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Brian Cusack,
Auckland University of Technology, New Zealand
brian.cusack@aut.ac.nz
Cusack, B. (2007, Dec), Book Review: "The Magic Circle - Principles of Gaming &
Simulation". Bulletin
of Applied Computing and Information Technology Vol. 5, Issue
2. ISSN 1176-4120. Retrieved
from
Klabbers, J. (2006). The Magic Circle -
Principles of Gaming & Simulation. Modeling & Simulation for
Learning & Instruction, 1 .
Rotterdam, The Netherlands: Sense Publishers (338 pages).
The interest in games, gaming, and the
relationship between game play and learning experiences have a resurgence as
a result of the growth of electronic games, virtual reality sports, and the Internet
game market. Games in themselves are not new: Game theory,
gaming, and playful activities have a long history of study literature.
What is new is the movement to rejoin novel study areas such as
information systems, computing systems, and game development to the body
of foundational game literature that was developed long before computing was thought to
be exclusively done by electronic computers.
The uptake of computer game playing has exploded
over the last decade to a point where addiction has become a
social problem; detrimental health effects have already claimed players’
lives. In education, researchers who have attempted to understand the
connection between computer game playing and skill retention, computer
use and learning, and how to merge games into the classroom learning
environment have contributed to a significant growth in the literature.
The author of this book addresses the concern of
connecting the ‘nouveau riche’ contemporary systems studies to the
foundations of learning and gaming theory. It is a valid concern when
many of the research approaches in the computing areas of study adopt
minimalist conceptual frameworks for human interaction and exclude
foundational fields that have the power to explain or rejected data.
As the title suggests this book focuses on the
relationship between gaming and simulation and learning. The notion of
the “magic circle” is used to capture the intrinsic moment when learning
and playing, and learning and working merge into a temporal nexus of
being. The student is a player and agent in a socio-cultural nexus of
competing demands, not the least of which is the student speculation on
their future career paths.
A thorough and systematic treatment of gaming and
playing is presented to provide conceptually sharp images of human
activity in constrained spaces. Mathematical simulation has less
relevance to learning compared to a coherent account of the many factors
contributing to the transfer of knowledge and the totalising human
experience. The author prefers to see the study of gaming as an inter- and
meta-disciplinary study that has the potential to contribute to learning
experiences, learning opportunities, and as a point of departure - to
knowledge building. Games and game playing in this sense have to do with
knowledge building and not just the emotionless assimilation of
pre-packaged information bites.
The intended audience of this book are the educators
and administrators who wish to rethink and take a fresh look at the
overarching problem of information technology and informatin systems content delivery and
student motivation. It is a chance to revisit the foundations of game
theory, to refresh thinking with regard to static content, and to
redevelop the techno-social dimension of learning. The simple connection
many students make between game playing (of all descriptions - from
real and virtual sports to competitive and co-operative computer
accessed games) is often lacking in the presentation of lectures and
classroom interaction. A step into the gaming landscape is a walk in the future
with the players of the present. The bridge between student pre-learning
and content delivery is a shared experience. This book presents
principles, examples, and illustrations that underlie the design and use
of gaming and simulation.
Overall, the book is not a light
read and has sections and chapters that stand alone when
being used to structure content delivery and learning styles. It is a
book that should not be overlooked either by
educators attempting to connect with the current generations of game
players or by administrators looking for better educational implementation
strategies.
Copyright © 2007 Brian Cusack
The author(s) assign to NACCQ and educational non-profit institutions a
non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in
courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and
this copyright statement is reproduced. The author(s) also grant a
non-exclusive licence to NACCQ to publish this document in full on the
World Wide Web (prime sites and mirrors) and in printed form within the
Bulletin of Applied Computing and Information Technology. Authors retain their individual intellectual property rights.
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