by Steven Conway
about Steven Conway
Steven Conway is course director of the games and interactivity degrees at Swinburne University of Technology. His research interests focus on the philosophy and aesthetics of play, games, and sport. Steven has published broadly on these topics in journals such as Sport, Ethics and Philosophy; the Journal of Gaming & Virtual Worlds; and Eludamos. Steven is also co-author of the first book on policy and digital games, Video Game Policy: Production, Distribution and Consumption.
FIFA
Abstract: Huizinga’s concept of the magic circle is often discussed as the starting point of modern game studies, despite having been roundly critiqued and largely dismissed. Steven Conway uses the example of soccer and EA Sports’ FIFA series to argue that the magic circle persists as a foundational concept because it conveys something fundamental about games and play: they are magic.