Magic Circle (virtual Worlds) - The Magic Circle in The Culture of Gaming

The Magic Circle in The Culture of Gaming

Economic, political, and legal activity that cross the membrane between the synthetic worlds and the Earth exists to blur any real distinction between what is synthetic and what is insistently real. These examples may be affected more generally to gaming as a collective. Games have become such a central part of living that the differences between game and real life is starting to become blurred. Continual development in the culture of gaming may be seen in various behavior and practices. For example, when a pilot of a plane receives instructions from an air traffic controller, at that very same moment, somewhere in the world, there is someone flying a simulation of that plane, or something like it, on a similar flight path, and that person also receiving path instructions from a controller; all of this is occurring through VATSIM.net, a virtual air traffic simulation system. Through the website, flight simulation has adapted into a multiplayer format, and ordinary people get to interact as pilots and interact with air traffic controllers to create a natural reproduction of actual air traffic.

The political movements that happen inside and outside games, for now, mostly concentrate on the games themselves. A gamer’s day consists of switching between the game life and real life. But while one is sitting in front of their computer and is engaged in the synthetic game world, they are just as likely to discuss the day’s weather as they are talking about the game, whilst chatting with a friend in-game. The distinction between labeling an act that strictly occurs in the game, and something that happens out of game (i.e. checking email about getting “gold” pieces in the game world) becomes inconsequential; the two worlds inevitably must interact with one another.