Here I will focus on the construction of borders and spaces in games and play. In this paper I will take the ideas as presented in ‘The Other Game Researcher’ a step further. I argued that creating a new autonomous discipline such as game studies mainly involves constructing boundaries on different levels. Herein I discussed how game researchers are busy doing game studies: researching, writing and publishing articles, organizing conferences and creating a curriculum. Abstract As I demonstrated in my article ‘The Other Game Researcher’ (presented at Level Up DiGRA gamesconference 2003), on the development of gamestudies and a game research methodology, I’m fascinated by the construction and workings of borders. Research Methodologies and Case Studies: Role Playing Games and the Fantasy subculture in the Netherlands. Boston: The Beacon Press, 1955.Categories Theoretical Perspectives: game definitions and the construction of the magical circle. Homo Ludens: A Study of the Play-Element in Culture. These ideas are essential to study and understand the gaming universe around the players and the impacts of the game culture in the mediatic scene and how important it can be for the contemporary world.ĪDAMS, Ernest ROLLINGS, Andrew. In the image below I try to create a visual representation of the idea of the magic circle: They are all temporary worlds within the ordinary world, dedicated to the performance of an act apart. forbidden spots, isolated, hedged round, hallowed, within which special rules obtain. The arena, the card-table, the magic circle, the temple, the stage, the screen, the tennis court, the court of justice, etc, are all in form and function playgrounds, i.e.
Just as there is no formal difference between play and ritual, so the ‘consecrated spot’ cannot be formally distinguished from the playground. Huizinga (1955, page 10) wrote that all play moves and have their existance within a playground marked off beforehand, either materially or ideally, deliberately or as a matter of course. Each time a person leaves the magic circle they bring meaning and experience. And the most important: everything inside the magic circle is, in some way, transformative. It's an escape for everyday problems and chores.
The magic circle is a place of dreams and fantasy. Inside the magic circle, real-world events have special meanings, as in the example below (ADAMS & ROLLINGS, 2009, page 8): As described by Adams and Rollings (2009, page 8), Huizinga did not use the term as a generic name for the concept: his text refers to the actual playground, or a physical space for playing. In this book, the author presents the idea of the "magic circle". In his book "Homo Ludens" (1938) he discusses the possibility that playing is the primary formative element in human culture. Johan Huizinga (1872 – 1945) was a Dutch historian and one of the founders of modern cultural history.
In the fields of gaming concepts and game design there's a very important author for reference: I'm talking about Johan Huizinga and in this post I want to discuss a very important concept: the idea of the "magic circle".
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