Intersomatic Awareness in Game Design
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The London School of Economics and Political Science Intersomatic Awareness in Game Design Siobhán Thomas A thesis submitted to the Department of Management of the London School of Economics for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. London, June 2015 1 Declaration I certify that the thesis I have presented for examination for the PhD degree of the London School of Economics and Political Science is solely my own work. The copyright of this thesis rests with the author. Quotation from it is permitted, provided that full acknowledgement is made. This thesis may not be reproduced without my prior written consent. I warrant that this authorisation does not, to the best of my belief, infringe the rights of any third party. I declare that my thesis consists of 66,515 words. 2 Abstract The aim of this qualitative research study was to develop an understanding of the lived experiences of game designers from the particular vantage point of intersomatic awareness. Intersomatic awareness is an interbodily awareness based on the premise that the body of another is always understood through the body of the self. While the term intersomatics is related to intersubjectivity, intercoordination, and intercorporeality it has a specific focus on somatic relationships between lived bodies. This research examined game designers’ body-oriented design practices, finding that within design work the body is a ground of experiential knowledge which is largely untapped. To access this knowledge a hermeneutic methodology was employed. The thesis presents a functional model of intersomatic awareness comprised of four dimensions: sensory ordering, sensory intensification, somatic imprinting, and somatic marking. 3 Table of Contents Chapter 1: Introduction ................................................................................................. 8 Research Questions ..................................................................................................... 10 Research Objectives and Expected Contribution ........................................................ 11 Structure of the Thesis ................................................................................................ 12 Chapter 2: Literature Review ...................................................................................... 16 The Designer Gestalt, The Body, and Sensation & Perception ................................. 16 The Designer Gestalt ..................................................................................................... 16 Game Industry Studies ................................................................................................ 18 On Designers by Designers ......................................................................................... 19 Player as Designer ....................................................................................................... 20 Definition of Designer ................................................................................................. 21 The Body ........................................................................................................................ 24 The Body as Physical Entity ....................................................................................... 24 Game Kinaesthetics ..................................................................................................... 26 The Normative Body ................................................................................................... 27 Somatic-oriented Work ............................................................................................... 29 Sensation and Perception ............................................................................................. 30 An Ecological Approach: The Design Ecology of Enactive Perception ..................... 36 Terms and Definitions ................................................................................................. 38 Chapter 3: Theoretical Framework ............................................................................ 41 Attending to the Somatic Modes of the Absent Body ................................................ 41 Intersomatic Communication ...................................................................................... 42 Nonverbal Communication ......................................................................................... 42 Intersomatic Communication Channels ...................................................................... 44 A Paradigm of Embodied Awareness: The Somatic Mode of Attention .................. 50 The Absent Body ........................................................................................................... 53 Three Types of Disappearance .................................................................................... 54 Dys-appearance and Incorporation in a Game Context .............................................. 57 A Diagrammatic Summation ....................................................................................... 60 The Somatic Marker ..................................................................................................... 62 Summary of Theoretical Framework .......................................................................... 63 Chapter Four: Research Methodology ........................................................................ 66 Investigating Designer Experience .............................................................................. 66 The Hermeneutic Paradigm ......................................................................................... 67 Research Process ........................................................................................................... 68 Data Collection ............................................................................................................ 69 Data Analysis .............................................................................................................. 75 Credibility of the Interpretive Account ....................................................................... 77 Limitations of Study Design ....................................................................................... 78 4 Chapter 5: Results and Analysis .................................................................................. 79 Themes, Ecstasis and Recessiveness ............................................................................ 79 Algorithmic Mimesis: Game Designers Transcode Experiences .............................. 80 Collective Memory Practices ........................................................................................ 84 Design Habitus ............................................................................................................... 87 Controls and Mapping ................................................................................................. 91 Edge Cases ..................................................................................................................... 95 Ecstasis, or Games that Emphasise Exteroception .................................................... 97 Way ............................................................................................................................. 97 Journey ...................................................................................................................... 106 Markers ................................................................................................................. 117 Felt Proximity ........................................................................................................ 120 Kinaesthetic role play—Body Techniques ............................................................ 121 Diploplia .................................................................................................................... 124 Body Techniques ................................................................................................... 129 Recessiveness, or Games that Emphasise Interoception ......................................... 129 Flowy ......................................................................................................................... 130 Nevermind ................................................................................................................. 135 Body Techniques: Play Narration ......................................................................... 143 The Extraordinary Adventures of Baron Munchausen ............................................. 149 Body Techniques ................................................................................................... 153 The Betrayer’s Banquet ............................................................................................. 156 Gustatorial Mapping .............................................................................................. 165 Matching Pennies ...................................................................................................... 167 The Arena System ................................................................................................. 171 Chapter 6: Discussion ................................................................................................. 179 Game Design as an Intersomatic Mode of Attention ............................................... 179 Paradox One: The Absent Body – Concealment and Alienation .............................. 180 Paradox