Huizinga

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Within gaming or anything that is interactive there is an element of “play” that coexists with the activity. Play becomes an important characteristic because it contains elements that are mentioned by Johan Huizinga to signify the importance of play culture. Huizinga elaborates on “play” through the concept of the magic circle and that “play” is not either “ordinary” or “real” life. These two characteristics within Huizinga’s play culture helps the reader define the idea of play, but rather puts it into question of whether or not “play” can have a definition or not. Play culture is reinforced with characteristics by Huizinga, but can be further argued that play inherit the characteristics, but does not fully define what “play” really is; especially not through the magic circle or having play being ordinary or real life. The magic circle is an idea within Johan Huizinga is that by “playing” there is a creation of an enclosed area that contains a set of rules defining that play. The magic circle is simply a theoretical circle that helps shape and reinforces the main characteristic of “play”, but it only does so for individuals that are playing the game. For example, an ongoing game like “Assassin” which places upon the participants that there is an area (often being anywhere) in order to allow “assassinate” a target with the set of rules that are provided. Within Huizinga’s article he mentions questions and explains “why is a huge crowd roused to frenzy by a football match? . . . this intensity, this absorption, this power is maddening, lies the very essence, the primordial quality of play.” (Huizinga, 98) This definition by Huizinga helps reinforce the idea of the magic circle and the necessity that play has and is what drives us ... ... middle of paper ... ...and essence of play is always being changed throughout history and takes on multiple characteristics and definitions, but it cannot be a simple ideology that is defined. By continuously studying human society is more capable to comprehend the concept of play culture and its evolution of representation through different kinds of mediums and forms it can undergo. Play undergoes and consistently shifts over time and by understanding Huizinga and the study of play of being importance humans should be able to better understand the capabilities of play as technology is becoming more advanced while blending and blurring the definitions and characteristics of play. With Huizinga’s characteristics of play it makes the concept rigid and structured to a point where it should rather be a piece of gear in machinery that can be interchangeably malleable throughout human culture.

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