Weaving with play practices: developing a playful autoethnography

‘Do you really think we can write everything, including this abstract, as a conversation between us?’ – Mathias asked, his voice revealing a sudden glimmer of doubt in what otherwise seemed like such an appealing idea. ‘Let’s just try’ Helle Marie immediately responded, covering her own uncertainty in a shallow confidence. They had agreed to write the entire paper as a conversation unfolding between them, and now they didn’t know where or how to begin. ‘We could start with our assumption that autoethnography offers a fruitful way to grasp sensorial, bodily and affective encounters?’ she continued, as if to demonstrate the viability of their endeavor. ‘Yeah, that may be one half of it, but to be honest, I’m even more interested in the other half’, Mathias revealed. ‘I also hope to explore how autoethnography can help us develop play design research as a prefigurative practice with the capacity to cultivate vibrant play communities’ – he went on. ‘Mirroring how our own relationship has developed? Yes, if we could achieve that, even to some limited extent, I’d be more than happy’ – Helle Marie concluded. ‘Me too’ – Mathias nodded, ‘me too’.