Magic circle

Abstract: The purpose of this unique book is to outline the core of game science by presenting principles underlying the design and use of games and simulations. Game science covers three levels of discourse: the philosophy of science level, the science level, and the application or practical level. The framework presented will help to grasp the interplay between forms of knowledge and knowledge content, interplay that evolves through the action of the players. Few scientists have witnessed such a radical change in their area of research and practice as those who engaged in play and gaming since the 1950s. Since that time game scientists from a whole variety of disciplines started adopting gaming and simulation methods in their research. Rapid advances in information technology and computer science are producing a tool rich environment for the design and use of games, and for humanities studies of games as digital arts and interactive narratives. Game science is advancing through these waves of change, driven by the digital computer game industry, enhanced through computer and information science, as well as through advances in professional gaming such as in education, public and business management, policy development, health care, eco-systems management, and so on. When asking game scientists about the core of their science, one should expect to hear diverging answers. The common questions about the core of game and play are not new. They refer to: What is the meaning of game and play? What is real and what is virtual reality? How could we build simple and effective games from complex social systems? Are we able to bring forward a general theory of games? Are we able to help players (social actors) to find smart solutions and approaches to complex issues? How do games enhance learning and how do they improve our thinking capacity and action repertoire? Current answers to these questions are scattered and inadequate. This book offers a frame-of-reference that will enlighten the characteristics of particular games and simulations from a common perspective. The author pays less attention to instrumental reasoning than on theoretical and methodological questions. Answers will provide a suitable context for addressing design science and analytical science approaches to artifact design and assessment, and theory development and testing.

Abstract: Introduction The end is where we start from What is doctorateness? Architecture of the doctoral thesis Exploiting the literature Thinking about research design What's in a word? How to conclude your thesis in one chapter The abstract The magic circle Preparing for the viva Dynamics of the doctoral viva Epilogue

Abstract: This article reviews the history of the concept of the magic circle, its criticism and the numerous other metaphors that have been used to capture the zone of play or the border that surrounds it, such as world, frame, bubble, net, screen, reality, membrane, zone, environment, or attitude. The various conceptions of social, mental and cultural borders are reviewed and identified. Finally, a model is put forward where the psychological bubble of playfulness, the social contract of the magic circle and the cultural game forms are separated.

Abstract: This article explores relationships between players and the owners of the massively multiplayer online games (MMOG) they inhabit. Much of the language around these large scale communities currently focuses on “management.” Viewing these complex social systems as essentially mechanical in nature has led to a preoccupation with creating or retrofitting systems which can be constantly monitored, tuned, regulated, and controlled. Though the language often turns to things like “cheating,” “griefing,” and “disruption of the magic circle,” the underlying anxiety about unruliness, transgressiveness, and the emergent nature of these spaces as sites of culture needs to be more fully addressed, as well as the early formulations of the “imagined player” that shape the design process. Players are central productive agents in game culture and more progressive models are needed for understanding and integrating their work in these spaces. Drawing on the long tradition of participatory design this piece explores some alternative frameworks for understanding the designer/player relationship are proposed.