Graft-games: investigative prototypes for the cumulative exploration of similarities between craft and gaming

This chapter presents an experimental prototyping approach termed ‘grafting’ for investigating theoretical crossovers between craft practice and the play of videogames. It presents case studies of two prototype ‘graft-games’, Hazuki Knit and Pocket Racer, developed as probes for exploring an emerging field of study that acknowledges embodied skill within the play of videogames, aligning it with craft labour. In particular, the prototypes that directly connect craft processes with digital games, were developed as an extension of, and in response to, investigations into theoretical crossovers between craft and gaming (the play of videogames) from an embodied perspective. As enactable experiences delivered through a series of public events, the grafted prototypes gave intelligible form to key areas of crossover that could be enacted by members of the public. The fundamental interactions between digital games and craft elements enabled direct engagement with and further exploration of theoretical crossovers identified through autoethnographic observation of amateur craft and the play of videogames, crossovers that perhaps would not be fully understood or knowledge that would have been limited in its production without direct engagement through grafted-gameplay.