The connection
is there. One need only imagine in full freedom.
??” Peter Handke
There is magic in games.
Not magic like a Level 19 ?¬? reball spell is magic. Not
the kind of magic you get when you purchase a trick
in a magic store. And not the kind of mystical experience
that organized religion can go on about. No,
games are magic in the way that ?¬? rst kisses are magic,
the way that ?¬? nally arriving at a perfect solution to a
di?¬? cult problem is magic, the way that conversation
with close friends over good food is magic.
The magic at work in games is about ?¬? nding
hidden connections between things, in exploring the
way that the universe of a game is structured. As all
game players know, this kind of discovery makes for
deeply profound experiences. How is it possible that
the simple rules of chess and Go continue to evolve
new strategies and styles of play, even a er centuries
and centuries of human study? How is it that the
nations of the entire world, and even countries at
war with each other??”at war!??”can come together to
celebrate in the conflict of sport? How do computer
and video games, seemingly so isolating, pierce our
individual lives and bring us together in play?
To play a game is to realize and recon?¬? gure these
hidden connections??”between units on a game board,
between players in a match, between life inside the
game and life outside??”and in so doing, create new
meaning.
Pages:
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43