How Did You Play?

[Sugarpop]

How did you play as a young child? Did it involve extensive use of toys? How much were other children involved? Was there much physical activity?

I had a rather peculiar way of playing. I sat still on the floor, playing out various scenarios in my mind. Onlookers reported that I often flapped my hands about in a spastic fashion while doing so. No interaction with the environment, though I occasionally used toys for inspiration.

While the introspective nature of my spasms excluded other kids, I would also play outdoors and participate in social activities (I had a few friends with whom I spent time) and various solitary adventures.

 

[zephryi]

I played a lot with other kids, actually- typically "Let's pretend" type games. However, what stands out I guess, is that while most of the other kids made their characters into popular cheerleaders (Yes. Seriously.) or wanted to be toddlers, I always was the oldest, and claimed being the smartest rather than most popular (No one challenged me on this... @____@).

When I got a bit older, I continued playing the same sort of games; I found the best playmates in kids a few years younger than me because sitting around talking and gossiping seemed so boring- pretending was much more fun. Otherwise, my entertainment was reading.

Environment wise, play featured a lot of props. However, it was more of "that old butter container is a pot" and "these flower buds are the finest delicacy to be used in my stew/potion/Indian medicine." Something's value was based on how well it melded into our imaginary world.

There was a mild amount of physical activity involved- we climbed trees, for instance, and ran around looking for ingredients/ hiding from bad guys, but that was the extent of it.

Anyways, this is an intriguing topic, and I'm looking forward to seeing what everyone says. : D

 

[DynamicMind]

I used to spend hours grinding up rocks, dirt, and grass to make interesting substances which I would use as paint or poison depending on my mood. It sounds pretty lame, but it was SO much FUN. Other than that, I spent a lot of time wandering around the woods pretending to be a hobbit. That is, when I wasn't on the computer.

I have a picture of myself at three years old sitting and playing on the computer. =D

 

[Solfege]

I played the scenario game as well. I usually had a few toys as props and occasionally talked out loud to myself. Eventually, I learned to stop doing it whenever anyone else entered my vicinity. I was more extraverted back then and often played with other children, but most of them were excluded from this particular game.

Physical activity was usually only involved when I was with other kids. We played hide-and-seek, chased each other around on foot and on bicycles, etc. Otherwise, I preferred to play with Legos and the like. I also spent hours luring ants out of their nests and observing them. It wasn't that I didn't enjoy physical activity. I just tended to fail horribly at it.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

I had a rather peculiar way of playing. I sat still on the floor, playing out various scenarios in my mind. Onlookers reported that I often flapped my hands about in a spastic fashion while doing so. No interaction with the environment, though I occasionally used toys for inspiration.

I'm quite similar actually. I would play out extremely detailed storylines and characters in my head. I stress the detail aspect of it; as all my characters had a specific design, voice , and even body language. Everything always played out 'visually' in my head; especially fight scenes . Occasionally I would base them on an alternate universe depicted in a show, game or book that I found particularly interesting. Looking back I wish I had wrote some of them down. I never saw the point in doing that when I could usually keep track of the plot and story in my head. Often times I'd have several 'stories' going on in my head and I would switch back and forth between the ones that interested me the most. Sometimes I would dream about a story I was 'playing' though at the time, and steal plot points from my own subconscious. I never displayed outside signs of this; except maybe a slight dazed look. Nowadays I sometimes still do it to help me fall asleep, otherwise I'd stay up for hours on end.

Whenever I was with other kids when I was younger; we would often come up with a loose storyline that we would 'roleplay' with. For example when my sister and I would go swimming, we would pretend we were mermaids captured by scientists and that we had to figure out some way to escape. I'd often play 'DBZ' with my guy friends too and I was always so mad that their weren't any super powerful chicks in the show.

 

[FacetiousPersona]

I do not remember having any friends as a young child.

 

[Artifice Orisit]

As a child I was infamous for taking things apart; also for spending hours constructing things out of Lego. Also I still remember they day mum gave me a Nintendo 64... that may well have been one of the most significant events in my life.

 

[Jennywocky]

I had very few friends when young, and they were of both genders... gender didn't really matter.

I was alone a lot. I would go out in the dirt with my toys and make up stories and construct elaborate sets for my toys to do things in. When I got older, I would explore a lot. I climbed a lot of trees, and rode my bike around the countryside, and wandered through the cornfields (really neat when the corn had grown high enough that it was like tunnels), and play in the streams and brooks, and collect things (rocks, or whatever else seemed fascinating). I remember even trying to make clubhouses or treehouses out of whatever I could find. The world was just an incredible place to see what was present and then trying to work with it to make something new. And there were lots of practical physics experiments.

I did play games though with other kids when I had the opportunity, whether it was basketball (we would play H-O-R-S-E) or tag or hide-and-seek. Or go sledding in the winter or build snow forts or have snowball fights.

When I got older, I got into roleplaying games. I didn't actually play much with people, I just learned the rules and figured out how they would apply in lots of situations, and then I would make up characters and modules to play ... if I ever would have had someone to play with.

 

[Deleted member 1424]

@cog I still have my first playstation

 

[Artifice Orisit]

Zelda: Ocarina of Time
*Sniff* That game made cry

007 Goldeneye
The origin of my evil laugh

 

[Deleted member 1424]

oh? you should put it on snapvine!

 

[flow]

Ocarina of Time was seriously the greatest game ever made (I think this is the second time I've agreed with you on the mentioning of said game). I spent a lot of time watching trains that went by our house (we lived very close to some tracks), riding my bike and imagining that I was on a roller coaster ride of my own design as I'd take various paths around my neighborhood down hills and such... lots and lots of scenarios played out in my head...hmmm I still do this.. I love the 'childlike enthusiasm' that us INTPs so aptly retain.

 

[Waterstiller]

Scenarios, taking things apart and putting them back together, climbing trees & people watching, playing around in DOS, reading, laying in front of the stereo for hours..

The Secret of Monkey Island, when we got a CD ROM drive, was one of the best experiences of my life. If only for the music.

With neighbors I liked playing house, freeze tag.. later it was dogfights with kites, frisbee golf..


School just sucked. Elementary school recess was spent doing homework. I never did homework at home.

 

[QSR]

I think I still have my 8-bit Nintendo.

I had friends when I was a kid (though I tended to be at the bottom of the pecking order for some reason I still havent figured out yet.) We played a lot of basketball in the driveway, and hide and seek type games around the neighborhood with squirt guns and what not. Wiffleball was big cuz my yard was perfect for it.

I also had a pretty imaginitive side, which is interesting because I used to fantasize about robotic arms(hands) and weapons and now it turns out the military is doing all of that stuff and I could have been a part of it if I went down that road. (See last night's 60 minutes for example.) I loved to play with cars and boats--the boats because my grandpa had a real boat that we got to go around in.

And yeah, Ocarina of Time was a great game. I played it quite a bit my senior year of college... does that count as playing as a child?

 

[Beat Mango]

I loved playing: at school, after school and on weekends played touch footy (rugby, kinda) religiously, handball and cricket during the summer. Played a lot of video games, preferably those involving strategy but usually Sonic or Mario sufficed. I would often play together with friends so I liked multi-player games, and loved the competition (in fact I've always been very competitive with games).

And I used to play in class by mucking up.

 

[Jennywocky]

@cog I still have my first playstation

Oh geez, I forgot about all that.

I had a real Pong game game (dedicated Pong!) that you had to hook up to the UHF screws on the television antenna panel. And then I had an Atari, where we'd play Mission Control and Pitfall and Adventure and Asteriods and Centipede.

Hours of fun, hours of blisters.

 

[Ghost1986]

90% of the time i was alone with my toy cars, soldiers and stuff animals. i ust to have stuff animal professional wrestling matches. but always on my own.

 

[Weliddryn]

My brother and I developed a fantasy world in which we played, using the environment (our home) as influence and our imagination for the elements of the world we envisioned. We developed a story out of that which is still in creation, currently.

The objects used to play with were toy lizards and blocks (as well as books and anything else we could get our hands on) and with them we built up fortresses, cities, etc. A combination of adventure/fantasy.

I came in contact only minimally with some children in my neighborhood and they expressed to me that they wished to play "house." I was completely lost as to the concept of playing house- I'd never heard of it, before. The same went for playing "school" which was another concept which escaped my understanding. When I tried to explain the types of things that I was interested in, it became apparent that we came from different worlds.

 

[Ermine]

Books were my playground. I read books all the time and played on interactive book programs on the computer. Other than that, I played sports with a few friends and made up stories and acted them out with my toys.

 

[Inappropriate Behavior]

Oh geez, I forgot about all that.

I had a real Pong game game (dedicated Pong!) that you had to hook up to the UHF screws on the television antenna panel. And then I had an Atari, where we'd play Mission Control and Pitfall and Adventure and Asteriods and Centipede.

Hours of fun, hours of blisters.

I had the pong game too! Wasn't allowed an Atari as my parents would say it was bad for my mind and I wouldn't do anything else but play it. Might be true.

Otherwise the things I remember doing as a child were:

-I used to roll an innertube across the yard and then I'd chase after and tackle it before it fell (alone)

-I had plastic cowboy and indians that I'd set up, make gun noises and knock down (alone)

-Pretend games while swimming like 'buried treasure' (with friends)

-Spent hours playing a game called battling tops where you had these tops that you would wind up, spin and let battle in a concave shaped 'arena'. Last one standing wins. (with friends and alone. Alone required some dexterity)

-Lego, Lincoln Logs and Tinker Toys (alone)

-Fort building (alone and with friends)

-Making weapons like sling shots and spears (alone but used against friends and enemies )

That's all I can think of at the moment but I'm sure I did more than the above.

 

[Kuu]

Legos, legos, legos. I still have all of the legos I ever bought. In fact, my webcam is held on a cradle I made out of legos, about a month ago. Maybe one day I'll show you guys my robot, which is the only lego creation that I have kept without destroying for several years... I love it.

Also plastic dinosaurs. Blame Jurassic Park.

And I still have my original SNES... and I concur, OoT and Goldeneye defined my youth...

 

[Sugarpop]

Oh yes, and I read a lot. Reading, inner scenarios, lego and other toys to some extent and later video games were staples of my childhood.

Did any other scenarists have weird ticks while scenaring?

 

[preilemus]

I also played “make believe” when I was with other kids. I lived near a park with a lot of natural rock formations, forests, etc. that made great setting to whatever we were playing. I also did this by myself when I had no one else to play with. I vividly remember finding a croquet mallet in our shed, and pretending I was some sort of god, and all the patches of tall grass were really cities, and I decided who lived, and who got smashed.

Legos were also a huge part of my childhood. I used legos mainly to tell stories, rather than making arbitrary creations. Sure I made plenty of things, but only if my imagination required it for what my characters were doing. I was not alone in this, and often would collaborate with my friends and we would combine our stories with our characters meeting up, and it would all end in a spectacular battle against the bad guys.

And of course, playstation was my other love. Games like legend of dragoon, Chrono Cross, Final Fantasy 7 and 9 have greatly affected me.

 

[Ermine]

Another lego fan. I was a lego architect.

 

[Chimera]

I remember playing with my older sister a lot when we were little. When I was age 3 - 6, we lived in the south (U.S), and had a larger backyard and more woodsy areas around. My sister and I spent equal time outside and inside, making up fantasy stories and generally doing all the make-believe things mentioned previously. We also hung out with one other kid from the neighborhood, some boy who was just as "weird" as we were.

I still have all the old Legos we used to play with. (I still drag them down sometimes.) My oldest sister was really into playing with Barbies, but the sister closer to my age wasn't. My oldest sister got mad 'cause we were never "serious about playing Barbie". SNES, Gameboy, N64...when the first Super Smash Bros. came out, my sister and I would have hours of tournaments and things like that.

School recess was never a problem for me in elementary school. I guess I could have been called a "tomboy", because I liked to hang around the guys more at recess 'cause they did more interesting things than sitting around talking. I was really accepted into both the boy and girl crowd, actually.

I organized games of make-believe at school, too...we played Knights vs. Dragons, and treasurehunter, along with a loooot of freeze-tag. One time I tied a jump rope to the monkeybars and swung on it to reach the other side of the play equipment, and other kids started copying me 'cause it was fun...and then the teacher got mad and took the jumpropes away. Then I decided to climb on top of the monkeybars and walk across them, but some other kid tried it too and fell pretty badly. That got me banned from the play equipment for a while.

When I was alone, I liked to make stories using my stuffed animals. I would talk quietly, giving them each their own voice, and take them on trips around the house or outside. They would fight or go on adventures, etc... My sister joined me sometimes. We also played the "find plants/berries to crush up in the yard to make potions" game.


Another thing I've done since I was really little...ever since I can remember, I've always played a game with myself to try to imagine what other people see. For example, if I was sitting in class across from another kid, I imagined what the classroom would look like from the angle they were sitting, and then I imagined what it would be like to look down and see not my hands, but theirs.

And at night, when there was no one to play with, I would imagine fantasy worlds, or turning into dragons, or flying over cities, and tell myself stories until I fell asleep.
​

 

[sagewolf]

I had this little quasi-lego castle and knights toy and I would make up stories about the knights attacking or defending the castle or fighting each other or a dragon or such-- I don't remember it very well. Most of the time I ran out into the backyard and played on my own, or I stayed inside and drew things or daydreamed. I didn't play with friends much outside school, and I'm another one who never had just girls or boys as friends-- I played with whoever I wanted to on the day. I never really got the idea of playing with other people, though-- mostly, I played on my own.

 

[CheshNi]

Hmm...Before elementary, I didn't usually play with toys. I remember my mom telling me to salt slugs, slamming myself into the wall for fun (at my mom's daycare - other children did this with me) , wearing electrical tape on my mouth and putting "Mr. Yuck" stickers on any chemicals that my parents told me to put them on and then trying to make the face on them.

When I got older I'd just walk around alone at recess. If the recess teachers weren't watching, I'd hurry behind a building and explore. Similarly, if there was an interesting place (usually churches or schools because they both have a lot of rooms) where I wasn't supposed to be, I'd always try every door to see if any were unlocked. If there were any, I'd go in and go as far as I could before I got to a dead end; I loved looking around in a room and making all sorts of guesses at what they were used for. I've also always had a weird problem of randomly leaving whoever I was with to just wander aimlessly by myself, which was sometimes a game for me because people noticed I was gone and came after me. Sometimes on my little adventures I even made some new friends and brought them back with me...I stopped this when my family and friends became adept at following/finding me. =)

I liked building things too, but since I was raised in a daycare, I was required to pick up with the rest of the kids when playtime was over, so I didn't have quite as much time to experiment with it as I liked. Then there was (and still is) my fascination with poking/primatively dissecting dead things with sticks...It didn't go over well with ANYONE, especially when I tried to explain and promised to wash my hands after. To this day I still aspire to work with dead things/people and I'm studying to get into medschool to become a medical examiner.

 

[Fleur]

Did it involve extensive use of toys?

Almost always: I rarely used toys for their original purposes or combined them in the most implausible modes...and not only toys. When playing around, I used everything I could reach.

I also loved to build houses from blankets, sheets and chairs...

And... Oh, Great Plush Bunny, have a mercy at toys which had some mechanism inside them or consisted of more than one piece! I couldn't feel satisfied unless those toys were taken apart...

Besides, I stopped to play with toys much later than the other kids... I think I was around thirteen then.

How much were other children involved?

Not too much...
But I didn't had any other choice here, because in my situation the group of people called "other children" consisted of my sister and, sometimes in summers, cousins.

The solution of the lack of coevals was simple: imaginary friends, a great number of them (enough to fill a small village...). I think that eventually they might have been degraded to my "inner listeners", but in my childhood they all had names, distinct personalities and relationships with each other: I knew that it's a bad idea to mention the imaginary person H when talking to imaginary person K...

Was there much physical activity?

Nah. I spent most of my childhood by drawing while making up stories about the pictures (and I loved to draw maps... the scale was nugatory, but the most interesting part was to devise appellations) and being busy with other peaceful activities... unless I wasn't fighting aliens together with my imaginary friends, although the most thrilling battle scenes were played in my head. Physical activity was on my list only if it was able to blend in the game scenario.

 

[Melkor]

I would play with other kids..but it was discouraged, as I was generally very demanding and agressive.
As a result I often hurt the other participants.


So I enjoyed making things, and drawing, and reading I guess....


@ Cog.

A baron samedi evil laugh?

I ALWAYS PLAYED AS HIM!

 

[NoID10ts]

How does one go about hurting an imaginary friend, Melkor? With little imaginary knives and guns and piano wire? Did they get imaginary blood all over your imaginary Cloud outfit?

EDIT: For the question at hand, I didn't have any friends except little star wars and transformers figures. I also liked to shoot at the wildlife with my arsenal of BB guns.

 

[loveofreason]

*kicks Noddy*

I always played alone. Other children terrified me.

I climbed a lot of trees, fished a lot of stones out of streams, watched a lot of stars and wondered when the mother ship was going to come for me.

I read, drew, daydreamed and pretended I was running away from home.

I told myself I never was a child and everything would be alright when all the humans were finally wiped from the face of the planet.

I attempted to catch wild animals.

And I built a lot of lego.

 

[Melkor]

Little psycho. I said other kids Noddy, not friends. I had very few actually.

 

[NoID10ts]

I'll be your friend love and Melkor.

We can build a tree house and swing from a rope into a creek and trade comic books and eat raw roadkill and be like those weird little fuckers from Children of the Corn and play doctor and contaminate the water supply and kill everyone in town and then sit around and chew bubble gum.

 

[Melkor]

Sounds pretty fan-feckingtastic!

 

[loveofreason]

Noddy has such great ideas!

It sounds so wonderful... can we throw rocks on the roofs of civilisation late in the night?

 

[Melkor]

Can we, like all groups of three friends, eventually break up and turn against each other?

I was in a three friendship for most of my childhood.
it's interesting..because theres much more pressure, on account of the fact that you're often alone against two during disagreements, or else trying to turn the neutral one to your side.

 

[loveofreason]

Well really... we must all cut ourselves and exchange blood... then find a corpse in the woods - that two of us feel guilty for creating as it used to be someone we played a cruel joke on... attempt to hide the evidence... become lost... and deranged... and it can all degenerate from there...


I'm not certain of the dynamics of childhood friendships... apart from three kids that wandered in and wandered out at different times with their families moving, I was always a loner.

Mind you, my criteria for friendship is exceedingly challenging. Very very few people have an emotional impact upon me.

Tolerating the people I'm lumped with does not constitute friendship.


umm... if we have to turn against one another... can't we decide it with a jelly wrestling contest or something?