025-12-01T16:40:33","slug":"week-5-poetry-in-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/2025\/12\/01\/week-5-poetry-in-games\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 6 &#8211; Poetry in Games"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-794e3cfa wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:33.33%\">\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center wp-block-paragraph\" style=\"font-size:clamp(14px, 0.875rem + ((1vw - 3.2px) * 0.216), 16px);\">This week, Jordan gave us a talk about poetry in games. But not just written poetry within games, but poetry as game mechanics, vibes and experiences as a whole.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:66.66%\">\n<figure data-wp-context=\"{&quot;imageId&quot;:&quot;6ac9b6e66460f&quot;}\" data-wp-interactive=\"core\/image\" data-wp-key=\"6ac9b6e66460f\" class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-full is-resized wp-lightbox-container\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"526\" height=\"460\" data-wp-class--hide=\"state.isContentHidden\" data-wp-class--show=\"state.isContentVisible\" data-wp-init=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\" data-wp-on--load=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" data-wp-on--pointerdown=\"actions.preloadImage\" data-wp-on--pointerenter=\"actions.preloadImageWithDelay\" data-wp-on--pointerleave=\"actions.cancelPreload\" data-wp-on-window--resize=\"callbacks.setButtonStyles\" src=\"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2025\/12\/image-9.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-183\" style=\"width:277px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2025\/12\/image-9.png 526w, https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/41\/2025\/12\/image-9-300x262.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 526px) 100vw, 526px\" \/><button\n\t\t\tclass=\"lightbox-trigger\"\n\t\t\ttype=\"button\"\n\t\t\taria-haspopup=\"dialog\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-bind--aria-label=\"state.thisImage.triggerButtonAriaLabel\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-init=\"callbacks.initTriggerButton\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-on--click=\"actions.showLightbox\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--right=\"state.thisImage.buttonRight\"\n\t\t\tdata-wp-style--top=\"state.thisImage.buttonTop\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t\t<svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"12\" height=\"12\" fill=\"none\" viewBox=\"0 0 12 12\">\n\t\t\t\t<path fill=\"#fff\" d=\"M2 0a2 2 0 0 0-2 2v2h1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 1 .5-.5h2V0H2Zm2 10.5H2a.5.5 0 0 1-.5-.5V8H0v2a2 2 0 0 0 2 2h2v-1.5ZM8 12v-1.5h2a.5.5 0 0 0 .5-.5V8H12v2a2 2 0 0 1-2 2H8Zm2-12a2 2 0 0 1 2 2v2h-1.5V2a.5.5 0 0 0-.5-.5H8V0h2Z\" \/>\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stripping it down<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Instead of constantly adding more systems, more mechanics, more \u201cstuff,\u201d Jordan suggested doing the opposite. Figuring out the core idea of a moment or a scene and removing anything that doesn\u2019t serve it. It\u2019s a surprisingly tough mindset, but it makes the heart of the game a lot clearer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Stealing from poets<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jordan made a surprisingly good case for using poetic devices in games. Think about rhythm, rhyme, line breaks, tools poets use to guide attention and create emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A <strong>\u201cline break\u201d<\/strong> in a game could be a quiet pause, a moment where you stop and just take things in.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>\u201cRhyme\u201d<\/strong> might show up as patterns in gameplay or visuals, things that feel satisfying because they repeat. And when those patterns break, you get that jolt, that moment of surprise.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">These techniques aren\u2019t just artsy add-ons, they can genuinely change how players connect with a game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Letting Ambiguity Breathe<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Another big point was embracing ambiguity. Whether it be moral, narrative, mechanical, we often assume games must always be \u201cfun,\u201d but maybe fun doesn\u2019t have to be the end-all design goal. The real challenge is keeping a game\u2019s meaning intact while still shaping it into something players want to engage with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Making games is hard<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Jordan wrapped up by reminding us that making games is hard in ways you only discover once you\u2019re deep in the process. It\u2019s the same with poetry: what looks simple and effortless usually isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the end, thinking about games through a poetic lens isn\u2019t about making them pretentious. It\u2019s about noticing the small things, caring about the mood of a moment, and being okay with players sitting with uncertainty. Which I think is a refreshing way to approach design.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This week, Jordan gave us a talk about poetry in games. But not just written poetry within games, but poetry as game mechanics, vibes and experiences as a whole. Stripping it down Instead of constantly adding more systems, more mechanics, more \u201cstuff,\u201d Jordan suggested doing the opposite. Figuring out the core idea of a moment [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,21,16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-181","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-phase-3","category-semester-1","category-weekly-logs-2"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=181"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":186,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/181\/revisions\/186"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=181"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=181"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/et4g23-yr3\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=181"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}