What is the Magic Circle

Gamification is not about turning everything into a game and it shouldn’t be confused with Game Theory, which is basically the study of strategic decision making, a field which in itself is very complex.

Players always remain in their “normal” world, meaning, when creating a gamified systems, you use techniques and elements from games, but you don’t completely take a player out if his or her world.

Gamification is basically about breaking games down and finding out what they can teach you, learning from game design and psychological mechanisms to understand what motivates users, how to get users to interact with your product in a certain way, how to activate users in the first place. The theory/mechanisms of fun is important for gamified systems. The concept of fun is fascinating, which the course explores later in more detail. For now, let me tell you, fun is powerful!

In order to create a gamified system, lets explore the difference between PLAY and GAME. Every scholar would at this point shriek at my attempt of summarizing the differences… but hey, I am only here to guide you into looking deeper in this topic :)

What is a game and how does it differentiate from the concept of play?

“…man only plays when in the full meaning of the word he is a man, and he is only completely a man when he plays..” F. Schiller

Play is an action, it is spontaneous and done for the sake of playing. An action associated with a freedom within a structure, which you do for your own sake. Confused? Let’s compare it to the concept of game.

Games happen within a closed, structured, formal system. Often outcomes are produced. Games happen within systems where you have and make meaningful choices. It can be associated with problem solving activities approached with a playful attitude. Games have some kind of goal, some sort of rules and limitations. Players voluntarily follow rules and overcome obstacles within – and now to one of my favorite terms – the “Magic Circle”

What is the Magic Circle you ask?

Johan Huizinga coined the term and long story short it basically stands for an informal barrier between the “real” world and the “game” world. When you are in the magic circle, the rules of the game matter, not the real world. Players voluntarily choose to be immersed within the rules of the game world.

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