# 20 The playful experience of chaos with Jessica Creane of IKantKoan

09/28/19 • 54 min

On May 18th, 2019, Ikantkoan Games founder Jessica Creane took the TED stage, under unusual circumstances, to give a talk about chaos theory. She explained that as a game designer, she takes complex systems and turns them into “playful interactive experiences” Today, Jessica joins the show to talk about leaning into chaos in daily life, learning how to harness it, and of course how one turns a haiku into a full contact sport.
Selected Links:

-TED talk- Gamifying Chaos: Embracing Uncertainty Through Play
-IKANTKOAN Games
-Instagram
-Twitter
-Facebook

-Chaos Theory
-Tickets

-Know Thyself
-Immanuel Kant
-Koan: To provoke the ‘Great doubt’

Show Notes:

Fictional world for exploration [2:42]
How does a Haiku become a full contact sport? [4:35]
How to start designing games [7:23]
What is the show, ‘Chaos Theory’? [9:18]
What is the concept, chaos theory? [11:09]
Finding systems in things that appear to be systemless [12:31]
Why do you feel like people are drawn to chaos? [13:46]
What is Know Thyself? (philosophy as a game?) [15:20]
Making philosophy practical [17:53]
Make it immersive [19:44]
‘You mean I have to think??’ [24:32]
Well what did you think this experience was about? [26:53]
Fear of the unknown vs. attraction to chaos [28:49]
How to build a little chaos into your life [30:50]
What is devised theater? [34:22]
Why the name ‘IKantKoan’? [35:49]
The inception of ‘IKantKoan games’ [38:12]
What’s next for Jessica and IKantKoan? [39:53]
Stories from Jessica’s guests [41:50]
Jessica on the TED stage [45:21]
A major change on stage [48:22]
Where can folks find Jessica’s work? [51:54]

-TED talk- Gamifying Chaos: Embracing Uncertainty Through Play
-IKANTKOAN Games
-Instagram
-Twitter
-Facebook

-Chaos Theory
-Tickets

-Know Thyself
-Immanuel Kant
-Koan: To provoke the ‘Great doubt’

Show Notes:

Fictional world for exploration [2:42]
How does a Haiku become a full contact sport? [4:35]
How to start designing games [7:23]
What is the show, ‘Chaos Theory’? [9:18]
What is the concept, chaos theory? [11:09]
Finding systems in things that appear to be systemless [12:31]
Why do you feel like people are drawn to chaos? [13:46]
What is Know Thyself? (philosophy as a game?) [15:20]
Making philosophy practical [17:53]
Make it immersive [19:44]
‘You mean I have to think??’ [24:32]
Well what did you think this experience was about? [26:53]
Fear of the unknown vs. attraction to chaos [28:49]
How to build a little chaos into your life [30:50]
What is devised theater? [34:22]
Why the name ‘IKantKoan’? [35:49]
The inception of ‘IKantKoan games’ [38:12]
What’s next for Jessica and IKantKoan? [39:53]
Stories from Jessica’s guests [41:50]
Jessica on the TED stage [45:21]
A major change on stage [48:22]
Where can folks find Jessica’s work? [51:54]

Previous Episode

#19 Invisible but not hidden: Wellness and the transformation economy with Melinda Lauw of Whisperlodge

On a humid August night in williamsburg brooklyn, Melinda Lauw, cofounder of the genre creating asmr experience, Whisperlodge, took the stage at new york immersive night. Melinda explained that she thought of immersive experience as a kind of wellness practice. At that moment I was sitting in the back of the room, utterly fascinated.
Today melinda discusses this concept, the transformation economy, and the kind of things that are so pervasively common, they fade into the background and become invisible.
Selected Links:

Show Notes:

Fictional world: [2:35]
Textiles, gradmas, the exotic [3:21]
Fluffy guerilla art, the inversion of expectations [5:23]
The transformation economy- one step further [6:23]
Growing the audience for art [10:01]
Immersive experience as a wellness practice [12:15]
Craving Immersion [14:29]
Make it immersive: A world without plastic [18:44]
“I thought you brought the props!” [22:17]
What is Whisperlodge [25:09]
The Origin of Whisperlodge [26:17]
Change in experimental outlet [29:28]
Current work and Ice Cream [30:50]
What I do didn’t exist [32:26]
IRL vs. URL: A balancing act. [33:30]
Environment and holistic experience [37:09]
Working with the Museum of Ice Cream [41:48]
New horizons in the immersive world: new combinations [43:52]

Next Episode

#21 The value of play pt. 1

Why is play important? What is the value of play?

Well, today’s episode of the immersion Nation Podcast is a little bit different. This is the first in a series of mini episodes that we’re going to be releasing periodically in place of our normal interviews.

We’ve been asking guests of the Immersion Nation podcast why play matters.

There are certain concepts that are intrinsic, not just to the immersive wave, but to how we understand and interface with the world as a whole. But often the importance of play fades in our mind as we get older...
We want to know what you think!
What do we lose when we forget how to play?
Or
Why do you think play is important?
-We will share your thoughts on the next episode about about play

•Email Nathaniel Sky, the podcast host directly with this link: https://www.immersionnation.com/contact/
•DM us on instagram: @immersionnation
•Or message us on facebook with this link: http://m.me/immersionnation
Selected Links:

Genevieve Gearhart on the podcast
The Speakeasy Society
Christoff Visscher on the podcast
Tales By candlelight
Pete Billington on the podcast
Wolves in the Walls
Fable Studio

Show Notes:

Intrinsic to how we understand the world [1:20]
Genevieve Gearhart on play [1:54]
Is play escapism? [2:53]
Christoff Visscher on play [3:59]
Playing in reality [5:13]
Pete Billington of Fable Studio [5:51]
Forgetting how to play [6:38]
What do you think? [7:58]
What do you think? [7:58]

Immersion Nation Podcast - # 20 The playful experience of chaos with Jessica Creane of IKantKoan

Transcript

spk_0: 0:00
and I had this sort of strong feeling that I would either be eaten up by the ceiling, that I have no control over everything. And I could just fall into this chaos. Or I could try and figure out a way to use it to my advantage. Chaos theory is the playable theater, and things are really orderly and we know where we stand and we fall into patterns and the compere comfortable to be in a world of patterns. But you get a little name tag, you feel like your name tag