Prologue: My Grandfather 序言：我的祖父

My grandfather wanted to know whether I felt proud of what I do. It seemed a reasonable question: there he was, aging and soon to pass away, though at the time I didn't know that; a man who had spent his life as a fire chief, raising six children. One of them followed in his footsteps, became a fire chief himself, and now sells bathtub linings. There's a special education teacher, an architect, a carpenter. Good, solid, wholesome professions for good, solid, wholesome people. And there I was—making games rather than contributing to society.

我的祖父想知道我是否为自己的工作感到自豪。这似乎是一个合理的问题：他年事已高，很快就要去世了，虽然当时我还不知道；他一生都在当消防队长，养育了六个孩子。其中一个继承了他的衣钵，也当上了消防队长，现在转行销售浴缸衬垫。还有一位特殊教育老师，一位建筑师，一位木匠。这些职业美好、稳定且有益，适合那些善良、踏实、正派的人。而我，却在制作游戏，没有为社会做贡献。

I told him that I felt I did contribute. Games aren't just a diversion; they're something valuable and important. And my evidence was right in front of me—my kids, playing on the floor.

我告诉他，我觉得我确实做出了贡献。游戏不只是消遣，而是有价值的、重要的东西。我的证据就摆在眼前——我的孩子们正在地板上玩。

Watching my kids play and learn through playing had been a revelation for me. Even though my profession was making games, I often felt lost in the complexities of making large modern entertainment products rather than understanding why games are fun and what fun is.

看着孩子们在游戏中学习，对我来说是一种启示。尽管我的职业是制作游戏，但我经常感到迷失在制作大型现代娱乐产品的复杂性中，而不是理解游戏为什么有趣以及什么是乐趣。

My kids were leading me, without my quite knowing it, towards a theory of fun. And so I told my grandfather, "Yes, this is something worthwhile. I connect people, and I teach people." But as I said it, I didn't really have any evidence to offer.

我的孩子们在不知不觉中把我引向了趣味理论。于是我对祖父说：“是的，这是一件有价值的事情。我连接人们，我教导人们。”但当我说出来的时候，我并没有任何证据。

My kids are learning tic-tac-toe these days.

我的孩子们最近在学习井字游戏。

age 5.

5岁。

age 7.

7岁。