Ring-things to play, rhubarb to poach, and ravens to peer at.
Last game you played? Things in Rings! I love a quick game that’s doable as a pair and scalable for a group. I’ve also been getting really into Minute Cryptic, so that’s everyone’s commute game update. Enjoy!
What activity that most others see as a task or chore, is something that you actually enjoy? Editing of virtually any variety. My copyeditor roots will stay with me forever; I just love hanging out in a Google doc being pithy. Plus, I’m blessed to have scores and scores of talented writer friends, which makes the experience both pleasant and easy.
Quote from a reading you’d recommend? “I am not arguing that either player in this example loses a sense of subjectivity (or an ability to consent) when played with. I am instead arguing that neither characteristic necessarily defines play. Toward my desire to repair play, it is necessary to locate play as not necessarily a relationship that inherently invokes consent. When we play, we transform others and the world around us into play-objects. The destructive and violent aspects of play emerge from this transformation and must be contended with if we are to understand the term.” Aaron Trammell (2023) in his stellar Playful Thinking entry, Repairing play: a Black phenomenology (p. 69).
What’s something you’ve done, written, or helped create that you’re proud of? This is not a hot goss answer, but I’ve hit some work milestones in the last few weeks that were really exciting to hit, and the overall structure of my dissertation is taking shape. Slow and steady, etc.
What game has some of your favorite voice acting? Spiderman 2 has a great ensemble voice cast. Eavesdropping on NPCs is such a time-honored tradition of the action-adventure genre, so it’s great when the conversations you’re eavesdropping on are dynamic and engaging. I love Laura Bailey’s Mary Jane, and Nadji Jeter is a great Miles. It’s also got good sound design, which helps.
What gadget would you like to try or already have and can recommend? This question really fuels the consumerism in the team dynamic, but I must admit I’ve been eyeing a KitchenAid for upwards of 3 years now. There’s something very artisanal about kneading bread dough by hand for 20 minutes, but it’s tempting to not have to. Maybe another upcoming work milestone might be a reason to bite the…whisk?
What is the best thing about spring? I’m gonna talk about food again because I love seasonal spring foods so much. Get a farmer’s market tomato and eat it like an apple, I dare you. Make something super sour and super sweet with rhubarb! Tis the season!
What’s something new you’ve learned how to do recently? I was recently gifted the Collins Bird Guide, so I’ve been learning how to look through binoculars without straining my eyes–another one of those “intuitive as a kid, painfully effortful as an adult” skills. But I’ve been really enjoying spying on all the birds outside my window now that they’ve taken to waking me up at 6.
What question should be swapped out for another?
Season’s nearly over, so let’s say goodbye to What is the best thing about spring? and ask Where and when are you most productive?
Keerthi Sridharan is a PhD candidate in the Playful Time Machines project. Their research is centered around games and play as spaces that facilitate and complicate processes of identification, identity construction, and relationality. Previous work has examined emotional play in TTRPGs, perspective in player-character interaction, and language as a playful resource in conversational interaction. They are a sociolinguist by trade, and a gamer by choice. Their spare time is spent stress-baking, making music, and drafting Twine games.
