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Essay / Huizinga - 864
In play or anything interactive, there is an element of “play” that coexists with the activity. Play becomes an important feature because it contains elements mentioned by Johan Huizinga to signify the importance of play culture. Huizinga develops "play" through the concept of the magic circle and this "play" is neither life “ordinary” nor “real”. These two characteristics of Huizinga's play culture help the reader define the idea of play, but rather call into question the question of whether or not "play" can have a definition. Gaming culture is reinforced with characteristics by Huizinga, but it can further be argued that gaming inherits these characteristics, but does not completely define what "gaming" actually is; especially not through the magic circle or the fact that the game is ordinary or real life. The magic circle is an idea from Johan Huizinga, it is that in "playing", there is the creation of an enclosed space which contains a set of rules defining this game. The magic circle is simply a theoretical circle which contributes to shape and reinforce the core feature of the "game", but it only does so for the individuals playing the game. For example, an ongoing game like "Assassin" which imposes on participants that there is an area (often anywhere) in order to allow "assassinating" a target with the set of rules provided. In Huizinga's article he raises questions and explains: “Why is a huge crowd excited about a football match? . . . this intensity, this absorption, this maddening power, lies the very essence, the primordial quality of the game." (Huizinga, 98) This definition of Huizinga helps to reinforce the idea of the magic circle and the necessity of the game and it is what drives us...... middle of paper ...... and the essence of the game is always to be has changed throughout history and takes on multiple characteristics and definitions, but it cannot not be a simple defined ideology. By continuously studying, human society is more capable of understanding the concept of gaming culture and its evolution of representation through different types of mediums and forms that it can undergo. Gaming is constantly undergoing and evolving over time and by understanding Huizinga and the study of the importance of gaming, humans should be able to better understand the capabilities of gaming as technology becomes more and more advanced all by mixing and blurring the definitions and characteristics of the game. Together with the characteristics of Huizinga's game, this makes the concept rigid and structured to such an extent that it should instead be a piece of equipment in a machine that can be malleable interchangeably throughout human culture..