Erasing the Magic Circle

In striving to establish a theoretical framework for the academic study of games it is crucial that we, as game researchers, consider carefully the core concepts that pervade our work. Certain metaphors provide the very foundations upon which future research is to be built. If we are to move forward, we have to, as is the case with any developing field of study, take certain concepts as given. These are the tools of our trade. They allow us to progress without having to constantly try to re-invent the proverbial wheel. A great deal of work has recently gone into defining our object of study. Efforts at synthesising and refining previous game definitions undertaken by Juul (2005) and Salen and Zimmerman (2003) have been of great use in this respect. But the conceptual awareness I am advocating here delves deeper than definitions. It strikes at the assumptions that these definitions and other basic concepts that underlie our thinking about games take as given.