[AI Summary]: This manifesto by game designer Jay Dragon defines “expressionist games” as negotiated experiences shaped by the unresolvable tension between mechanically-imposed external worlds and passionate inarticulate internal worlds. Drawing from early 20th century German Expressionist art movements, Dragon argues for games where rules simulate social reality while characters possess rich inner lives that cannot be dictated by mechanics. The manifesto advocates for games that create productive friction between players and rules, fostering experiences of bleed, alienation, and tension rather than escapist flow states. Examples cited include Triangle Agency, Molly House, and Thousand Year Old Vampire, while explicitly positioning this approach against games that function as “slot machines” or allow players to “turn their brains off.”
- Author: Jay Dragon
- Year: 2025
- Type: Blog post/Manifesto
- Focus: Tabletop RPGs, game design philosophy