I think every game has its own myth, rituals, and language. If we think of language as a structure with which to interact with our surroundings, then we can think of games as having a language, or structure with which we can interact with and engage in the game’s world. And similar to the way Huizinga describes “playing” with language, players can “hack” games to play with their structure without breaking the rules, like a play on words. Myth is also an integral aspect of many games, because without a compelling story that engages with your imagination, the game would be just a series of mechanics. Even a physical game like chess, has a “myth” to it. With names like king, queen, knight, and bishop, the pieces are transformed into characters and the board becomes a battlefield of politics. Games also often start with rituals, whether it is setting up the board, shuffling cards, or in the case of digital games, a loading screen. There are also rituals within the game, like checking on the objects you have bought within the game, or talking to certain characters every time you play.  

I think every game has its own myth, rituals, and language. If we think of language as a structure with which to interact with our surroundings, then we can think of games as having a language, or structure with which we can interact with and engage in the game’s world. And similar to the way Huizinga describes “playing” with language, players can “hack” games to play with their structure without breaking the rules, like a play on words. Myth is also an integral aspect of many games, because without a compelling story that engages with your imagination, the game would be just a series of mechanics. Even a physical game like chess, has a “myth” to it. With names like king, queen, knight, and bishop, the pieces are transformed into characters and the board becomes a battlefield of politics. Games also often start with rituals, whether it is setting up the board, shuffling cards, or in the case of digital games, a loading screen. There are also rituals within the game, like checking on the objects you have bought within the game, or talking to certain characters every time you play.  

Using these ideas, the game I chose to analyze is called Quell. It is a puzzle game with fairly simple mechanics, the player uses their finger to move a raindrop up, down, right or left. Elements like stone, spikes, switches, or blocks have different effects on the raindrop, and players must use logic to complete each maze. The narrative, or myth aspect, of the game is that the player is uncovering old memories in an old attic. As you go along, you swipe away dust from faded photographs to reveal past memories and construct the story of the man who used to live there. There are also pictorial elements included in some of the levels, like the silhouettes of a soldier proposing to a woman, and the background imagery depicts various landscapes (mountains, houses, brick wall, etc). These elements encourage the imaginativeness and otherworldly aspect of play, in which the “individual ‘plays’ another part, another being (''mimicry''). He is another being” (Huizinga, 107). The visual narrative of the game also sets it apart from the real world, with its secrecy and mystery surrounding the old memories.

Using these ideas, the game I chose to analyze is called Quell. It is a puzzle game with fairly simple mechanics, the player uses their finger to move a raindrop up, down, right or left. Elements like stone, spikes, switches, or blocks have different effects on the raindrop, and players must use logic to complete each maze. The narrative, or myth aspect, of the game is that the player is uncovering old memories in an old attic. As you go along, you swipe away dust from faded photographs to reveal past memories and construct the story of the man who used to live there. There are also pictorial elements included in some of the levels, like the silhouettes of a soldier proposing to a woman, and the background imagery depicts various landscapes (mountains, houses, brick wall, etc). These elements encourage the imaginativeness and otherworldly aspect of play, in which the “individual ‘plays’ another part, another being (''mimicry''). He is another being” (Huizinga, 107). The visual narrative of the game also sets it apart from the real world, with its secrecy and mystery surrounding the old memories.