Lost in Translation
The other day I invited my brother to play a game of Go, and after he accepted, we realized that no goban or stones could be found at our residence. Fortunately, I have the software on my Mac and we were able to play there. However, I found that not only was it difficult to keep his interest in the game, but my own suffered as well. While this could be attributed to many things, one thing in particular I did find hurt my interest was being forced to play a board game on a computer.
We sat side-by-side to view the screen, as opposed to opposite each other, so conversation suffered because we were not facing. The process of making moves involved reaching over the other person to twiddle the touchpad, and this motion was awkward enough that it visibly slowed the progress of the game: moves were not as rapid or as cadenced as they would be if placed by hand. But these were just the logistical irritations. The real loss came from what I call the “traditional experience.”
Go is an ancient game, and over the millennia the playing of it has become highly ritualized. The correct way to hold the stones and to place them — near the intended point and then slid a short distance into place. The particular size and weight of the stones, and the texture of the buffed stone. The construction of the board with particular dimensions and using particular wood, so that the stones make that certain sound when they are laid. In Japan, China, and Korea (among others), the national Go Institutes have entire special rooms for playing championship or important ceremonial matches. This pure dedication to purpose and ancient role makes these rooms almost sacred; the Japanese one has a name that translates to “The Room of Deep Contemplation.” This ritual, this tradition, is as much a part of the game as the rules, and separating it cannot be other than a loss.
I know avid poker players who bemoan their lack of opportunity to play, but refuse to play internet poker because of the loss of the integral experience of a poker table: facing out opponents, facial and body language, psychology, to say nothing of the feel of cards and chips in the hand or the sight and sounds of a poker room. The most expensive board game in the world is a richly detailed Chess set; if there were nothing to Chess besides the rules, why bother making ornamental sets? There are some games that lose so much in digital translation. We who see only rules and competition may scarcely realize how different our online play is from the real experience.
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