2022
Meriläinen, Mikko; Stenros, Jaakko; Heljakka, Katriina
The Pile of Shame: The Personal and Social Sustainability of Collecting and Hoarding Miniatures
In: Muthu, Subramanian Senthilkannan (Ed.): Toys and Sustainability, pp. 57-77, Springer, 2022, ISBN: 978-981-16-9672-5.
Book chapter
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adult play, Collecting, Consumer behaviour, Hoarding, Miniaturing, Wargaming, Warhammer
@incollection{Meriläinen2022,
title = {The Pile of Shame: The Personal and Social Sustainability of Collecting and Hoarding Miniatures},
author = {Mikko Meriläinen and Jaakko Stenros and Katriina Heljakka},
editor = {Subramanian Senthilkannan Muthu},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-9673-2_4},
isbn = {978-981-16-9672-5},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-02-18},
booktitle = {Toys and Sustainability},
pages = {57-77},
publisher = {Springer},
abstract = {Collecting is a major part of the miniaturing pastime, in which enthusiasts collect, paint, and play games with small historical and fantasy wargaming and role-playing figurines. Miniaturists often have large collections of miniatures, and many buy more miniatures than they have time to paint. This quantity of unpainted miniatures is often referred to as a pile of shame. In this chapter, we explore the collecting of miniatures and the pile of shame phenomenon through a thematic analysis of qualitative survey data (N = 127). Our analysis suggests that an amassed collection of miniatures poses both practical and existential potential and challenges and may be both beneficial and detrimental to personal sustainability. Although the concept of a pile of shame is typically a shared source of humour, it is also a relevant part of the miniaturing pastime, and an important aspect of how miniaturists curate and view their collection.},
keywords = {Adult play, Collecting, Consumer behaviour, Hoarding, Miniaturing, Wargaming, Warhammer},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {incollection}
}
Collecting is a major part of the miniaturing pastime, in which enthusiasts collect, paint, and play games with small historical and fantasy wargaming and role-playing figurines. Miniaturists often have large collections of miniatures, and many buy more miniatures than they have time to paint. This quantity of unpainted miniatures is often referred to as a pile of shame. In this chapter, we explore the collecting of miniatures and the pile of shame phenomenon through a thematic analysis of qualitative survey data (N = 127). Our analysis suggests that an amassed collection of miniatures poses both practical and existential potential and challenges and may be both beneficial and detrimental to personal sustainability. Although the concept of a pile of shame is typically a shared source of humour, it is also a relevant part of the miniaturing pastime, and an important aspect of how miniaturists curate and view their collection.
2019
Heljakka, Katriina; Harviainen, J. Tuomas
From Displays and Dioramas to Doll Dramas
In: American Journal of Play, vol. 11, no. 3, pp. 351–379, 2019, ISSN: 1938-0399.
Journal article Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adult play, Adult toy play, Creativity, Object play, Object relations, Photoplay, Social media, Social play, Toys, World play, Worldbuilding
@article{Heljakka2019,
title = {From Displays and Dioramas to Doll Dramas},
author = {Katriina Heljakka and J. Tuomas Harviainen},
url = {https://trepo.tuni.fi/handle/10024/116158},
issn = {1938-0399},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-01-01},
urldate = {2019-01-01},
journal = {American Journal of Play},
volume = {11},
number = {3},
pages = {351–379},
publisher = {The Strong},
address = {Rochester},
abstract = {Toys both guide and foster the play—and stimulate the imaginations—of players of all ages. The authors investigate adult use of toys as a point of entry to the world play of both transmedia-connected and stand alone toy characters—dolls, action figures, and soft toys. They point to how adult toy players engage actively in world building in their world play and suggest that play better describes the object relations of adults with toys than such notions as collecting or pursuing a hobby. They discuss how adults use world playing with toys to develop toy industry back stories and replay—and sometimes revolutionize—original story lines familiar from popular fiction. And they highlight how mature audiences for character toys employ these physical objects to explore their capacity for imaginative, spatial, and hybrid world play.},
keywords = {Adult play, Adult toy play, Creativity, Object play, Object relations, Photoplay, Social media, Social play, Toys, World play, Worldbuilding},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Toys both guide and foster the play—and stimulate the imaginations—of players of all ages. The authors investigate adult use of toys as a point of entry to the world play of both transmedia-connected and stand alone toy characters—dolls, action figures, and soft toys. They point to how adult toy players engage actively in world building in their world play and suggest that play better describes the object relations of adults with toys than such notions as collecting or pursuing a hobby. They discuss how adults use world playing with toys to develop toy industry back stories and replay—and sometimes revolutionize—original story lines familiar from popular fiction. And they highlight how mature audiences for character toys employ these physical objects to explore their capacity for imaginative, spatial, and hybrid world play.
2018
Thibault, Mattia; Heljakka, Katriina
Toyification. A Conceptual Statement
In: Proceedings of the 8th International Toy Research Association World Conference: Toys and Material Culture: Hybridisation, Design and Consumption, International Toy Research Association, 2018.
Publication for professional or general audience Open access
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adult play, Design, Gamification, Ludification, Playification, Toyification
@other{Thibault2018,
title = {Toyification. A Conceptual Statement},
author = {Mattia Thibault and Katriina Heljakka},
url = {https://hal-univ-paris13.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-02083004},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-07-11},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 8th International Toy Research Association World Conference: Toys and Material Culture: Hybridisation, Design and Consumption},
publisher = {International Toy Research Association},
abstract = {Our paper focuses on toyification. By this phenomenon, we point to two, parallel developments: 1) The increasing prestige of toys, which start to find their way in classrooms, art museums, fashion and so on, influencing in this way other languages, and, 2) The deliberate attempt to design products according to toy aesthetics in order to make them more appealing. More specifically, toyification communicates the idea of an entity (physical, digital or hybrid) being intentionally reinforced with toyish elements or dimensions; an object, a structure, an application, a character or a technology designed to acquire a toyish appearance, form or function.},
keywords = {Adult play, Design, Gamification, Ludification, Playification, Toyification},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {other}
}
Our paper focuses on toyification. By this phenomenon, we point to two, parallel developments: 1) The increasing prestige of toys, which start to find their way in classrooms, art museums, fashion and so on, influencing in this way other languages, and, 2) The deliberate attempt to design products according to toy aesthetics in order to make them more appealing. More specifically, toyification communicates the idea of an entity (physical, digital or hybrid) being intentionally reinforced with toyish elements or dimensions; an object, a structure, an application, a character or a technology designed to acquire a toyish appearance, form or function.
Brown, Ashley M. L.; Stenros, Jaakko
Adult Play: The Dirty Secret of Grown-Ups
In: Games and Culture, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 215–219, 2018, ISSN: 15554139.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adult games, Adult play, Adult toys, Grown-up play, Sexual play, Social norms
@article{Brown2018,
title = {Adult Play: The Dirty Secret of Grown-Ups},
author = {Ashley M. L. Brown and Jaakko Stenros},
doi = {10.1177/1555412017690860},
issn = {15554139},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
urldate = {2018-01-01},
journal = {Games and Culture},
volume = {13},
number = {3},
pages = {215--219},
publisher = {SAGE Publications},
address = {Los Angeles, CA},
abstract = {Welcome to the Adult Play Special Issue. In this introduction, we (the editors) explain the origin of the collection and our unique take on what adult play means as a term. Rather than be specifically about sexual play, the term adult is taken here to reference the age of players. The article included how adults play, what they play with, and when they play. This of course includes, but is not limited to, play of a sexual nature. We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed editing it.},
keywords = {Adult games, Adult play, Adult toys, Grown-up play, Sexual play, Social norms},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Welcome to the Adult Play Special Issue. In this introduction, we (the editors) explain the origin of the collection and our unique take on what adult play means as a term. Rather than be specifically about sexual play, the term adult is taken here to reference the age of players. The article included how adults play, what they play with, and when they play. This of course includes, but is not limited to, play of a sexual nature. We hope you enjoy reading this issue as much as we enjoyed editing it.
Heljakka, Katriina; Harviainen, J. Tuomas; Suominen, Jaakko
Stigma Avoidance through Visual Contextualization: Adult Toy Play on Photo-sharing Social Media
In: New Media & Society, vol. 20, no. 8, pp. 2781–2799, 2018, ISSN: 1461-4448.
Journal article
Abstract | Links | Tags: Adult play, Photo-sharing sites, Photoplay, Stigma avoidance, Toys, Visual contextualization
@article{Heljakka2018,
title = {Stigma Avoidance through Visual Contextualization: Adult Toy Play on Photo-sharing Social Media},
author = {Katriina Heljakka and J. Tuomas Harviainen and Jaakko Suominen},
doi = {10.1177/1461444817732534},
issn = {1461-4448},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-01-01},
urldate = {2018-01-01},
journal = {New Media & Society},
volume = {20},
number = {8},
pages = {2781–2799},
publisher = {SAGE Publications},
address = {London, England},
abstract = {While the benefits of play have been widely recognized, carrying out activities with toys at adult age is still often seen as stigmatizing behaviour. Some adults solve this issue by referring to their toy activities as either hobbies or collecting. Yet, the primary purpose of toys is play. People may therefore utilize their toys for new kinds of play. One popular decision is the utilization of toys in photographs and videos aiming at personalization and storytelling on social media. Using eight interviews, we point out that this visual contextualization of play ties into not only the adults’ sublimation of their desires to use their toys but also to threads of cultural history in which sublimated or substituted artistic uses have been found for objects. Finally, we show that this activity too is a form of play, made possible by the existence of photo-sharing sites like Flickr and Instagram.},
keywords = {Adult play, Photo-sharing sites, Photoplay, Stigma avoidance, Toys, Visual contextualization},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
While the benefits of play have been widely recognized, carrying out activities with toys at adult age is still often seen as stigmatizing behaviour. Some adults solve this issue by referring to their toy activities as either hobbies or collecting. Yet, the primary purpose of toys is play. People may therefore utilize their toys for new kinds of play. One popular decision is the utilization of toys in photographs and videos aiming at personalization and storytelling on social media. Using eight interviews, we point out that this visual contextualization of play ties into not only the adults’ sublimation of their desires to use their toys but also to threads of cultural history in which sublimated or substituted artistic uses have been found for objects. Finally, we show that this activity too is a form of play, made possible by the existence of photo-sharing sites like Flickr and Instagram.