Varoluşsal Can Sıkıntısı: Oyun Tasarımına Sartre’cı Bir Yaklaşım

Öz

Varoluşçu felsefe ile bilgisayar oyunu tasarımının kesişim noktasına odaklanan bu çalışmada Jean-Paul Sartre’ın can sıkıntısı kavramını temel alan deneysel bir dijital oyun önerilmektedir. Geleneksel olarak bilgisayar oyunları, anlatı etkileşimi, estetik çekicilik ve dinamik oynanış mekanikleri aracılığıyla oyuncuyu eğlendirmek, uyarmak ve içine çekmek amacıyla tasarlanır. Buna karşılık bu çalışma, felsefi ve sanatsal bir karşı öneri sunmakta; bilinçli biçimde can sıkıntısı ve kopukluk hissi yaratmak üzere tasarlanmış bir oyunu ele almaktadır. Sartre’ın varoluşçuluk üzerine yazılarından -özellikle saçmalık karşısında bir tepki olarak geliştirdiği “bulantı” kavramından- yararlanan bu projede, Existential Therapy adlı bir bilgisayar oyunu geliştirilmiştir. Bu oyunda oyuncular, duygusal durgunluk, anlatının tıkanması ve neredeyse hiç ödül sunmayan oyun yapısıyla birkaç dakika boyunca edilgin bir deneyim yaşar. Makale, bu tür bir oyunun, eğlence amacıyla değil, anlam arayışına yönelik olduğunu ortaya koymayı; daha da önemlisi, video oyunlarının meşru birer sanatsal ve felsefi üretim alanı olabileceğini göstermeyi amaçlamaktadır. Etkileşimli ögelerin azalması ve rahatsızlık hissinin bilinçli şekilde kabul edilmesi yoluyla, oyun felsefi fikirlerin deneyimlenebileceği ve somutlaştırılabileceği bir araca dönüşmektedir. Bu çalışma, etkileşimi varoluşsal sorgulamanın öznesi olarak kullanan “felsefi oyun tasarımı” alanındaki mevcut tartışmalara katkı sağlamaktadır. Oyuncular, bu oyunda sadece bir hedefe ulaşmaya çalışmak yerine, zamanın, anlamın ve varoluşun özünü düşünmeye davet edilmektedir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Varoluşçuluk
• Oyun Tasarımı
• Felsefe
• Bilgisayar Oyunları

Existential Boredom: A Sartrean Approach to Game Design

Öz

This paper investigates the intersection of existential philosophy and video game design by proposing an experimental digital game that simulates Jean-Paul Sartre’s concept of boredom. Traditionally, video games are designed to entertain, stimulate, and immerse players through narrative engagement, aesthetic appeal, and dynamic gameplay mechanics. In contrast, this study introduces a philosophical and artistic counterpoint: a game intentionally constructed to induce boredom and disengagement. Utilizing Sartre’s writings on existentialism-specifically his concept of “nausea” as a reaction to absurdity the project creates a desktop game called Existential Therapy, in which players experience prolonged periods of emotional standstill, narrative stagnation, and negligible narrative or game rewards. This paper aims to show that such a game focuses on meaning beyond reason for entertainment and, to a greater extent, demonstrates that video games can serve as legitimate art and philosophical works. Through a lack of engaging game elements and the embrace of discomfort, the game turns into a tool to experience and embody philosophical ideas. This work is a contribution to the already existing discourse on “philosophical game design” which aims to use interactivity as the subject of existential inquiry. Instead ofengaging with the game solely as a goal to achieve, players are invited to con-template the essence of time, meaning, and existence.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Existentialism
• Game Design
• Philosophy
• Video Games

Kaynakça

1. Bargdill, R. (2014). Toward a theory of habitual boredom. Janus Head, 13, 93–111.
2. Bauer, R., Kocher, M., & Suter, B. (2018). Games and rules. Majuskel Medienproduktion GmbH.
3. Beaumont, M. (2018, August 14). The 10 most boring video games of all time. NME. https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/ten-boring-video-games-ever-2365804
4. Bell, R. C. (1979). Board and table games from many civilizations. Courier Corporation.
5. Bettelheim, B. (1987). The importance of play. The Atlantic.
6. Bogost, I. (2017, April 25). Video games are better without stories. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2017/04/video-games-stories/524148/
7. Bruner, J. (1972). Nature and uses of immaturity. American Psychologist, 27(8), 687–708.
8. Burghardt, G. M. (2005). The genesis of animal play. MIT Press.

9. Caillois, R. (2001). Man, play and games. University of Illinois Press.
10. Caillois, R. (2001). Man, play, and games. University of Illinois Press.
11. Callcut, D. (2018, June 11). What are we? Aeon. https://aeon.co/essays/living-the-life-authentic-bernard-williams-on-paul-gauguin
12. Carrier, D. (2020, May 2). When philosophy and art intersect. Hyperallergic. https://hyperallergic.com/559392/when-philosophy-and-art-intersect/
13. Carter, J. (2014, January 24). Is a human life more important than a priceless piece of art? Points and Figures. http://pointsandfigures.com/2014/01/24/thoughts-monuments-men-movie-george-clooney-robert-edsel/
14. Clement, J. (2021, May 5). Video game sales in the United States in 2018, by genre. Statista. https://www.statista.com/statistics/189592/breakdown-of-us-video-game-sales-2009-by-genre/#statisticContainer
15. Comer, R. (2016). Fundamentals of abnormal psychology. Worth Publishers.
16. Crawford, C. (1984). The art of computer game design. McGraw-Hill Osborne Media.
17. Crignon, C., & Laforge, W. (2018). Art oriented philosophy. Retrieved from https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5e866fdbaed0fa3a107a9be8/ t/5f3 9363f70cb5c56a4c24858/1597584964628/AOP+.pdf
18. Crist, W., Dunn-Vaturi, A.-E., & Voogt, A. D. (2016). Ancient Egyptians at play. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
19. Darwin, C. (1871). The descent of man. Kent: John Murray.
20. Erfani, F. (2004). Sartre and Kierkegaard on the aesthetics of boredom. Idealistic Studies, 34(3), 303–317.
21. Fakhr Tabatabaie, A., Azadehfar, M. R., Mirian, N., Noroozian, M., Yoonessi, A., Saebipour, M. R., & Yoonessi, A. (2014). Neural correlates of boredom in music perception. Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, 5(4), 259–266.
22. Fletcher, M., Jones, S. L., & White, P. (2018). Effects of very high-frequency sound and ultrasound on humans. Part I: Adverse symptoms after exposure to audible very-high frequency sound. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 144(3), Article 1231.
23. Fisher, C. D. (1993). Boredom at work: A neglected concept. Human Relations, 46(3), 395–417.
24. Geethan, A. (2018, October 17). 6 elements of boredom. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@nibbana/6-elements-of-boredom-10f412780529
25. Gilbert, D. (2006). Stumbling on happiness. New York: Knopf.
26. Grip, T. (2010, January 18). How gameplay and narrative kill meaning in "games". Retrieved from https://frictionalgames.blogspot.com/2010/01/how-gameplay-and-narrative-kill-meaning.html
27. Gualeni, S., & Van de Mosselaer, N. (2023). Game Studies through ‘Conceptual Games’: The case of Doors. Proceedings of DiGRA 2023.
28. Hegel, G. W. F. (1975). Aesthetics: Lectures on fine art (T. M. Knox, Trans.). Oxford: Clarendon Press.
29. Heidegger, M. (1960). The origin of the work of art. Leipzig: Reclam.
30. Hornäk, S. (2020). Intersections between philosophy and art: Expressions of immanence in the seventeenth century — Spinoza and Vermeer. Intellectual History Review, 18, 447–464.
31. Horton, S. (2009, October 5). Philosophers rumble over Van Gogh’s shoes. Harper's Magazine. https://harpers.org/2009/10/philosophers-rumble-over-van-goghs-shoes/
32. Huizinga, J. (1949). Homo ludens. Routledge & Kegan Paul Ltd.
33. Juul, J. (2005). Half real. The MIT Press.
34. Kendall, T. (1978). Passing through the netherworld: The meaning and play of Senet, an ancient Egyptian funerary game. Kirk Game Company.
35. Koerth-Baker, M. (2016, January 18). Why boredom is anything but boring. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-boredom-is-anything-but-boring/
36. Lowry, E. (2011, May 21). Accidie? Ennui? Sigh . . . The Wall Street Journal. https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052748703421 2045763 3121 0498949774
37. Luther, M. (2013). The table talk of Martin Luther. HardPress Publishing.
38. Martin, M., Sadlo, G., & Stew, G. (2006). The phenomenon of boredom. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3(3), 193–211.
39. Murray, H. J. (1952). A history of board-games other than chess. Clarendon Press.
40. O’Bryan, R. (2019). Games and game playing in European art and literature, 16th–17th centuries. Amsterdam University Press.
41. Orbanes, P. E. (2003). The game makers: The story of Parker Brothers, from Tiddledy Winks to Trivial Pursuit. Harvard Business Review Press.
42. Parreno, C. (2021). Boredom, architecture, and spatial experience. Bloomsbury Publishing Plc.
43. Pathak, V., & Mishra, V. K. (2020). Sane or insane? A psychoanalytic study of Antoine Roquentin. International Journal of English Literature and Social Sciences, 5(4), 1044–1051.
44. Pavlus, J. (2007, July 1). How to create the most boring video game people still want to play. Fast Company. https://www.fastcompany.com/ 3023266/ how-to-create-the-most-boring-video-game-people-still-want-to-play
45. Plato. (1943). The republic. Books, Inc.
46. Purcell, N. (1995). Literate games: Roman urban society and the game of Alea. Oxford University Press.
47. Ray, C. (2009, January 8). For fun and survival. New York Times, p. 3.
48. Salen, K., & Zimmerman, E. (2006). The game design reader: A rules of play anthology. The MIT Press.
49. Schain, R. (2017). The art form known as philosophy. Confrontation, 142.
50. Schapiro, M. (1968). The still life as a personal object—A note on Heidegger and van Gogh. Springer.
51. Sicart, M. (2023). The Beautiful Rule: Thinking the Aesthetics of Game Rules. Games and Culture, 19(3), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 155541 20221149532
52. Skagerstrand, A., Köbler, S., & Stenfelt, S. (2017). Loudness and annoyance of disturbing sounds. International Journal of Audiology, 56(10), 775–783.
53. Smoller, L. A. (1986). Playing cards and popular culture in sixteenth-century Nuremberg. The Sixteenth Century Journal, 17(2), 183–214.
54. Snyder, S. (2006). The end of art: The consequence of Hegel’s appropriation of Aristotle’s Nous. The Modern Schoolman, 83(4), 301–316.
55. Soubeyrand, C. (2010). The game of Senet. Historic, 11.
56. Spirkin, A. (1983). Dialectical materialism. Progress Publishers.
57. Sterren, P. v. (2019). Kings of the chessboard. Thinkers Publishing.
58. Suits, B. (1967). What is a game? Philosophy of Science, 34(2), 148–156.
59. Tanke, J. (2013, August 27). The artness of art: Arthur Danto’s “What art is”. Art in America. https://www.artnews.com/art-in-america/features/the-artness-of-art-arthur-dantos-what-art-is-59477/
60. Toohey, P. (2011). Boredom: A lively history. Yale University Press.
61. Warburton, N. (2013). Philosophy: The basics (5th ed.). Routledge.
62. Wittgenstein, L. (1953). Philosophical investigations. MacMillan Company.
63. Wood, K. (2018). A history of play in print board games from the Renaissance to Milton Bradley. Center for Gaming Research Occasional Paper Series, 44.
64. Derrida, J. (1978). Restitutions of truth to size: "De la vérité en pointure". Research in Phenomenology, 8, 1–44.
65. Dor, L. (2015, November 21). 10 of the most boring videogames we've ever seen. Retrieved from https://www.indy100.com/ents/10-of-the-most-boring-videogames-we-ve-ever-seen-7284596
66. Eigen, M., & Winkler, R. (1993). Laws of the game: How the principles of nature govern chance. Princeton: Princeton University Press.