What if touching art could teach you about patience, perception and the joy of play? Join host Max Mulligan as he examines Please, Touch the Artwork, a meditative puzzle game that turns modern art into something interactive and intimate.

Linking phenomenology, modernism and the work of Piet Mondrian, this episode unpacks how touching, rearranging and gently disrupting digital paintings can invite a new way of engaging with both games and art itself.

About Please Touch the Artwork

• Steam Store Page – https://store.steampowered.com/app/1097100/Please_Touch_The_Artwork/
• Nintendo Switch Store Page – https://www.nintendo.com/us/store/products/please-touch-the-artwork-switch/?srsltid=AfmBOorPfhxOiFfcjcy7xJ0l2sRXIAKYj0eN6fFTEtWtiOaAtjwRVNAe
• Studio Waterzooi – Official Game Website – https://studiowaterzooi.com/please-touch-the-artwork/

Piet Mondrian and Artistic Influence

• The Art Story – Piet Mondrian Biography – https://www.theartstory.org/artist/mondrian-piet/

Phenomenology and Philosophy of Art

• Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy – Introduction to Phenomenology – https://iep.utm.edu/phenom/

Written and Recorded by Max W. Bartley

Produced by Kai Williams

Intro/Outro Music by Ashley Rezvani

What if falling endlessly could teach you about flow, effortlessness and presence? Join host Max Mulligan as he explores Downwell, an affordable, challenging roguelike platformer where you fall down an endless well armed with Gunboots.

Drawing connections to Taoism, psychology and philosophy, this episode unpacks how Downwell transforms moment-to-moment gameplay into a meditative state of total immersion.

Downwell

• Downwell Wiki – https://downwell.fandom.com/wiki/Downwell_Wiki
• Wikipedia – Downwell – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downwell_(video_game)

Taoism and Wu Wei

• Straight Bamboo – The Chef Cuts the Ox – https://straightbamboo.com/the-chef-cuts-the-ox/
• Stephan Joppich – Wu Wei – https://stephanjoppich.com/wu-wei/
• Einzelgänger – Taoism Philosophy Articles – https://einzelganger.co/category/philosophy/taoism-philosophy/
• StPeter.im – Taoist Writings – https://stpeter.im/writings/tao/

Flow Theory (Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

• Wikipedia – Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mihaly_Csikszentmihalyi
• Flow Research Collective – History of Flow – https://www.flowresearchcollective.com/blog/history-of-flow
• Study.com – Flow Theory Video Lesson – https://study.com/academy/lesson/video/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi-flow-theory-works.html

Video Essay Covering Flow, Wu Wei, and the Taoist Charioteer Parable

• YouTube – Don't Try | The Philosophy of Flow – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k23x5kP7dAY

Written and Recorded by Max W. Bartley

Produced by Kai Williams

Intro/Outro Music by Ashley Rezvani