◾ A Videogame Designer’s Guide to Non-Digital Game Magic
Jeff Howard
A K Peters/CRC Press eBooks April 22, 2014 DOI: 10.1201/b16848-15 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Humanities scholarship Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Key points | Argues that chess and magic both involve elaborate imaginary visualizations requiring active mental participation. The author draws on Crowley's autobiography, in which Crowley describes blindfold chess play as useful practice for visualizing an "astral temple" and watching invocation results with his "astral eyes." |
Abstract
Crowley observes a more abstract connection between chess and magic in that both potentially involve elaborate imaginary visualizations. As he observes in his autobiography, “On the surface, there seems little relation between Magick and chess, but my ability to play three games simultaneously blindfold was now very useful. I had no diculty in visualizing the astral temple by an eort of will, and of course I was perfectly able to watch the results of the invocations with my astral eyes” (Confessions 517). Crowley’s observations predate digital virtual worlds, but his remarks suggest that games and magic both entail complex operations that take place in imaginary spaces requiring the active mental participation of players.