Week Three

Johan Huizinga (1950) believed “playing” involves a person entering a specific frame or context created uniquely by the game the person wishes to play. He called this the “The Magic Circle” which can be both physical and/or psychological. In this circle there are special rules where you can live out fantasies in relative safety. An example would be that you could hijack a car using a firearm in a game without guilt or punishment (Grand Theft Auto), whereas if you were to do it in real life you would more than likely go to prison. A gaming researcher, Markus Montola (2005) defines The Magic Circle of play more precisely as “a voluntary, contractual structure that is limited in time and space”. To fully understand this definition you need to apply it to a game. Saints Row, on the Xbox 360, is a game that simulates you, the player, as a street thug who eventually becomes a gang lord as you go through the game. The “magic circle” of this game allows the player to mug, shoot firearms, bully prostitutes and deal in drugs, all of which are very illegal in real life.

Another prominent theory relating to the issue of play is the “lusory attitude”. Gwendoln Bradford (2003) defines the lusory attitude as “the attitude taken by the game players towards the playing of a game”. To relate this to a game I have played, Gran Turismo on the Playstation 2, has specific races where contestants can only use cars that are a particular make or speed. In order to advance in the game you have to adopt these rules and regulations to gain the victories and unlock more areas to the game. The lusory attitude is allowing yourself to go by the restricted rules even though in real life, you could use a different, quicker car and win the race easily.

Bibliography:

Montola, M. (2005) Exploring The Edge Of The Magic Circle: Defining Pervasive Games [Online]. Retrieved on 2nd March 2007 from: http://users.tkk.fi/~mmontola/exploringtheedge.pdf

Bradford, G. (2003) NOESIS Kudos for Ludus [Online]. Retrieved on 2nd March 2007 from: http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/pcu/noesis/issue_vi/noesis_vi_3.html