ABSTRACT
In these days of technological revolution, we have two parallel trends—automation and gamification/playful design—driving the ways we design technologies for consumption. In fact, play design has been heralded as the approach that will make the computer-mediated forms of work into pleasurable experiences. However, this very assumption is troublesome if we question what we mean by play. In this piece, I will question the assumption that making something feel like play needs to be questioned, that it has some ethical implications that need to be reflected upon, and that even though the assumption might be correct, it is so only if we properly define what we want from playing everything.
