ABSTRACT
For commentators such as Aarseth (1997), space is a unifying theme of all videogames. The apparent containment of activity within a delineated ‘magic circle’ should not surprise as it is central to Huizinga’s (1950) definition and is essential in separating the game from the ‘real world’ within which it is situated but from which it is, according to Huizinga, distinct (though it is important to note that scholarly discussions of cyberspaces have pointed to the problematic nature of attempts to separate the ‘real’ from the ‘virtual’, see Farley 2000; Shields 1996). In this regard, the videogame world may be seen as analogous with the board or the table of (non-video) games such as chess, poker or roulette. Central to Aarseth’s thesis is the observation that all videogames are intrinsically associated with the navigation and mastery of the spaces they present and produce:
While in Myth Aarseth highlights the significance of spatial mastery
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protecting their space by rotating and translating the descending geometric shapes that seek to overrun it. Similarly, in Virtua Fighter, the player is engaged in combat with both the opposing player and the arena within which the player must remain at all times. As such being ‘knocked out’ takes on a dualistic meaning and this spatial game rule can be seen to further separate the gameworld with a circle within a circle, or ‘playworld’ (after Newman 2001). Defending not only their virtua(l) body, but also their position in the ring, the Virtua Fighter bout can be seen as a tug-of-war in which exercising prowess brings the spatial dominance that equates with victory.
